Sufism A Mysticism In Islam

The Irrefutable Proof That Nazim AlQubrusi Nagates Islam Part 6

2008-09-01T07:55:00.000-07:00

PART 6 - THE IRREFUTABLE PROOF THAT
NAZIM AL-QUBRUSI NEGATES ISLAM
by: Al-Hidayaah
http://www.allaahuakbar.net/sufism/the_irrefutable_proof_that_nazim.htm

Allah is clear from all of that!

The followers of the Tijani Tariqah, such as Sheikh Ahmad at-Tijani from Nigeria, currently living in the United States of America, have also pursued the route of exceeding the acceptable bounds of the Religion. He said with his own tongue in Chicago before a large audience, "The Prophet is closer to the slave than Allah" (meaning the Prophet fulfills his needs faster than Allah!!! This is an explicit belying of the Religion. I personally heard his words and openly--in the same session--denounced him for it, as did others in the same session.

It is known that the Tijani books like Bughiat Al-Murid are full of such blasphemous sayings as:

* All the sins of the one who takes their tariqah would be forgiven immediately and he would become better than the head of the waliyys (qutb)--among others!!

* Saying the Fatih Prayer which they recite (claiming to praise the Prophet) is equivalent to reciting the entire Qur'an six thousand times!!

We seek refuge with Allah from such claims. There are other strange matters being spread falsely in the name of Sufism. All of that makes it incumbent upon us to warn against such people who contradict the Religion--out of protecting the Religion, defending the Book of Allah, and preserving the Religion and the methodology of Prophet Muhammad. It is not permissible to be negligent in this matter, for the huge fire results from the tiny sparks, and one drop joins with another and another to form an eroding flood. The Muslim scholars and the sincere ones are neither negligent nor loose. They are not cowards, powerlessly leaving the ferocious wolves to eat the sons and daughters of the Muslims. Allah is the One Who guides to the acceptable deeds. On Him we rely and from Him we seek the reward.
SECOND CONCLUSION

These are the statements of Nazim Qubrusi, his sheikh, ad-Daghistani, and his student, Hisham Qabbani, which I chose to bring to your attention and to comment on briefly--in accordance with the Rules of the Religion. No Muslim would feel comfortable with the deviant teachings of these men. I see their teachings the result of a school dangerous to the Religion and dangerous to the nation of Muslims. It is too far-fetched to believe these statements are fabricated and planted in the books of Qubrusi. These books are distributed under his supervision and the supervision of his vicegerent, Hisham Kabbani. Moreover, they have been taped, and trustworthy Muslims who have met Sheikh Nazim have quoted him as saying these statements. Whatever the case, these books contain many perversions dangerous to the Religion and its rules, and the one who accepts them and believes in them becomes among the atheist Batiniyys-

It is a must to take warning and warn the Muslims at large from their contents. It is incumbent upon the one who makes such statements to retract them and repent to Allah. If Sheikh Nazim says these statements are fabricated and planted in his books, it is incumbent upon him to announce as such and to bring to the attention of the people the lies contained in his books. If he says these are his statements, it is an obligation on him to repent in the proper way and to warn the people from them. Ordering the lawful and forbidding the unlawful is obligatory and it is the course of the People of Sincerity.

Allah is the One upon Whom we rely. We seek the reward from Allah alone.

Philadelphia - Jumada-l-'ula 1417H.
APPENDIX: What Actually Happened Between Our Master Musa and al-Khadir, (peace be upon them)

Know, Brother Muslim, the Messenger of Allah does not have two Religions--one apparent and the other concealed. Rather, his Religion is Islam, with the rules which Allah revealed to him and which he conveyed to his nation. This is why the al-Jilaniyy adn ar-Rifa^iyy and others, said: which means: "Every matter claimed to be a secret matter of the Religion which, in fact, contradicts al-Islam is truly atheism."

Nazim Qubrusi tried to use what happened between Musa, the Prophet of Allah, and al-Khadir, another prophet of Allah, to claim that the Religion has a concealed part to it which contradicts its apparent rules. This endeavor of his is invalid, because what happened between Musa and al-Khadir conforms to the rules of the Religion inside and out. At first, and prior to al-Khadir explaining what he did was in conformity to the rules of the Religion, one might think there was a contradiction. However, if there had been a contradiction, then Prophet Musa surely would not have remained silent. Rather, Prophet Musa kept silent after al-Khadir showed what he did was not contradicting the rules of the Religion.

Moreover, both Musa and al-Khadir were prophets. Allah told us that al-Khadir said:

(Al-Kahf, 82) which means: [I did not do that from my own (meaning it was revealed to me).]

Moreover, had al-Khadir not been a prophet, Allah would not have ordered Musa to follow him. It is because he was a Prophet that Allah ordered Musa to benefit from him in something pertaining to the Religion.

The one who takes what happened between Musa and al-Khadir to back a claim that the Religion has a concealed part that contradicts the apparent part is a blasphemer--just as the two masters judged him.

Al-Khadir's actions were in fact, in conformity to the rules of the Religion. The one who contradicts that falls under the saying of the Prophet: which means: "The one who does something contrary to our methodology is rejected."

The one who does not apply the rules of the Religion, rather, who leaves them behind his back and tells the people: "You shall not be harmed if you do not apply, because the concealed part of the Religion contradicts the apparent part," is in fact leading the people to blasphemy. The human being does not reach the truth if he does not apply the rules of the Religion to himself and his followers. This is the path of the God-fearing ones, the People of the Truthful Guidance, from the time of the Companions until our days. This is the route of success and winning!! Allah is the One from Whom we seek help and upon Whom we rely.

By Al-Hidaayah

The Irrefutable Proof That Nazim AlQubrusi Nagates Islam Part 5

2008-09-01T07:51:00.000-07:00

PART 5 - THE IRREFUTABLE PROOF THAT
NAZIM AL-QUBRUSI NEGATES ISLAM
by: Al-Hidayaah
http://www.allaahuakbar.net/sufism/the_irrefutable_proof_that_nazim.htm

[One student asked him:]

"Is it all right to fast on the light days of the week?"

"No," replied the Shaykh, "No need. It is enough."

"But we've been fasting, already. Every Monday and Thursday since Ramadan," a disciple insisted.

"No need," replied the Shaykh. "You may fast from haram looking. You may fast from anger. You may fast from bad words! Not eating or drinking--that fast I don't want. It is too easy to go without eating. I don't want that. No bad speaking, no bad looking, no anger; that is difficult. So many people fasting, yet they are angry seventy times until maghrib! They say, 'We are fasting!' How can you be fasting if you are angry!"

These words are against the sayings of the Prophet and against the Rules of the Religion. We ask Allah for guidance and safety. Amin.
CHAPTER 12: NAZIM AL-QUBRUSI'S TWELFTH STATEMENT

"Eat unlawful (haram) meat."

We all know that the abdomen of the human being is the first part that rots in the grave. The Prophet said: which means: " Hellfire is more deserving of every flesh that grew from unlawful consumption."

In his book, Mercy Oceans, page 98-99, Nazim Qubrusi says:

"When I first met our Grandshaykh, " Shaykh Nazim replied, "I was also very strict, very particular, about my food. But he told me, 'It is not good manners to be like that. When you are a guest, you must not ask, 'Is this food clean?' No! You must give your host the benefit of the doubt. When you know that the food is pork, don't eat it, but say instead, 'I am a vegetarian,' or something like this. You must have good manners towards everybody. If you are in doubt as to whether meat (assuming that it is not pork) is halal or not, you may say, three times, 'Shahada,' and, seventy times, 'astaghfirullah.' Then, as you eat, and you say, 'Bismillah,' Allah Almighty will make that food clean for you, in the time it takes for you to raise it from your plate and put it in your mouth!

"When you are buying meat and you think that it has come in contact with pork, or utensils that have been used to handle and prepare pork, you may wash it, and repeat the formula we just said. If you can obtain Halal (or Kosher) meat, of course it is best. But, when you are somebody's guest, don't ask! Even if it is known to you that they usually cook with lard, you must assume that, this time, for you, they cleaned their pots and pans and didn't use it. Only if you are certain that pork or pork products were used may you refrain from eating."

I say: There is not even one statement of any one of the scholars to that effect; such meaning is not in the Qur'an; and there is no confirmed hadith which gives such a meaning. Rather, what is mentioned in the Qur'an and hadith and in the statements of the scholars is quite contrary to Sheikh Nazim's saying. So, from where did Sheikh Nazim get his statement!? How did Sheikh Nazim come up with such a statement, i.e., haram meat would transform to halal if one recites the shahadah and asks forgiveness? Allah, the Exalted, said: (Al-Baqarah, 111) which means: [Bring your proof if you are truthful.]

Nazim Qubrusi has no proof for his words. Allah is the One Who guides to the acceptable deeds.
CHAPTER 13: NAZIM AL-QUBRUSI'S THIRTEENTH STATEMENT

"Do not follow the judgment of the sound mind; Be like mindless sheep."

It is well known the one who is on the straight path and has self confidence does not fear from the people using their minds in the correct way, because such a person appreciates the endowment of the mind on us. As to the one who has strayed, he wants people to follow him without using their minds and to carry out his orders without asking questions. He wants mindless and senseless people. I found the words of Sheikh Nazim Qubrusi very strange on page 3 in the introduction of his book, Mercy Oceans, when he defined the belief as:

"The heart believes what the mind denies. This must be understood first of all or else there is no Islam. It is useless to base, or balance one's faith on the level of the mind, which doubts anything that it cannot experience through the senses."

I say: This is a very strange definition of belief and a very strange opinion regarding the endowment of the mind!! No Muslim scholar ever said such a statement before Nazim Qubrusi. It is contrary to the saying of Allah: (Al ^Imran, 190) which means: [This contains lessons to the people with sound minds]

and the saying of Allah: (Al-Hajj, 46) which means: [Did they not travel on earth and use their minds to understand?]

How could Nazim Qubrusi be believable when Allah dispraised the blasphemers for wasting the role of the mind and told us about their situation while in Hellfire in His saying:

(Al-Mulk, 10) which means: [Had we heard and used our minds (during our first life) we would not have been among the people of Hellfire (today).]

Does Nazim Qubrusi want us to be mindless sheep or like the people of the other invalid religions with baseless statements and convictions that do not rely on any proof?!!
CHAPTER 14: NAZIM AL-QUBRUSI'S FOURTEENTH STATEMENT

"Blasphemy is a temporary condition; Simply by reciting the Fatihah anyone is guaranteed safety in the Hereafter."

On page 58 of his book, Mercy Oceans, Nazim Qubrusi says:

Allah sent FATIHA first in Mecca. Along with it came endless Rahmah (mercy). Gabrael, bringing FATIHA to Muhammad (peace be upon him), said, 'O, Muhammad! Allah Almighty gives you His salaams and says to you, "Good tidings for FATIHA; if anyone from your ummah (nation) reads FATIHA even once, in his life, it will be enough, and more, for that servant!"

"He who reads FATIHA will take enough Rahma from one reading to last his whole life. Even if he is an unbeliever, one reading will bring him to Iman, perhaps at the last moment of his life. This is because faith is original, inborn with people. Unbelief is a temporary condition added later. FATIHA will bring faith even to a doer of bad things.

I say: This is a fabricated hadith and a lie about Prophet Muhammad. What we see and observe is enough to prove it is untrue. How many people have in fact recited the Fatihah several times and then died as blasphemers? Al-Bukhariyy related that a man had memorized Surat al-Baqarah and Surat Al-^Imran and prayed many times behind the Prophet, yet he apostatized, moved outside the Arabian peninsula to live, and died as a blasphemer. When the people buried him, the earth spat him out. Those who witnessed it told about it. The day that man died, the Prophet received a revelation about his situation. This saying of Sheikh Nazim is contrary to the confirmed saying of the Prophet, so beware!

We wish that Sheikh Nazim would tell us who narrated this claimed hadith of his? In which book of the scholars did he find it? Who among the Hafidhs classified it as sahih? My conviction is that it is his own authoring and the product of his own imagination. If it was not, let him name the narrator. I believe no one among the Muslim scholars would accept to soil his book by narrating such nonsense. We ask Allah for protection. Allah is the One Who strengthens one to perform obedience, and no one can evade sinning without Allah's protection.
CHAPTER 15: AN EPISODE OF THE SESSION OF NAZIM AL-QUBRUSI WITH HIS FOLLOWERS

Following is an excerpt from page 91-92 of Nazim Qubrusi's book, Mercy Oceans:

"Some people, most people, most Alims say that Allah Almighty is angry with us now. Our Granshaykh says that Allah is not angry with us. He is not stopping his mercy for us. Mercy is coming down; all around is mercy. We are swimming in mercy oceans."

Someone asked, "But wasn't Allah angry with the people of Israel, for instance, when they worshipped the golden calf? Wasn't Moses (peace be upon him) angry?"

"Is Moses (peace be upon him) Allah? said the Shaykh.

"Allah is angry by mouth, not by heart! One of the brothers joked. There was general laughter.

Then Maulana said, "Allah's anger is not like our anger. If we are angry with a person, we are cutting all things from him. But, Allah Almighty is sending mercy. How can He be angry? If He were angry, He would withhold His Rahmah, His mercy; but He is giving so much! Allah Almighty is angry toward those people who are judging His servants, yet He still sends His mercy."

"What about all those He destroyed in the time of Noah?"

Maulana answered, "He destroyed their bodies, not their spirits. His Divine anger destroyed those bodies which were committing sins. When the body is destroyed, then the spirit is free and pure--going into mercy oceans and swimming."

But, Shaykh Nazim, won't they still have their bodies on the Judgment Day?" [a confused murid asks]

"These will be new bodies," answered the Shaykh, "not bodies that made sins in this world."

[Now, more confused] A murid said, "But which bodies will go to Hell to be cleaned?"

[Having no answer, Nazim tries to escape by saying:] "He almighty knows well which are going to Hell!"

"Do they suffer in the graves?"

"Yes," replied the Shaykh, "it is like a man who falls from a second story window and breaks his head, his legs, and his neck; he may stay in the hospital one year, or six months, till he has recovered; then he comes out. He who makes himself wounded in this life with the spear of Satan will stay, for recovery, in graves and in Hell. When he is all right, he will go on to Paradise. What do you think about all those people in hospitals? Are they in mercy, or in punishment?"

Quickly, one murid said, "Mercy!"

While another said, "Punishment!" Again, we all laughed.

"Yes, agreed Shaykh Nazim. "From one side they are in punishment, and from the other side they are in mercy. Their imprisonment is not as if they were in jail. It is mercy for them, as if they were in hospitals. You understand? Clear? This is from all religions, and all Holy books."

A brother made this observation: "When you make a point, it seems clear until we ask questions. Then, as the answer unfolds, I realize that the point I thought I understood is so subtle that I don't get it."

Maulana answered him, "Yes these are all like grains, like seeds. With faith in your heart, they will grow up. Then, you will see their flowers, and, after that, you will see their fruits, and then, at last, you will eat! Now, those are all seeds. Don't be afraid."

I say: What nonsense!
FIRST CONCLUSION

Let it be known, what I have mentioned here are only some of the sayings of Nazim al-Haqqani al-Qubrusi, his sheikh, ^Abdullah al-Faizi ad-Daghistani, and his student, Hisham Kabbani. Mentioned here are only a handful of the deviations contained in two books of the teachings of Qubrusi and one of the teachings of his sheikh, and these were mentioned to warn the people from them--as stated in the introduction. I chose to expose only a few of his deviant sayings, yet even these few show the sayings of Sheikh Nazim Qubrusi, his sheikh, and his student, contain many matters contradictory to the Rules of the Religion .

The one who goes back to his magazine called An-Nasihah, their pamphlets, tapes, and press interviews would find other very strange deviations/strayings such as:

* Everything the blasphemer does is unlawful !!

* Claiming the torture of the Muslim is more severe than the torture of the blasphemer!!

* Claiming Abu Yazid Al-Bustamiyy had asked Allah to magnify his body to become the same size of the entire Hell and to admit him alone to it such that there will remain no place for anyone else, and this way he alone gets the torture and the entire humanity will be admitted to Paradise!!

* Claiming our prophet knew he was the Prophet of Allah since his childhood--prior to receiving the Revelation!!

* Claiming Nazim Qubrusi is the assistant of the expected Mahdiyy, and that when the Mahdiyy appears, seven or eight nations will follow him, including the British nation!!

He said many other sayings--none of which rely on what Allah has revealed--so take ample warning!

Similar to the sayings of Nazim Qubrusi are the sayings of Bawa Muhyiddin (from Sirilanka) in his book, Ashsheikh wal Murid, and other writings. Some such sayings are:

* Allah enters the bodies of humans!!

* Calling Allah "the father" and calling the slave "the son of the Lord"!!

* Claiming the difference in religions are of no importance!!

* Claiming Paradise and its rivers are in one's heart!!

* Claiming Hell to be the bad traits the heart acquires!!

* Claiming the person is a Godly man whereby he acquires the attributes of Allah and part of Allah resides in him!!!

The Irrefutable Proof That Nazim AlQubrusi Nagates Islam Part 4

2008-09-01T07:48:00.000-07:00

PART 4 - THE IRREFUTABLE PROOF THAT
NAZIM AL-QUBRUSI NEGATES ISLAM
by: Al-Hidayaah
http://www.allaahuakbar.net/sufism/the_irrefutable_proof_that_nazim.htm

In his book, Mercy Oceans, on page 78, Nazim Qubrusi says:

Buddhists, Christians, Catholics, Communists, Confucians, Brahmans, Negroes; who created them? He created them, all of them, and each one says, 'We are going on a way that leads to the Divine Presence. So many, many ways; you cannot know. Therefore, Allah says, "Allay sa'llahu biya kaymi hajimn.' This means, 'No one may judge for My servants, except Me! I will judge for My servants. Not any one of you will judge, not Iblis, not even prophets! They haven't any authority to judge My servants. I am the judge!' This is the order of our Lord, Allah Almighty."

"Maulana?" asks a disciple, "what about the ways leading to Hell? Do they lead to Allah, also?"

"Yes," replied the Shaykh. "The ways to Hell are going to Him, also, after Hell. Hell is cleaning people, cleaning them from sins and bad characters, and then guiding them to Allah."

"And some stay in Hell always?"

"Yes." The Shaykh paused, and then continued, "Iman is original, kufr is temporary. With all people, faith is the permanent condition. There may be one man to be endlessly in Hell, if He so orders, but everyone is going to His Divine Presence. He is not going to leave His servants to the hands of Satan, and Satan will not be the judge of His servants either! Do you think that Satan will win? Satan will never win! Allah Almighty is victorious! His Mercy is not leaving any to endless Hell.

I say: These words are extremely dangerous! They belie the Religion of Islam and are an attempt to disintegrate it. Allah said:

(Al-Ahzab, 64) which means: [Allah damned the blasphemers and prepared for them Hellfire in which they will dwell forever.]

Allah said about the blasphemer : (Taha, 74) which means: [He shall not die in it (Hellfire) and shall not have a good living.]

The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, said: which means: "On the Day of Judgment, death will be brought in the shape of a lamb and will be slaughtered. Then a caller will call, "O Occupants of Paradise, now it is everlastingness without death. O Occupants of Hellfire, now it is everlastingness without death.""

Abu Mansur al-Baghdadiyy and others related the consensus of the nation that Hellfire is everlasting and the blasphemers remain eternally in it. This is a matter of the Religion known to the knowledgeable and the lay person alike, hence the one who belies it blasphemes, may Allah protect us.

Sheikh Nazim al-Haqqani is not satisfied by making his deviant statement on this subject just once or twice. Rather, he makes it repeatedly, using different terms and different expressions, and always in a way such that one does not find any slim chance for a different interpretation of his explicit words. His words conform to the creed of the Batiniyyah faction, and not to the creed of the Muslims.

He says in the same book on page 59:

Therefore, we give good tidings and happiness to people. If we say to unbelievers, 'You will receive punishment,' will their love for their Lord grow? Or will good tidings of their Lord's endless mercy for them as they are cause their hearts to open! So we are giving good tidings to people, not making them afraid or unhappy. If you were to tell people, for example, about a good king--so much tolerance, so much justice, so much goodness and mercy--wouldn't they open their hearts to him, and look to find him? But if you tell about a bad king--so difficult, stern, giving punishment, all his prisons are filled up--will people like him or hate him? Allah said to Moses (peace be upon him), 'O, Moses! Make My people like Me!' This is the order of our Lord, not hating--liking! Therefore, we give all good tidings for all people, whether they accept our beliefs or not. It is not important.

I say: These words explicitly belie the saying of Allah : (As-Sajidah, 13) which means: [Had We willed, We would have guided every soul, however, I decreed in eternity I shall fill up Hellfire with both humans and jinns.]

His words belie the saying of the Prophet, related by Abu Dawud: which means: "My nation shall divide into seventy-three (73) factions. All will enter Hellfire--save one."

Sheikh Qubrusi is not satisfied by that; rather, he said on pages 65 and 66 of the same book:

"If any of them (the waliyys) have been given permission for 'shafa'a' (intercession) on the Day of Judgment, they are not going to let even one person go to Hell!"

Shortly after, when one of his followers asks him about Abu Lahab and his wife, saying:

"What about that man in Quran, Abu Lahab, and his wife? Doesn't Allah promise a punishment for them?"

Sheikh Qubrisi's reply is:

That verse (sura Lahab) was sent only as a warning, so that people will not do like Abu Lahab. Allah Almighty will show each servant what he has done with his life on the Judgment Day. But He Almighty is free to give mercy as He likes.

The Ummah, the nation of a prophet, is dearer to that prophet than children are to their parents. . ." [He continues later] "Therefore, our Prophet (peace be upon him) will stand by the entrance to Paradise. How can he have pleasure in Paradise if his nation is in Hell!! How?! He will stand by the entrance and when Allah Almighty says, 'Enter, O, Muhammad! He will say, 'O my Lord! I cannot enter until my nation enters.' He will then look, 'One, two, three, four,. . .,' and if any are missing, he will say, 'O, my Lord! I cannot enter!!!. . ." [A few sentences later, he replies to a question, saying:] "He Almighty knows. Don't be worried, European people, also are his nation. American people, also; Russian people, also; Chinese people, also, Hindus, also, Negroes, also; all are of his nation! The Prophet (peace be upon him) says, 'If I am given permission, I will not leave one person behind!'... too many good tidings for us.

I say: These are Nazim's exact words. They are full of matters clearly contradicting the rules of Islam. It does not take a lengthy explanation to refute him--since his words clearly reject the saying of Allah : (Al-Ambiya', 28) which means: [They shall only intercede for the believers];

and his words clearly reject the saying of Allah: (Ghafir, 18) which means: [On the Day of Judgment the blasphemers will not find one who loves them nor one to intercede for them who would be answered];

and his words clearly reject the saying of Allah: (Al ^Imran, 32) which means: [Allah does not love the blasphemers];

and his words clearly reject the saying of the Prophet : which means: "Allah forgives the slave as long as the veil, or the reason for denying him the forgiveness is not there. They said, "What is that?" The Prophet answered, "For one to die associating partners with Allah.""

The Malikiyy scholar, al-Qurafiyy, and the Shafi'ee scholar, Ibn Hajar, among others, stated the judgment of blasphemy for the one who asks Allah to forgive a dead blasphemer. Hence, what could the judgment be --other than blasphemy-- for the one who confirms that all blasphemers in the Hereafter shall be forgiven--such that no one among them will remain in Hellfire? We ask Allah for protection. Amin.
CHAPTER 8: NAZIM AL-QUBRUSI'S EIGHTH STATEMENT

"Looking to another's unlawful nakedness (^awrah) is something good--even obligatory on some."

Knowledgeable and lay people alike know that lowering one's gaze from the ^awrah (unlawful nakedness) is obligatory. No two Muslims differ about that. Lowering one's gaze from the ^awrah is a matter Allah praised in the Qur'an, and the one who implements it is praised. Allah said:

(An-Nur, 30) which means: [O Muhammad, order the believers to lower their gaze.]

The Messenger of Allah warned us against the dangers of gazing at the unlawful nakedness when he said, as related by al-Bukhariyy: which means: "Most of the eyes look the forbidden look. The adultery of the eye is the forbidden look." Although less dangerous than adultery, the Prophet likened gazing at the unlawful nakedness to adultery--to alert us to keep away from it and to be warned against it.

The Prophet warned us from such matters, yet I found in the directives of Sheikh Qubrusi what urges one to gaze at the unlawful nakedness and the claim that doing so is something good--even something obligatory--for some people.

In his book, Mercy Oceans, page 20, he says:

"For every action, you may find three ways, or positions. These are called wajib, sunnah, and haram. We will illustrate these terms with some examples:

The top class of people are the Awliya, the Saints. They have, in their eyes, a divine light, a divine power, that burns away badness in those people upon whom they look. Because of this divine quality, they may look everywhere, at men or at women. It has been ordered for them to look. There is no prohibition for them. Therefore, their looking is 'wajib.'

I say: These words conflict with the religious texts, some of which we have mentioned earlier. The one who holds such a conviction is not far from rendering it lawful for himself to kiss, hug and copulate with women--claiming to purify them by that--since he believes himself to be the Sultan of the Waliyys and his followers believe he is loaded with 'Divine Power.'

One cannot help but notice that Sheikh Qubrusi and his followers do not shy from shaking hands with women and touching their skin openly. I have witnessed this personally and have been told the same by many others. Yet, the story of al-Fadl Ibnul-^Abbas, the cousin of the Prophet, who was among the best of the Companions, is well known to the one who reads the books of hadith or to the one who only studied the book of al-Bukhariyy. One day, al-Fadl was gazing for a long time at the face of a beautiful woman when she came to ask the Prophet a religious question. Although the face of the woman is not an unlawful nakedness, the Prophet diverted al-Fadl's gaze by turning his cousin's face away from her.

The difference is great between the route of the beloved Prophet, Muhammad, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, and the route Sheikh Qubrusi calls for--guised in the name of Islam, or Sufism, or the Naqshabandi Order, (Tariqah). Among Qubrusi's astonishing statements is one he said in the same book, Mercy Oceans, page 20. He said,

"Originally, no action was prohibited. Prohibition came only after that action started leading away from Allah Almighty."

I say: According to this statement it is permissible for any one to do whatever he wants and claim that this does not take him away from Allah. Hence, no objection to him is due, and he is not accountable. This tallies with the rules of the school of open permissibilities, as in communism, but definitely not with the rules of Islam.
CHAPTER 9: NAZIM AL-QUBRUSI'S NINTH STATEMENT

"Do whatever you want. You will not be punished."

It is known that the Christians, or a large number of them, believe that no matter how many sins one of them commits, it is sufficient to confess before a priest so he will forgive him, and one's sins will be erased. It is also well known that the Muslims are very distant from such a concept or anything similar to it. This is why I was extremely astonished by the saying of Nazim al-Qubrusi in his book, Mercy Oceans, page 15:

As we said, Allah Almighty looks to this world once a day. The time He looks is from midnight until the adhan of fajr (the morning prayer). What is the reason He looks? It is to see what Iblis, the devil, is up to. Allah sees what dirt Satan has thrown on his servants during the day, and like a mother catching her dirty child after a day of playing, He washes away their dirt. With His endless mercy He washes away their bad deeds. Every night, for the honor of those awake and praying for forgiveness, Allah Almighty gives His mercy generally to all the sleeping ones.

I say: Nazim Qubrusi's statement is similar to the saying of the Christians, contains likening the Creator to the creation, and encourages the people to commit sins. He tells the people, "Do as you like during the day and Allah will forgive you for it at night!!!" This belies, among others, the saying of Allah: (Al ^Imran, 11) which means: [The torture of Allah is severe.]

It belies the hadith of the Prophet, related by al-Bukhariyy and others: which means:
"A women earned Hellfire because she kept a cat locked away from food."

All of that poses serious questions about the intention of Sheikh Nazim for bringing about such strange opinions--opinions which contradict the Religion, which contradict the methodology of the True Sufis. Questioned is the truth behind his endeavors, his school, and what he conceals behind the garment of Sufism. We ask Allah to protect this nation from all those who mean harm for it. Amin.
CHAPTER 10: THE TENTH STATEMENT

"Prayers are not obligatory on the wives; Do not pray."

The knowledgeable and the lay Muslim alike, whether male or female, know Allah decreed the five prayers as obligatory. The one who denies its obligation or the obligation of even one rak^ah of it is undoubtedly judged as a blasphemer, as was mentioned by Ibn Hajar al-Haytamiyy in his book "Al-I^lam" and others. Allah said: (Al-Baqarah, 43) which means: [Perform the prayers.]

Imam Ahmad narrated that the Prophet said: which means: "Allah made five prayers obligatory on the slaves." The nation holds the consensus on that and it is known by young and old alike.

Despite the explicit texts and the consensus of the nation, when one of Nazim Qubrusi's students asked him, "What are our wives' responsibilities?" He answered (page 70-71, Mercy Oceans):

"Three times shahada, every day, and to be clean always. And, for beginners, one sajdah, five times a day, at the time of the regular prayers. At each prayer, only one sajdah. It is enough." [A student questioned:]

"What if they want to do the whole prayer; is it all right?"

[He answers:]

"For beginners, one sajdah is enough. As they are stepping forward, they will ask. This command is from my Grandshaykh. Also, they should love only believers, not unbelievers. They should sit with believers, and not with unbelievers."

I say: This is a misguidance beyond any doubt. How could it be anything else? The Prophet ordered us otherwise in his saying:

which means: "The most important matters of Islam are five: the Testification of Faith, performing prayers,. . . " Sheikh Qubrusi's words mean the prayers are not obligatory on the wives. This is something unheard of !!
CHAPTER 11: NAZIM AL-QUBRUSI'S ELEVENTH STATEMENT

"Fasting is not a valued matter; Do not fast."

There are no two Muslims who differ about the obligation of fasting Ramadan, and that fasting the other days of the year--with the exception of the days the Rules of the Religion prohibit one from fasting (such as the day of the ^Id)--is recommended for the one who is not harmed by it, and for whom fasting would not prevent him (her) from fulfilling a right due on him (her).

Allah, the Exalted, praised those who fast a lot. The Prophet of Allah consistently fasted Mondays and Thursdays as was related by at-Tirmidhiyy. When the Prophet was asked about fasting Monday he said: which means: "This is the day on which I was born and the day on which I was revealed as a prophet."

We have an explicit encouragement from the Prophet to fast as many Mondays and Thursdays as we can and to be consistent in that. However, I found instead of encouraging one to fast, Sheikh Nazim Qubrusi devalues the matter of fasting. Following is an excerpt from his book, Mercy Oceans, page 74:

The Irrefutable Proof That Nazim AlQubrusi Nagates Islam Part 3

2008-09-01T07:46:00.000-07:00

PART 3 - THE IRREFUTABLE PROOF THAT
NAZIM AL-QUBRUSI NEGATES ISLAM
by: Al-Hidayaah
http://www.allaahuakbar.net/sufism/the_irrefutable_proof_that_nazim.htm

On page 6 in his book, Mercy Oceans, Nazim al-Qubrusi says,

"The orders of the Qutb (supreme sheikh) are the orders of Allah, and his will is equivalent of Allah's will." His Sheikh, ^Abdullah al-Fayiz ad-Daghistani says in the book, "Al-Wasiyyah," on page 9: "The other definition of the Tariqah is for the follower to be ready to receive the order from his sheikh just as the Prophet used to wait for the Revelation to come from Allah."

I say: These words are astonishing and include equating some slaves with Allah, the Exalted. Such words contradict the saying of All:
An-Nur, 21) which means: [Had it not been for the Endowment of Allah and His Mercy, none of you would have succeeded.]

Such words also contradict Allah's saying:

(At Takwir, 29) which mean: [You only will that which Allah willed for you.]

As well, their saying is refuted by the hadith of the Prophet related by at-Tabaraniyy: hich means: "You can find correct and incorrect things in the sayings of any one, save the Messenger of Allah."

Their saying is also refuted by the practices of Abu Bakr and ^Umar. If they disagreed about a certain matter, they would discuss it. Abu Bakr never told ^Umar, "My words are like a Revelation," and ^Umar did not have such a conviction about the words of Abu Bakr. ^Umar's conviction was clearly manifested in the way he handled himself as soon as the woman reminded him of an ayah pertaining to the marriage payment (mahr) of the women, as mentioned before.

There are no common denominators between the slave and Allah, the Exalted. No matter how high a status any waliyy among the followers of the prophets attains, he is not impeccable as the prophets were impeccable, and he remains, in all cases, a slave of Allah.

CHAPTER 3: NAZIM AL-QUBRUSI'S THIRD STATEMENT "THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND IS LIKE ALLAH."

Qubrusi says in his book: Mercy Oceans, p.9:

"Allah Almighty called Muhammad (peace be upon him) to His Divine presence, and the Prophet (peace be upon him) went as ordered, just as a dignitary is received by the Queen of England."

I say: These words are very abhorrent! They contain equating the Queen of England to Allah and likening the Creator to the creation. How dare he draw similarities when Allah, the Exalted, said:

(An-Nahl, 74) which means: [Do not claim anything similar to Allah.]

I was greatly astonished when I read Nazim al-Qubrusi's words and saw him trying to squeeze the name of the Queen of England into his writings. These words reminded me of Ghulam Ahmad al-Qadiyani, and those who activated him, instructed him, and strengthened him in his attempt to deviate the Muslims from the straight path of the Religion. We ask Allah to preserve this nation and protect us and end our lives successfully. Amin.
CHAPTER 4: NAZIM AL-QUBRUSI'S FOURTH STATEMENT "THE CREATION IS ETERNAL WITHOUT A BEGINNING."

Nazim al-Qubrusi al-Haqqani said in his book Mercy Oceans, p.13:

He [Allah] is a king.And yet you cannot find a king without a kingdom. Without subjects his kingship has no meaning. Just as there can be no meaning for a prophet without an ummah (nation). Therefore, Allah was ready without beginning, and his servants also were ready without beginning. If there were no people, to whom was He Allah? Was it to Himself? No! A hadith relates: "I was a secret treasure and wanted to be known." His people were part of this treasure."

Note: This hadith is not a sahih one--definitely it is fabricated, as determined by the scholars of the hadith. It is obvious to anyone with a sound mind that it is impossible for Allah to liken Himself to a treasure, since He attributed to Himself in the Qur'an that nothing is like Him.

I say: These words of his are explicitly claiming both Allah and the slaves are eternal. Not only that, such words claim the slaves are parts of Allah. This conviction is blasphemy by consensus. Allah, the Exalted, said:

(Al-Hadid, 3) which means: [He is the only One Who is eternal, without a beginning.]

Allah praised Himself in the Qur'an for being "al-Awwal" (the Only One who is eternal without a beginning.) Had it been the case that someone else shares this attribute of eternity without a beginning with Allah, He would not have praised Himself with it.

Moreover, Allah made it very clear for us in the Qur'an that it is not permissible for anyone to claim to be a part of Allah. Allah dispraised the blasphemers for such a saying. He said in Surat az-Zukhruf, Verse 15:
which means: [They claimed among the slaves is a part of Allah.]

How could the slave, who is in need of rest, drink, and food, and who gets tired, who perspires, and who defecates, be part of Allah, the Almighty and Powerful?

Allah is One--without a partner. He has no beginning and is not a body or a soul. He exists and is not similar to other existing things. He is not an origin for others (others are not parts of Allah), and not offspring from others--just as Allah said:

(Al-Ikhlas, 3-4) which means: [Allah did not give birth to anyone and was not given birth to. No one is equal to Allah.]

Al-Bukhariyy narrated the Prophet said: which means: "Allah existed [eternally] and nothing else was existing." Everything other than Allah is a creation of Allah; it was not existing then it came into existence. Allah brought it into existence from a state of non existence by His Power, just as Allah said: (Al-Furqan, 2) which means: [Allah is the Creator of everything.]

The one who belies that has no share in Islam.

On page 82 of the book, Mercy Oceans, it is reported one of Nazim al-Qubrusi's students said to him,

"You gave us a good lesson, Maulana, when you told us that there is no king without a kingdom, no prophet without an Ummah, no Creator without creatures. Allah is uncreated, and servants are also uncreated. But when we come to this life, we forget." "Yes," replied the Shaykh. "It is enough. You cannot go too deep without sinking!"

I say: All of this is an explicit declaration of the creed of unity of the slave with the Creator--undoubtedly NOT the creed of the Muslims. We ask Allah, the Exalted, to protect us from such a creed. Amin.
CHAPTER 5:
NAZIM AL-QUBRUSI'S FIFTH STATEMENT "THE FOLLOWERS OF SHEIKH AL-QUBRUSI ARE BETTER THAN THE PROPHETS."

The people knowledgeable about the Religion and the lay people alike know the prophets are the best of the creation with no equal to them among the created things, for Allah said: (Al-An^am, 86) which means: [We gave every prophet merit over the rest of the creations.]

Yet, I saw in the books of both al-Qubrusi and ad-Daghistani that they raise themselves and their followers above the status of prophets, may Allah protect us. On page 13 of his book, Al-Wasiyyah, ^Abdullah al-Fayiz d-Daghistani says about the verse of Qur'an:

"The one who recites this verse once wins a high degree and a great status, achieves security and safety in this life and the Hereafter, enters the circle of safety of Allah, receives all the grades and statuses of the esteemed Naqshabandi Tariqah and attains that which the prophets and waliyys have not attained and wins a status higher than the status of Abu Yazid Al-Bustamiyy"

Ad-Daghistani says in the same book, p. 6:

"...the one who shall win in this existing time that which the previous ones did not win in their solitude, spiritual exercises and the smaller and greater jihad, the one who shall win a high degree and a great status that neither the prophets nor the companions have achieved."

I say: We have shown this statement belies the Qur'an. It also belies the unanimous agreement of the Muslim nation. The scholars stated the one who favors a waliyy over one of the prophets blasphemes for that. So, how would the case be when one favors the entire people of our times over the prestiged prophets--simply for reciting verse 285 of Surat al-Baqarah:

Al-Qurtubiyy, who is a famous Malikiyy scholar and interpretor of the Qur'an said: which means: "That the prophet is better than the waliyy is a matter firmly established intellectually and in the texts. The one who opposes that is a blasphemer, for it is a matter of the Religion known to both the knowledgeable one and the lay person."
The hafidh, Ibn Hajar, related this statement in Al-Fath, and agreed with it.

We ask Allah for safety and good ending. Amin.
CHAPTER 6: NAZIM AL-QUBRUSI'S SIXTH STATEMENT "THE BLASPHEMERS AND THE BELIEVERS ARE EQUAL"

^Abdullah ad-Daghistani says in his book Al-Wasiyyah, page 12:

"If the blasphemer recites the Fatihah even once in his life he will not depart this world until he is granted part of the divine care, because Allah does not differentiate between a blasphemer, an enormous sinner, a believer or a Muslim. Rather all are equal to Allah."

On page 14 of the same book he says:

"Know, my children, if a blasphemer or a hypocrite recites this Surat al-Inshirah he will receive the high statuses and merits, because Allah does not differentiate between a blasphemer, a believer, a hypocrite, a waliyy or a prophet, rather the slaves to Allah are equal since they are included in Allah's saying: This ayah means: [We have favored the children of Adam.]

Nazim al-Qubrusi says in Mercy Oceans, page 15,

". . . all people are equal in His sight."

I say: No one is permitted to equate between the enemies (hidden or apparent) of Allah and those waliyys and messengers beloved to Allah. How can the blasphemer be equal to the believer when Allah, the Exalted, said;(Al-Qalam, 36) which means: [Do We make the Muslims equal to the blasphemers! How do you make such a judgment?]

Moreover, how can a hypocrite be equal to a believer when Allah, the Exalted, said: (An-Nisa', 145) which means: [The hypocrites are in the lower levels of Hellfire.]

How can the blasphemers be equal to the Muslims when Allah said about the blasphemers:

(Al-Bayyinah, 6) which means: [Those are the worst of the entire creatures.]

As to the saying of Allah: (Al-Isra', 70) it means that Allah favored the children of Adam with certain kinds of endowments and specified them with traits (such as the mind and the like). By virtue of the other verses of the Qur'an, this verse does not mean: "All the children of Adam are favored in status to Allah." The saying of the Prophet related by Ibnu Hibban is enough to make our point. The Prophet said: which means: "Do not swear by your forefathers who died in the Era of Ignorance. For, by (Allah), the One Who controls the soul of Muhammad, that (filth) which the beetle rolls with its nose is better than those who associate partners with Allah."

The Messenger of Allah knows best about the meanings of the Book of Allah. Yet, Nazim Al-Haqqani claims the contrary on page 32 of his book, Mercy Oceans. He says,

"All religions teach people the ways of real obedience to Allah Almighty."

I say: Nazim al-Qubrusi's statement equates the Religion of Islam with all invalid religions, and contradicts Allah's saying: (Al ^Imran, 19) which means: [The only acceptable Religion to Allah is Islam.]

Allah said: (Al-Jathiyah, 21) which means: [Did those who committed the evil think We will treat them after death as those who believed and did the good deeds. How bad is their judgment!]

There is no doubt Allah is the Truthful One. His saying is what is correct. Everything which opposes it is categorically rejected!
CHAPTER 7: NAZIM AL-QUBRUSI'S SEVENTH STATEMENT "THE WAYS WHICH LEAD TO HELLFIRE ARE ACCEPTED WAYS TO ALLAH."

The Irrefutable Proof That Nazim AlQubrusi Nagates Islam Part 2

2008-09-01T07:44:00.000-07:00

PART 1 - THE IRREFUTABLE PROOF THAT
NAZIM AL-QUBRUSI NEGATES ISLAM
by: Al-Hidayaah
http://www.allaahuakbar.net/sufism/the_irrefutable_proof_that_nazim.htm

I say: These statements of Sheikh Nazim are extremely dangerous because they claim we have to believe anyone who attributes a hadith to the Prophet. Is this not an avenue for every swindler and enemy of Islam to plant whatever he wants, in an attempt to pervert our Religion without anyone detecting him? Is this not a vehicle for anyone who desires to say whatever he wants without having sound criteria to back his statements--besides the claimed "inspiration and illumination"--something anyone can claim for himself?

Does being polite with the Prophet and his hadiths mean to mix the authentic hadith with the weak one, or the straight hadith with the twisted one? Is it not the case that politeness with the Prophet and his hadiths entails being concerned about anyone who is fabricating a hadith and attributing it to the honorable person of the Prophet? Does not being polite with the Prophet and his hadith rather entail protecting the hadiths of the Prophet from lies, perversion, and fabrications of the swindlers and the liars? I say, "Yes!" Had politeness with the Prophet been what Sheikh Nazim mentioned in his book, Mercy Oceans, then why did the Prophet say:

which means: "The one who narrates a hadith about me held as a fabricated hadith, then he is among the liars." This is a mutawatir hadith narrated by Imam Muslim. Is it not clear that al-Qubrusi wants us to follow the liars whom the Prophet warned us against? If politeness with the Prophet had been what al-Qubrusi mentioned in his book, then why did the scholars of hadith put forth so much effort and endeavor to establish the rules of the Science of Hadith. Why did they author books to discriminate between the authentic hadiths and the fabricated ones? Is it acceptable that the waliyy of Allah, Imam al-Bukhariyy and his student Imam Muslim, as well as at-Tirmidhiyy, Abu Dawud, an-Nasa'iyy, Ibn Majah, al-Hakim, Ibnu Hibban, al-Bayhaqiyy, Ibnus-Salah, Ibn Hajar al-^Asqalaniyy, as-Suyutiyy, az-Zabidiyy, and others among the scholars of this nation are all astray for setting precise conditions for the acceptance and implementation of a hadith? This is the conclusion of the claim of Sheikh al-Qubrusiyy. Moreover, do we take by al-Qubrusi's claim and conclude that Imam al-Bukhariyy and Imam Muslim troubled themselves for no reason or benefit when they authored their books of As-Sahih, or when they authored about the credibility and non-credibility of narrators, or when they authored about accepting certain hadiths and rejecting others? Would even one Muslim accept attributing to the aforementioned scholars and hafidhs of hadith "the lack of politeness" with the Prophet as was defined in al-Qubrusi's book? We do not think that Sheikh al-Qubrusi claims to be more knowledgeable, pious, or God-fearing than those scholars.

Rather, it was the Isma^iliyy faction as well as other groups deviant to Ahl us-Sunnah wal-Jama^ah who made similar statements. However, the one who identifies himself with them and follows them in their falsehood has only himself to blame on the Day of Judgment.

Why did Sheikh al-Qubrusi lower the status of the scholars? Allah, the Exalted, said:
(Fatir, 28) which means: [It is the scholars who are the most God-fearing.]

Allah said:(Az-Zumar, 9) which means: [Those who are learned are not equal to those who are not learned.]

As related by at-Tirmidhiyy, the Messenger of Allah said: which means: "The merit of the scholar over that of the true worshipper is similar in vastness to my merit over that of the least among you."

As related by Abu Dawud, the Messenger of Allah said: which means:
"The scholars in knowledge are the heirs of the prophets."

Thirdly: Sheikh Nazim plants the deviant belief among his followers that the ignorant person is not accountable. He says on page 57 in his book on the teachings of his sheikh, ad-Daghistani: "We are responsible as our knowledge grows. There is no responsibility for ignorant people." Such teaching undoubtedly encourages his followers to refrain from acquiring the knowledge--in order to escape accountability--as per their claim. Hence, they remain ignorant, unable to discriminate between the lawful and the unlawful, submitting to the claims of just anyone, to turn with him which ever way the wind blows.

Moreover, al-Qubrusi's words include belying the Qur'an, the Messenger of Allah, and the Imams of Guidance. In Surat al-Hashr, Verse 7, Allah, the Exalted, said:

(al-Hashr, 7) which means: [Accept what the Prophet said and refrain from what he prohibited you from doing.]

So, Allah ordered us to follow the Prophet in what he ordered and forbade. Yet, the words of al-Qubrusi lead one to believe it is permissible to stay ignorant, and should one neglect doing what the Prophet ordered or commit what he forbade, it is of no consequence--for one will not be accountable in the Hereafter because he was ignorant!!! Certainly such a claim is invalid!!! Had this been the case, then ignorance would have been better than knowledge, because--according to them--ignorance guarantees one safety in the Hereafter, whereas knowledge does not!

Discrediting such a statement is easy, since it belies the saying of Allah:

(Az-Zumar, 9) which means: [Those who are knowledgeable are not equal to those who do not know.]

It also belies the hadith narrated by Abu Dawud: which means: "The judge who judged out of ignorance shall be in Hellfire." Al-Qubrusi's claim also belies the hadith narrated by Ibn Majah regarding the injured person who was ill-advised to perform the purificatory ghusl and died as a result. The Prophet made a supplication against those who gave that man this wrong advice. He said:

which means : "They have killed him, may Allah destroy them. They should have asked when they did not know. The cure of being ignorant of something is to ask about it."

At-Tabaraniyy narrated the hadith of the Prophet:

This hadith means: "O people, learn; for knowledge is acquired by learning, and the science of jurisprudence is acquired by learning. The one whom Allah willed for him a lot of goodness, Allah makes him knowledgeable in the Religion."

Imam ash-Shafi'ee said:

"Seeking the knowledge is better than the supererogatory prayer."

Imam an-Nawawiyy narrated these words from ash-Shafi'ee in the beginning of his book, "Al-Majmu^."

Let us point out here that if the followers of Sheikh al-Qubrusi neglect acquiring the knowledge, they will never acquire the scale needed to properly weigh the matters of the Religion. Consequently, they become an easy morsel for the devilish humans who will use them for worldly gains and fame--while deluding them that they have acquired a high status, when in reality they sink them to the lowest status a human being would reach.

Fourthly: Sheikh al-Qubrusi filled his book with many untrue and unfounded sayings. He said, "There is a soul to the soul!" He even said, "There is a soul to the soul of the soul!!" He said, "Allah created the heavens and earth in seven days" (i.e., instead of six)!!! Then he topped such lies with deviant rulings which revoke the laws of the Religion and demolish it. Some examples include: canceling the obligation of prayers; devaluating the issue of fasting; urging to consume what is unlawful; extensive talk about marriage while perverting its rules and mixing them with fictitious stories--such as telling the people, "When the man first consummates the marriage with his wife, all their sins would be forgiven;" and other bizarre fabrications which render the one who believes them misguided and which abolish even the facade of worship.

Following this route is very dangerous. He who follows such a route denies the rules brought by Prophet Muhammad and becomes one who follows the desires of his self, concerned about satisfying his stomach and his genitals. He becomes one who does not avoid the unlawful; one who does not protect against the doubtful matters; one who does not fear the punishment in the Hereafter--especially since Sheikh al-Qubrusi tells him, "Allah forgives His slaves for all of their sins every night." He also tells them, "The devil misguides them during the day, and Allah forgives them for it at night"!!

I say: If the follower reaches this level of negligence--not memorizing the Qur'an and the Sunnah, not paying attention to ask the scholars or seek their fatwas, believing prayers and fasting have no significance, and believing whatever sins a person commits, Allah forgives him for them at night--then such a person becomes an atheist who turned his back on the Religion of the Messenger of Allah. So, how would the case be if such a person, over and above that, believes understanding the religion comes only through his sheikh, Nazim Qubrusi; that the secrets (according to them) of the religion are attained only through Sheikh Nazim; that Sheikh Nazim is the head of the waliyys and the leader of the God-fearing ones; that whatever he says is the Religion and whatever he utters is the truth; that it is not permissible to object to him; that his deeds are not to be weighed by the scales of the Religion--rather he is above that; that anyone who dares to weigh the deeds of Sheikh Nazim by the scale of the Religion is short-sighted, deprived of goodness, failed the test, and is far from the special visions?? According to such a person, Sheikh Nazim is not to be objected to, and he is correct--even if he defies the orders of Allah and the Messenger of Allah. To such a person, the Religion is represented by the sayings and doings of his sheikh--not what the Prophet conveyed from Allah and ordered to implement.

On page 108 in his book, Mercy Oceans, Nazim Qubrusi says,

"Our Grandshaykh says that in our time no one from among the Awliya has been given permission to speak about secret knowledge except him. He may speak Qur'ânic secrets."

Nazim is his vicegerent, translator, and the conveyer of his thoughts. This means Nazim is the only one who carries the true meanings of the Religion. It means the seeker of knowledge has no alternative but to go through him--as repeatedly declared by Sheikh Nazim on different occasions and in different books.

To that I say: This is totally rejected! It is precisely the saying of the Batiniyyah, who claim that the Religion is what their imam says, and can only be known through him. How can Sheikh Qubrusi claim the existence of a concealed knowledge in the Religion when the Prophet conveyed from Allah all what was revealed to him. In Surat al-Ma'idah, Verse 67, Allah said:

which means: [O Messenger of Allah, convey what was revealed to you from your Lord. If you do not then you have failed to convey.]

In his book, "Al-Fasl Fil-Milal-Wannihal," Ibn Hazm explicitly stated the judgment of blasphemy for he who claims the Prophet conveyed only the literal rules of the Religion, and that the rules have truly another concealed context. How could such a claim be other than blasphemy when Allah said:

(Al-Ma'idah, 3) which means: [Today I have completed your Religion for you and fulfilled My Endowment on you.]

On page 45 in his book, Mercy Oceans' Pink Pearls, Nazim Qubrusi recounts a statement oftenly told to him by his shaykh: "Oh Nazim Efendi, don't put my words and actions in a scale and weigh them. Don't say, 'Why is that Sheikh saying such-and-such or doing so-and-so.'" A few lines later, Nazim Qubrusi quotes his grandsheikh as saying to him, "In order to follow us you must follow without judging or objecting." In that regard he classified himself as al-Khadir, peace be upon him, and ranked himself in the same rank as one of the prophets of Allah! He even said in the same book, page 47, "As far as the actions of your Sheikh are concerned, don't try to weigh and evaluate them with your mind, even if you be the Prophet Moses!"

I say: These are the exact words of the Batiniyyah faction

The fact is, it is an obligation on the Muslims to warn against such deviations. Doing so entails a reward greater than that of building a mosque because this preserves the Religion, protects the creed of the Muslims, and fulfills the obligation of ordering the lawful and forbidding the unlawful. This also conforms to the saying of the Truthful Prophet of Allah, sallallahu'alayhi wa sallam, related by Abu Dawud: which means: "The believer is the mirror of his fellow brother."

It is well known that ^Umar used to draw the attention of Abu Bakr--who was the best of the Companions, to certain matters which he felt would be correct if done otherwise

The methodology of the Companions and those who came after them among the scholars and the waliyys, was to quit any mistakes once proven as such by the proofs of the Religion. They never said, "We are the people of the Batin (inner secrets) and you are the people of what is apparent."

The one who says today, "I am the only one today who knows all the secrets of the Religion," is in fact claiming he has a knowledge which Abu Bakr did not claim for himself and which ^Umar did not claim for himself, and as such, is claiming to be more knowledgeable than either one of them!! The one who is blinded to such an extent of arrogance is one with whom you cannot reason. He is, as the poet said:

which means:

"If you are calling upon someone alive, he will hear;
however, the one you are calling upon has no life."

It is a religious duty to warn against the one who promotes and spreads such misguidance

The route of the truly religious people is to humble themselves to the Rules of the Religion and the believers, and to leave out unfounded claims. They are not concerned with whether the people aggrandize them or praise them; rather, they are concerned about being accepted by Allah. They do not see themselves above receiving advice and are not too arrogant to accept it. They do not consider the follower who advises them as a 'loser' or a 'misguided person', rather they accept his advice if it conforms to the Religion. Should they commit a sinful matter, they leave it out and repent. Arrogance does not lead them to accept remaining sinful; to them, the rules of the Religion stand as the foundation--and not their own statements and sayings--contrary to the teachings of Sheikh al-Qubrusi

The intelligent Muslim is the one who accuses himself of short performance and prepares himself for the life after death. Allah is the One Who guides to the valid deeds.
CHAPTER 2: NAZIM AL-QUBRUSI'S SECOND STATEMENT "THE ORDERS OF THE SUPREME SHEIKH ARE THE ORDERS OF ALLAH."

The Irrefutable Proof That Nazim AlQubrusi Nagates Islam Part 1

2008-09-01T07:36:00.000-07:00

PART 1 - THE IRREFUTABLE PROOF THAT
NAZIM AL-QUBRUSI NEGATES ISLAM
by: Al-Hidayaah
http://www.allaahuakbar.net/sufism/the_irrefutable_proof_that_nazim.htm

All Praise is due to Allaah, Lord of the Worlds and Prayers and Peace upon His Final Messenger Muhammad. To proceed:

The following is a small work compiled by Samir Kadi, an adherent to one of the Sufi orders other than the Naqshabandi order and Ash'ari in creed. It aims to expose the lies and expressions and statements of apostacy and disbelief that one of the heads of the present day Naqshabandis has made. It is highly commendable for someone to speak out against such blatant opposition to the creed of Islam and the present treatise does so in a very clear and IRREFUTABLE way - a sign of the author's justice and regard for the truth - even though we would disagree with the author in some aspects of his creed [i.e. his Ash'ari beliefs] and some other issues - we commend his struggle for exposing falsehood. It is unfortunate that in most likelihood, you will see the Naqshabandis, instead of humbling themselves and returning to the truth, will - inspite of evidence as clear as daylight - will go on to defend their Shaikh and Mentor - a clear sign of their misguidance and devilish nature. Deaf, dumb and blind - so they do not return [to the path]. And refuge is from Allaah alone...

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds, the One Who protected the Religion by scholars who implement their knowledge - humble and knowledgeable about Allah. May Allah raise the rank of Prophet Muhammad, his kind Al and Companions, and those who genuinely follow them. May Allah protect the nation of Prophet Muhammad from what he fears for them. Thereafter;

Allah, Ta^ala, said:

(Al ^Imran, 31) which means: "Say, O Muhammad, "If you love Allah then follow me to earn the acceptance of Allah.""

The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, warned us against those who deviate from him in a hadith related by al-Bukhariyy and Muslim:

which means: "There are people whose skin is the same color as ours, who speak the same language as we speak, they mix correct matters which you know with bad matters which you denounce [they mix the correct statements with the deviated ones]. They stand by the gates of Hellfire inviting others to enter. If one listens to them, they push him in."

It is of utmost importance for the Muslim to look thoroughly at the person from whom he acquires knowledge. In the introduction of his book, As-Sahih, Imam Muslim related the saying of the highly esteemed follower of the companions, Muhammad Ibn Sirin:

which means: "This knowledge contains the rules of the Religion, so look thoroughly into the person from whom you acquire the knowledge of your Religion."

In light of this important matter, I seek to expose those who deviate from the path of the Prophet.

A little over two years ago, in the winter of 1995, I attended a celebration in Chicago. During that celebration, a man named Hisham Kabbani stood at the podium and delivered a speech in which he said, "Ar-Rahman is Muhammad." My body shivered from horror when I heard his words. Not wanting to let his words pass unchallenged, and as my speech was scheduled to be given immediately after his, I decided to forgo my original speech to refute his words. I took the platform and explained that his words contradict the Religion and are blasphemous, may Allah protect us. Hisham Kabbani heard my speech and was silenced by the truthfulness of my words based on the proofs from the Qur'an and Sunnah. However, he did not clear himself of his blasphemous saying nor did he show any remorse. I was astonished by his negligence in this issue, so I inquired about him and was told he was the deputy of Sheikh Nazim al-Qubrusi.

I had the determination to check the background of this man. In my endeavors, I met many People of Truth and Integrity who had met Sheikh Nazim al-Qubrusi in Tripoli, Damascus, London, and the United States. Some of them had even met his sheikh before him. Later on I came across a book authored by his sheikh, ^Abdullah ad-Daghistani, bearing his portrait. I also found some interviews with him published by the Lebanese Al-Anwar newspaper. In 1415 AH (1995 RC) I visited France, where I met a French national who had embraced Islam. He told me he had followed al-Qubrusi for some time and for a while--until his misguidance was made apparent to him--had thought he called for guidance. He had stayed in London for a year to learn from al-Qubrusi. From this man, I obtained some of al-Qubrusi's books.

Later, I received a book authored in refutation of the teachings of Nazim al-Qubrusi from another Muslim brother, who was living in London. In his book, he mentioned he had asked al-Qubrusi for an open forum. To this, Nazim Qubrusi did not respond. Rather, he ordered his followers to threaten this man with physical harm if he did not quit his insistence on making known his stand against Nazim al-Qubrusi. Later on, those followers did find our brother alone. They carried out their threat.

From this Muslim brother we listened to some lessons recorded in Nazim's own voice. Later I saw a newsletter issued by Nazim al-Qubrusi's followers in which they attribute Nazim al-Qubrusi with praising Britain, the British people, and their prince. With all this, I found in my hands all I needed to check Nazim al-Qubrusi's background, inclinations, and situation.

Sheikh Nazim claims to follow the honorable route of the True Sufis and to endorse the true masters of the Naqshabandiyy order (tariqah). His students say about him: "He is the Sheikh of His Time," "the Imam of His Era," and "the Sultan of the Waliyys." So, I decided to weigh Nazim al-Qubrusi's sayings by the scale of the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Prophet in an attempt to preserve the purity of the People of Truth from any sediments. Knowing the route of the True Sufis is linked to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Prophet, one judges that whatever sayings comply with them are acceptable and whatever opposes them are not.

I wrote these papers seeking the acceptance from Allah and asking for protection from His torture--for the one who keeps silent from telling the truth in refuting misguidance is a mute devil. I organized this work in chapters--each one deals with one of the misguided sayings and convictions of Nazim al-Haqqani (as Nazim al-Qubrusi is also known) and his sheikh, ad-Daghistani--without attempting to enumerate all of his strayings. I weighed each of Nazim al-Qubrusi's sayings by the scale of the Book of Allah, the Sunnah of the Prophet, and the sayings of the Imams with whom both Nazim and those who refuted him identify. I did this first by copying Nazim al-Qubrusi's statement, then by recalling what Allah said in the Qur'an, the Prophet said in the hadith, and/or what the honorable imams said or reported. I called this work:

THE IRREFUTABLE PROOF THAT NAZIM AL-QUBRUSI NEGATES ISLAM

Prior to compiling this work I read five books written by Sheikh Nazim al-Qubrusi, one by his sheikh, ^Abdullah ad-Daghistani, one by his deputy in the United States, Hisham Kabbani, and several issues of the newsletter published by his followers. I listened to a tape recorded in Europe in his deputy, ^Adnan Kabbani's voice, giving instructions to his supporters and followers. I also sat with many of Nazim Qubrusi's students who met him personally and took from him. I did all of that to shed light on the truth. Indeed, my reliance is on Allah, the One Who guides to the acceptable deeds and Who gives one the ability to perform those deeds.
CHAPTER 1: NAZIM AL-QUBRUSI'S FIRST STATEMENT:

"Follow your sheikh and do not object to him--even when he contradicts the Rules of the Religion."

The first chapter shall serve to expose the methodology Of Sheikh al-Qubrusi based on his saying:

"One is not entitled to refute or object to any of the matters of his sheikh even if he contradicts the pure rules of the Religion."

So apparent in the works of Sheikh al-Qubrusi is his methodology based on total acceptance of all the matters of one's sheikh--whether this sheikh is complying with the rules of the Religion or contradicting them.

Firstly: I found Sheikh al-Qubrusi does not in the least value the Knowledge of the Religion nor does he see any merit in acquiring it. Sheikh Nazim says on pages 56-57 in his book titled Mercy Oceans' Endless Horizons:

This Grandsheikh, Abdul Wahhab ash-Shaarani, once said: "When the Last Day is announced, Allah Almighty will call one religious scholar forward and ask him: 'Are you a knowledgeable religious man?' He will answer: 'As You know, Oh my Lord.' 'By virtue of what knowledge are you claiming to be a learned person--what did you know in your life?' 'Oh my Lord, I knew all of the Qur'an by heart.' 'That is your knowledge?' 'Yes.' 'No, you are mistaken, for the Qur'an is My Knowledge, not yours. So now, tell me, what else did you know?' 'I knew thousands of the Holy Traditions by heart.' 'That is My Prophet's knowledge, not yours.' 'Well, I knew so many points of Divine Law and jurisprudential verdicts.' 'That is the knowledge of the Imams of those Schools of Law, not yours.' 'I knew many tales from the lives of the great Sufis.' 'That is also not your knowledge, but theirs. When you quoted Abu Yazid or Salman or Hasan al-Basri or Imam Ghazzali, it was their knowledge, not yours, of which you spoke. But what about you, does any knowledge belong to you?" "Thus does Allah Almighty strip him bare so he may see that, actually, he had gained no knowledge whatsoever during the course of his life."

Definitely, the one who accepts such saying will be completely unmotivated to acquire any religious knowledge. Consequently he will not endeavor to memorize the Qur'an, learn the hadith, or revert back to one of the sayings of the reputable scholars--since all of that, according to this false claim, is worthless in the Hereafter. If the case is as Sheikh al-Qubrusi portrays, then what is the beneficial knowledge? If we do not study the meanings of the Qur'an and the hadith and what is related to them among the genuine sciences to learn about our Religion, then what are we going to study? If we do not follow the madhhabs of Imam ash-Shafi^iyy, Imam Malik, Imam Abu Hanifah, or Imam Ahmad, then who shall we follow?

Moreover, one questions the meaning of the saying he attributed to Allah: "This is My Knowledge and not yours"--since every knowledge one acquires is known to Allah. According to his statement, no matter how hard one endeavors, one would not acquire any knowledge. The mindful person should ask Sheikh Nazim, "Is it possible one learns a knowledge which Allah does not know?" Answering: "Yes; it is possible one would learn a knowledge Allah does not know," is clear blasphemy. On the other hand, answering "No," is negating Sheikh Nazim's own words and opposes his own saying.

Then, the mindful person would also inquire: "What is the secret behind demotivating one to acquire the religious knowledge?" Usually, the one who encourages others to remain ignorant is either an ignorant person himself trying to hide his own ignorance, or a person seeking to prepare an atmosphere of prevailing ignorance so he can say whatever he wants without anyone catching his flaws and inconsistencies.

How does Sheikh Nazim explain the saying of Allah:

(Al-Isra', 9) which means: [This Qur'an guides to what is best.]?

How does he explain the saying of the Prophet, related by al-Bukhariyy:

which means: "The best among you are those who learn the Qur'an and teach it to others."? How does Sheikh Nazim deal with the saying of the Prophet:

which means: "Maintain studying the Qur'an for, by the One who controls the soul of Muhammad [Allah], one can lose it easier than losing a loose camel."?

Moreover, why did the Companions endeavor to memorize the Qur'an? Some memorized it all. Some memorized half of it. Some less than that, and others more than that. Likewise is the case of the followers of the Companions and their followers. Why does the entire Muslim nation hold the consensus regarding the merit of memorizing the Qur'an and reciting it? Does the mindful person accept that the guidance of the Prophet and his Companions is invalid? Certainly not!

As a case in point, we do see the followers of Sheikh Nazim stay with him for years to learn and memorize his sayings. Sheikh Nazim sees this as a merit for them, while on the other hand, he sees spending their time learning the Book of Allah, the Sunnah of the Prophet, and the sayings of the Imams of the Religion as a waste of their time and ignorance on their part.

Al-Junayd al-Baghdadiyy said: "I only accept those special matters which occur to me if they conform to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Prophet." How would the one who does not study the Book of Allah know its meanings? How would the one who does not study the Sunnah of the Prophet know its meanings?

Secondly: Sheikh Nazim encourages his followers not to refer back to the scholars for answers to their questions--rather to look down on them. He says in his book, Mercy Oceans, page 117:

"So many Alims are denying this or that hadith while Awliya say that those hadiths are all right. Thus, we take hadiths from those people who have the light of Iman in their hearts showing them the truth."

As he explicitly indicated in his book more than once, what he means by "those people who have the light of Imam in their hearts showing them the truth" are himself and those who are like him--not the People of Knowledge or the Scholars of Hadith.

A few lines later in the same book someone asked him, "So, until we receive that higher vision that the Awliya have, we must accept all hadiths as true?" Sheikh Nazim answered him, "Yes." On that same page, he said:

"Also, if any book has hadiths from the Prophet (peace be upon him), we accept it out of respect for the Prophet. If it is an incorrect hadith, there is no responsibility for us if we accept it. This is a high adab, or good manners. If someone says, 'This is a hadith,' we believe it out of respect to our Prophet (peace be upon him) we must believe it."

The Story Of Sufi Sayyid Ahmad Rifaai

2008-09-01T07:33:00.000-07:00

Source: http://www.allaahuakbar.net/sufism/index.htm

This is very famous story in the Sufi circle that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) extended his hand from his grave this is narrated from one of the famous Sufi leaders, al-Sayyid Ahmad al-Rifaa’i, which say that he visited the Mosque of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in Madeenah and made du’aa’ at his grave, and the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) reached his hand out to him and he kissed it? This is a widespread belief among the followers of his tareeqah and it is a belief they hold firmly, even though he lived in the 6th century AH.

first of all this is false and has no basis of truth, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) died as decreed by Allaah and as Allaah said (interpretation of the meaning):

“Verily you (O Muhammad) will die and verily, they (too) will die” [al-Zumar 39:30]

According to a saheeh hadeeth, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allaah has angels who travel about in the earth and convey to me the salaams of my ummah.”

And the prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “There is no one who sends salaams upon me but Allaah will restore my soul to me so that I may return his salaam.”

And the prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The best of your days is Friday, so send more blessings (salaah) upon me on that day, for your blessings will be shown to me.” They said, “O Messenger of Allaah, how will they be shown to you when you (your body) have disintegrated?” He said, ‘Allaah has forbidden the earth to consume the bodies of the Prophets.”

And there are many ahaadeeth which say similar things, but it is not narrated anywhere that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said that he would shake hands with anybody. This indicates that this story is false. What all Muslims have to do is to fear Allaah and to adhere to His sharee’ah which is indicated in His Book and in the Sunnah of His trustworthy Messenger, and to beware of anything that goes against that. May Allaah reform the Muslims and grant them understanding of His religion and cause them to adhere to His sharee’ah, for He is the Most Generous, Most Kind.

Majmoo’ Fataawa wa Maqaalaat Mutanawwi’ah li Samaahat al-Shaykh al-‘Allaamah ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him), vol. 9, p. 31

Lies Of The Qaadiri Tareeqah

2008-09-01T07:31:00.000-07:00

Source: http://www.allaahuakbar.net/sufism/some_lies_of_the_qaadiri_tareeqah.htm

Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qaadir al-Jilaani was one of the scholars of Ahl al-Sunnah. He was a follower of Sunnah, not an innovator, and he followed the path of the righteous Salaf and, in his writings, encouraged and enjoined following the Salaf. He told people to give up innovations in religion, and he clearly expressed his opposition to the scholars of ‘ilm al-kalaam among the Ash’aris and others.

There are some errors in his writings, and some bid’ahs that may be insignificant compared to his great achievements. To learn more about these matters and the ways in which he was mistaken, please see the book Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qaadir al-Jilaani wa Araa’uhu al-I’tiqaadiyyah wa’l-Sufiyyah by Shaykh Dr. Sa’eed ibn Masfar al-Qahtaani, 440-476.

The followers of Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qaadir al-Jilaani have told many lies about him and attributed to him things that he did not say and would not have approved of, which go against the way he lived and his call to follow the Salaf and avoid innovations.

Shaykh al-Islam [Ibn Taymiyah] mentioned in Majmoo’ al-Fataawa (27/127) some of these lies, when he said:

“There is no doubt that Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qaadir al-Jilaani did not say this or enjoin it. Whoever says such things is telling lies about him.”

One of these lies is the false attribution of this qaseedah to him, and we know for certain that Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qaadir is innocent of what it says in it.

The Standing Committee was asked about this qaseedah, and they replied:

This qaseedah indicates that its author is ignorant and makes claims for himself that are all kufr and misguidance. He claims that all the knowledge of the scholars is derived from his knowledge and are mere branches thereof; and that the conduct of the worshippers is in accordance with what he has enjoined for them and prescribed for them; and that he would be able to close Hell by his might, were it not for the prior covenant of the Messenger; and that he helps the mureeds (devotees) who are sincere towards him, and that he saves them from calamity and gives them life in this world and in the Hereafter, and protect them from all fears; and that he will be present with him on the Day of Resurrection when their deeds are weighed in the Balance.

These false claims can only come from one who is ignorant and does not know his limitations, because complete knowledge belongs to Allaah alone and the affairs of the Hereafter and the control of all affairs belong to Allaah alone, not to any angel who is close to Him or to any Prophet who was sent, or to any righteous person. Allaah commanded His Messenger, who was the best of His creation, to recite to the ummah the following verses (interpretation of the meaning):

“Say (O Muhammad): ‘I possess no power over benefit or hurt to myself except as Allaah wills. If I had the knowledge of the Ghayb (Unseen), I should have secured for myself an abundance of wealth, and no evil should have touched me. I am but a warner, and a bringer of glad tidings unto people who believe’” [al-A’raaf 7:188]

“Say: ‘It is not in my power to cause you harm, or to bring you to the Right Path.’

Say (O Muhammad): ‘None can protect me from Allaah’s punishment (if I were to disobey Him), nor can I find refuge except in Him’” [al-Jinn 72:21-22]

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) enjoined the closest of people to him and their children to protect themselves from the punishment of Allaah by believing in Him and following His laws, and he told them that he could do nothing to help them before Allaah [on the Day of Resurrection]. He told them that Adam, Nooh, Ibraaheem, Moosa and ‘Eesa will all, on the Day of Resurrection, say, “Myself, myself,” so how can the Shaykh of the Qaadiri tareeqah or any other human being possess the means of saving his mureeds and protecting those who fulfil their covenant towards him and being with them when their deeds are weighed on the Day of Resurrection? How can he possess the power to close the doors of Hell by his might? This is an obvious lie and blatant disbelief in the laws of the Lord of the World.

The author of this qaseedah goes even further in his exaggeration and transgression of the limits of common sense and sharee’ah, when he claims that he was exposed to the light of Muhammad before anything was created; and that he was with Jibreel and Muhammad (peace be upon them both) when they met together; and that he was with Nooh (peace be upon him) in the ark, and he witnessed the Flood; and that he was with Ibraaheem (peace be upon him) when he was thrown into the fire, and that this fire became cool because of his du’aa’; and that he was with Ismaa’eel, and the ram was only sent down because of his fatwa; and that he was with Ya’qoob (peace be upon him) when he lost his sight, and his eyes were only healed by his spitting on them;’; and he is the one who brought Idrees (peace be upon him) to Jannat al-Firdaws; and that he was with Moosa (peace be upon him) when he spoke to his Lord, and the staff of Moosa came from his staff; and that he was with ‘Eesa in the cradle; and that he is the one who gave Dawood the best voice in recitation. And he made even more outrageous claims that, he claimed that he is Allaah in three lines of his qaseedah. The most blatant of his claims is when he says:

“I am the One, the Only, the Great in and of himself… I am the one who is describing Him, the one who is described, I am the shaykh of the tareeqah.”

Exalted be Allaah far above that. What kufr can there be after this? – Allaah forbid.

It is evil enough for you to listen to this qaseedah. You do not need to know all the details of the history of the Qaadiryyah when you have heard the lies, kufr and falsehood in the qaseedah of the shaykh of this tareeqah. Strive to learn the truth from the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and the explanations given by the Sahaabah and those who followed them of the Qur’aan and the saheeh Sunnah. Please note that we believe that Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qaadir al-Jilaani, after whom this tareeqah is named, is innocent of this qaseedah just as the wolf was innocent of shedding the blood of son of Ya’qoob; his followers tell many lies about him and attribute to him things of which he is innocent.

And Allaah is the Source of strength, May Allaah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon his family and companions.

And Allaah knows best.

The Naqshabandiya Tareeqah Unveiled

2008-09-01T07:28:00.000-07:00

Source: http://www.allaahuakbar.net/sufism/naqshbandi_tareeqah_unveiled.htm

Verily all Praise is for Allaah, we praise Him, seek His aid and ask for His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evil of ourselves and the evil of our actions. Whomsoever Allah guides then there is none who can misguide him, and whomsoever Allaah misguides then there is none who can guide him. I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped except Allaah alone, having no partners and I bear witness that Muhammad (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) is His slave and Messenger. May the peace and blessings of Allaah be on the final Prophet Muhammad (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam), his family, his companions and all those who follow in their footsteps until the last day. To proceed:

This page is a modest attempt to analyse and expose the teachings and practices of the Tariqat ul Naqshbandi in the light of the Glorious Qur'ân and Sunnah, and is done purely in fulfilling our obligation to enjoin the right and forbid the evil. Over the years many deviant movements have arisen in the Muslim world bent on corrupting the teachings of Islaam and thereby mislead the Muslims. One of the most dangerous of the contemporary movements is the group known as the Naqshbandi Tariqat.

Like most deviant groups, they claim that the Muslim masses are ignorant and are therefore in need of a Sheikh (leader) who is supposed to possess the secret knowledge of the unseen. They also claim that all religious texts have an obvious outer meaning known to the masses and a hidden meaning known only to the Sheikh, and that the masses are unable to contact Allaah on their own and hence are in need of a intermediary (Sheikh) who will get them close to Allaah if given unquestionable and unconditional obedience.

The greatest danger of this group lies in the fact that they, while wearing the cloak of Islaam, are striving to destroy it from within, in a vain attempt to extinguish the light of Islaam and divert the Muslims from the reality of the religion.

Realizing the grave threat posed by this group, we have undertaken the task of exposing the falsity of this group, seeking only the pleasure of Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta`aalaa), we hope that the absurdities, fallacies, and the extremely deviant nature of this group would be clearly exposed to those trapped in its clutches and as a timely warning to those contemplating to join them.

The simple method we have adopted in exposing the group’s deviant beliefs is to quote what Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta`aalaa) says in the Qur’aan and what His truthful Messenger Muhammad (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) has said in the authentic Ahadith, and then to quote the group’s beliefs or position vis-a-vis the same issue, taken from their own publications printed by ‘Arafat Publishing House’, and where necessary commented upon.

In all firmness to this group we have given the names of the books, along with the page number from where we have taken these quotes. Reference to the Qur’aanic Aayaat and authentic Ahadith too have been provided.

Due to lack of space we are compelled to deal with only some of the serious issues of the group’s beliefs and teachings which are directly in conflict with the pure Islaamic teachings as revealed in the Glorious Qur’aan and authentic Sunnah.

This booklet is by no means a complete exposition of the entirety of this group’s deviant beliefs and teachings and all Qur’aanic Aayaat quoted are only translations of the meanings of the Qur’aan.

We pray this little booklet serves to remove the confusion and ignorance that the people are suffering from regarding this important issue and that it will save all those sincere seekers of truth from falling in to Shirk.

1. THE ISLAAMIC BELIEF: Allaah is the Only Truth

Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta`aalaa) says in the Qur'ân -

"That is because Allaah - He is the Truth and it is He who gives life to dead." (Qur'ân, Chapter 22, Verse 6)

THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Aba Yazid al-Bistami is the Truth

On page 15 of the book ‘The Naqshbandi Way’ it reads -

"Whoever recites this Ayah even a single time will attain a high rank and a great position, … he will get what the Prophets and saints could not get, and will arrive at the stage of Aba Yazid al-Bistami, the Imam of the order who said: "I am the Truth (al-Haqq)."

The above statement ‘I am the Truth’ - is a clear example of Shirk (association) in the aspect of the Names and Attributes of Allaah, since Al-Haqq in the definite form, is one of Allaah’s unique attributes and is not shared by any created being or thing unless preceded by the prefix `Abd meaning "Slave of" or "Servant of". (In fact the Mystic al-Hallaaj was publicly executed as an apostate for daring to openly claim divinity in his infamous pronouncement "Anal-Haqq"- I am the Truth.)

2. THE ISLAAMIC BELIEF: None shares with the command of Allaah

Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta`aalaa) says in the Qur'ân -

"Verily, His (Allaah’s) command, when He intends a thing, is only that he says to it, "Be! And it is!" - (Chapter 36, Verse 82); and in another place in the Qur'ân, Allaah says =

"They have no protector other than Him (Allaah); nor does He share His command with any person whatsoever." - (18:26)

THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Sheikh shares with the command of Allaah

On page 33 of the book ‘Mercy Oceans - Part 1’, it reads "The Power of the wali is such that he only needs to say Kun (be) and that will be."

The above is another example of Shirk (association) in the aspect of the Lordship of Allaah, since the Islaamic principle of the Lordship of Allaah states that no created being can share in God’s attributes and infinite qualities, and any attempt to give the Divine attributes to creation is referred to as Shirk (association), the antithesis of Tawheed (singling out Allaah alone for worship).

3. THE ISLAMIC BELIEF:
None could attain the Rank of the Prophets or their Companions

The Prophet Muhammad (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) has said in a well known Hadith that, "The best of people are those living in my generation, and then those who will follow them, and then those who will follow the latter.....
(Saheeh Bukhaaree, Vol 5, Hadith #3, Arabic-English Trans.)

THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Certain people could attain a Rank higher than the Prophets and their Companions.

On page 1 of the book ‘The Naqshbandi Way’ it reads,

"Our master the Sheikh says that a person who manages to act on these principles in our times will achieve what earlier generations did not achieve … he who attains an exalted stage and a great rank, such a rank which the Prophets themselves and the companions were unable to attain."

On page 4 of the book ‘the Naqshbandi Way’ it reads,

"Especially those who hold to the Prophet’s Sunnah, will attain special stations that weren’t opened to earlier people - not even to the Prophet’s companions.’

The deviant claim of attaining the rank which the Prophets could not is a major deception of the Naqshbandiya as any Muslim with even the basic knowledge of Islaam will confirm. As regards the companions (May Allaah be pleased with them all), the Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) in a hadith narrated by Anas bin Maalik (Radhiallaahu Anhu) said -

"After me, you will see others given preference to you, so be patient till you meet me."

(Saheeh Bukhaaree, Vol 5., Hadith #137, Arabic-English Trans.)

He (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) also said in reference to his Companions (May Allaah be pleased with them all),

"For by Him in Whose hand is my soul, if you were to spend the like of Uhud or of the mountains in gold, you would not reach their actions." (Saheeh Bukhaaree)

4. THE ISLAMIC BELIEF: Allaah is above the heavens

Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta`aalaa) says in the Qur'ân -

"Do you feel secure, that He (Allaah), who is above the heavens, will not cause the earth to sink with you." (Qur'ân, Chapter 67, Verse 16).

And in a long Hadith found in Saheeh Muslim, it is narrated that the companion Mu`awiyah ibn al-Hakam, (Radhiallaahu Anhu) slapped his servant girl who used to tend his sheep, and as a result when to the Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) and asked what should be done as an atonement for having slapped her. The Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) replied, "Bring her to me" so Mu`awiyah brought her to the Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam). The Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) then asked her, "Where is Allaah?" and she replied "Above the Sky" then the Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam ) asked her, "Who am I?" and she replied, "You are Allaah’s Messenger", so the Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) said, "Free her, for verily she is a true believer." (Saheeh Muslim, Vol 1, Hadith #1094, English Translation)

THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Allaah is Everywhere
On page 13 of the book Haqiqat ul Haqqani it reads,

"Allaah Almighty is everywhere but specially in the Baitullaah as He has Himself called it the house of Allaah. For it to be called the house of the Lord, the Lord of the house must be in it."

The concept of Allaah being everywhere is not Islaamic as the above Qur’aanic Aayah and the authentic hadith confirm. Indeed if Allaah was everywhere then there would be no need for the Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) to go up through the seven skies on the night of Mi`raaj to meet Allaah - he would have been in the direct presence of Allaah in his very own house.

5. THE ISLAMIC BELIEF: None has the knowledge of the Last Day except Allaah

Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta`aalaa) says in the Qur'ân,

"Verily the knowledge of the Hour is with Allaah (alone)." (31:34)

And according to the well known Hadith, where Angel Jibreel (`alaihis salaam) came in the guise of man, we quote the part of the Hadith that is relevant to our matter, after asking about Islaam, Imaan and Ihsaan, Angel Jibreel (`alaihis salaam) asks Prophet Muhammad (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) "then tell me about the hour (meaning the last day)", the Prophet Muhammad (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) replied, "The one questioned about it knows no better than the questioner."
(Saheeh Muslim, vol 1, Hadith #4, English Translation)

THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Sheikh has the knowledge of the Last Day.

In the beginning of page 19 of the book ‘Mercy Oceans - part one’, it reads -

"These signs have been given us indication that the Last Day is coming is nearly exactly now …we shall witness that great event within two years."

The above book (Mercy Oceans) was published in 1987 and it I almost nine years since its publication, but the last day is still not witnessed. How could it be when indeed Allaah has clearly stated in the Qur'ân,

"Say None in the heavens and the earth knows the unseen except Allaah." (Qur'ân, Chapter 27, Verse 65)

6. THE ISLAMIC BELIEF: Believers and disbelievers are not equal.

Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta`aalaa) says in the Qur'ân - the likeness of the two parties (disbelievers and believers) is as the blind and the deaf and the seer and the hearer. Are they equal when compared? Will you not then take heed?" (Qur'ân, Chapter 11, Verse 24)

THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Believers and disbelievers are equal
On page 12 of the book ‘the Naqshbandi Way’, it reads ,

"Allaah does not distinguish between the non-believer and the faasiq (wrong doer) or between a believer and a Muslim. In fact they are all equal to him."

Furthermore, on page 16 of the same book it reads, "Allaah does not distinguish between a kaafir or a hypocrite or between a saint and a Prophet."

7. THE ISLAMIC BELIEF: No intermediary between Allaah and Man
Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta`aalaa) says in the Qur'ân,
"And when My servants ask you (O Muhammad) concerning Me, then (answer them), I am indeed near (to them in knowledge), I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me." (Qur'ân, Chapter 2, Verse 186)

THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Sheikh is intermediary between Allaah and Man
On page 23 of the book Haqiqat ul Haqqani it reads,

"If there wasn’t Mowlana Sheikh Nazim between us and Sayyidunâ Mahdi (Alai), or between us and the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sal), or between us and Allaah Almighty, no one would be able to reach to Divine knowledge… this is because Maulana Sheikh Nazim is the intermediary between us and these stations."

[It should be known that the practice and belief of having an intermediary between man and God is a pagan practice, borrowed directly from other religions like Christianity which believes the Pastor or the church priest to be an intermediary between man and God and hence confession of one’s sins is done to them and not directly to God.

8. THE ISLAMIC BELIEF:
No spokesman between Allaah and Man on the Day of Judgment.

Adi bin Hatim (radhiallaahu `anhu) reported that the Messenger (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) said,

"There is none of you but his Lord will certainly talk to with him without any Spokesman between him and his Lord."
(Sunan Ibn Maajah, Vol 1, Hadith #185, English Translation)

THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Sheikh will be a spokesman between Man and Allaah on the Day of Judgment

On page 11 of the book Haqiqat ul Haqqani it reads,
"When a person takes Bayyat from Maulana, Maulana will be with that person. Even until he reaches in front of Allaah Almighty will Maulana be with him, when Allaah Almighty questions this person Maulana shall answer all questions instead of him."

9. THE ISLAMIC BELIEF: (For anything to happen) it is only what Allaah wills

Once a companion of the Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) concluded his statement to the Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) with the phrase "It is what Allaah wills and you will." The Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) immediately corrected him saying - ‘Are you making me an equal with Allaah? Say it is what Allaah alone wills.’
(Collected by Ahmad - Arabic)

THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: It is what Allaah and the saint wills.

On page 23 of the book "Quthub us Sailan" which is written by the local head of the group, it reads

"One morning in the newspapers, I read that the wakf board had taken over the Dewatagaha Mosque seeking the chief trustee at the time, chairman of the welfare committee and chief trustee, M.I.M. Shaukat came to my place a couple of days later to find out what he could do in that matter as chief trustee, I told him that if it was the will of Allaah and the saint, well nothing could be done on his part."

10. THE ISLAMIC BELIEF: Allaah is in charge of creation.

Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta`aalaa) says in the Qur'ân -"And Allaah is a Wakil (Guardian) over all things." (Qur'ân, Chapter 11, Verse 12)

And in another place, Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta`aalaa) says, "He (Allaah) arranges (every) affair from the heavens to the earth." (Qur'ân, Chapter 32, Verse 3)

THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Sheikh is in charge of creation

On page 15 of the book ‘Haqiqat ul Haqqani’ it reads,

"Every thing that you know of is under the spiritual control of the Sultan al Awliya, he is the one who is in charge of all mankind in this universe, he is also in charge of all the world of Jinns and Angels."

Again the above belief is one of Shirk (association) in the aspect of the Lordship of Allaah, as has been explained before.

11. THE ISLAMIC BELIEF: None can change a bad situation except Allaah

Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta`aalaa) says in the Qur'ân, "And if Allaah touches you with harm, none can remove it but He…" (Qur'ân, Chapter 6, verse 17)

THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Sheikh can change a bad situation.

On page 26 of the book ‘Haqiqat ul Haqqani’ in the 2nd paragraph it reads,

"If a bad situation is to come to a mureed of his, Sheikh has the power to change it."

12. THE ISLAMIC BELIEF:
None can make anyone enter paradise or save from hell, except Allaah.

The Prophet Muhammad (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) said in an authentic Hadith - "O People of Quraysh, secure deliverance from Allaah (by doing good deeds). I cannot help you at all against Allaah. O sons of Abdul-Muttalib, I cannot help you at all against Allaah; O (my uncle) Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib, O (my aunt) Safeeyah, I cannot help you at all against Allaah; O Faatimah, daughter of Muhammad, ask me whatever you like, but I have nothing which can help you against Allaah." (Saheeh Muslim, Vol 1, Hadith #402, English Translation)

THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Sheikh can make one enter paradise and save one from hell.
On page 30 of the book Haqiqat ul Haqqani, in the 3rd paragraph, it reads -
"Sheikh will not allow any of his mureeds to enter hell, … Sheikh Nazim will make all the followers to enter into this paradise."

13. THE ISLAMIC BELIEF: The Angel of death will take the soul of the dying.

Allaah (Subhaanahu wa ta`aalaa) says in the Qur'ân,
"Say the Angel of death, who is set over you, will take your souls, then you shall be brought to your Lord." (Qur'ân, 32:11)

THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Sheikh will take the soul of the dying

On page 35 of the book ‘Haqiqat ul Haqqani’ under the heading ‘No questioning in the grave’, it reads -

"As for anyone who is related to Maulana Sheikh Nazim as a mureed, the Angel of Death Israel (Alai) will have nothing to do with him, the soul of this mureed at the time of his death will be taken by Maulana Sheikh Nazim, he shall look at the mureed and immediately the soul of that mureed will leave his body. There is nothing for either the Angel of death or for the Angels of the grave to do with the mureeds of Sheikh Nazim."

14. THE ISLAMIC BELIEF:
No hidden knowledge in Islaam, everything is given in the Qur'ân and Sunnah.
The Prophet Muhammad (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) said in an authentic hadith -
"I have not left anything which Allaah ordered you with, except that I have ordered you with it, nor anything that Allaah forbade you, except that I forbade you from it." (Saheeh, al-Baihaqee 7:76, Arabic)

SEE WHAT ALLAH COMMANDS
"Say None in the heavens and the earth knows the unseen except Allaah."
(Qur'ân, Chapter 27, Verse 65)

THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Sheikh has hidden knowledge.

In spite of the above clear hadith, the deviant Naqshbandi claim that there is ‘secret knowledge’ with the Sheikh, for example on page 60-61 of the book ‘Haqiqat ul Haqqani’ in the 3rd paragraph it reads -

"Vast amounts of hidden knowledge have been communicated to his mureeds by Maulana Sheikh Nazim in this manner. Questions by these mureeds regarding day to day life, or questions relating to religion … and also many other subjects have been answered by Mowlana Sheikh Nazim. When this type of communication has been granted to a mureed, he no longer needs to resort to books to further his knowledge."

15. THE ISLAMIC BELIEF: When Allaah loves a person… The Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) said as narrated by Abu Huraira (radhiallaahu `anhu) that,

"…Allaah said…the most beloved things with which my slave comes nearer to Me, is with what I have enjoined upon him, and my slave keeps on coming closer to Me through performing Nawafil (praying or doing extra deeds besides what is obligatory) till I love him, so I become his sense of hearing with which he hears, and his sense of sight with which he sees, and his hand with which he grips…"
(Saheeh Bukhaaree, Vol 8, Hadith 509, Arabic - English Trans)

[The above hadith should not be misinterpreted by the reader. What it simply means is as has been explained by the Scholars of Hadith is that, when Allaah becomes his sense of hearing means the servant will only hear Halaal speech and will keep away from hearing forbidden speech. And regarding sight, then it means he will only see that which is permissible to see and keep away from seeing that which is Haraam and in the case of the hands then it means he will only touch and use his hands in that which is Halaal and will refrain from touching and doing Haraam with it.]

THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Directly contradicts the above hadith.

On page 62 of the book ‘Haqiqat ul Haqqani’ in the last paragraph it reads, "Certain of the mureeds of Maulana Sheikh Nazim experience that Maulana appears within them, when this happens, they are no longer conscious of themselves as themselves, they lose their identity and are conscious of themselves as their Sheikh. They see through Mowlana’s eyes when the look, they hear through Mowlana’s ears when they hear, and they speak Mowlana’s words when they speak.."

16. THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Sheikh can be in any place at the same time.

On page 33 of the book ‘Haqiqat ul Haqqani’ it reads, "Mowlana Sheikh Nazim can also be present in his shape and body in several places at the same time."

Also on page 65 of the same book it reads in the 2nd paragraph, "Sometimes, mureeds have been transported to other countries and places. For example, they may be transported in a moment to London…some are known to have visited Mecca, Medina, London and Baghdad in moments by the power and the grace of Sheikh Nazim."

THE ISLAMIC POSITION on the above Naqshbandi position
In a Hadith, the Prophet Muhammad (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) said,
"There are three types of Jinn, one type flies through the air…" (Transmitted by al-Haakim, Tabaraani and al-Baihaqi, Arabic)

And Allaah says in the Qur'an,

"And verily, there were men among mankind who took shelter with the masculine among the jinns, but they (jinns) increased them (mankind) in sin and disbelief." (Qur’aan, 72:6)

17. THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Sheikh has two faces.

On page 21 of the book ‘Haqiqat ul Haqqani’ in the first paragraph describing Sheikh Nazim, it reads -

"He (Sheikh) now has a face towards the creatures and a face towards Allaah Almighty, therefore he is with Allaah Almighty all the time!"

THE ISLAMIC POSITION on the above Naqshbandi belief

The Prophet Muhammad (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) rightly said, as reported by the companion Abu Huraira (radhiallaahu `anhu) who said that Allaah’s Messenger (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) said,
"The worst amongst the people is the double faced one." (Saheeh Muslim, vol 4, Hadith #6300 - English Translation)

Also, the companion Ammaar (radhiallaahu `anhu) reported the Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) as saying,

"He who is two faced in this world, will have two tongues of fire on the day of resurrection." (Sunan Abu Dawud, Vol 3, Hadith #4855 - English Translation)

From the preceding, concise presentation of the Naqshbandi group’s deviant beliefs, in shaa’ Allaah, there should not remain even the slightest inkling of a doubt in the mind of the sincere reader about the group’s deviant nature and falsehood. It is only the ignorant, grossly biased and dishonest sympathizers of the group who will still maintain the view that the group’s teachings and beliefs are in accordance with the Qur'ân and Sunnah, since it has been clearly and decisively proven to be just the exact opposite.

In the foregoing article, the reader would have noticed that every thing of the pure Islamic Belief mentioned has been contradicted by this deviant group. In fact the Prophet Muhammad (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) had warned us about the appearance of such deviant groups, when he said in an authentic narration reported by Abu Amir al-Hawdani (radhiallaahu `anhu),

"Indeed those who were before you, from the people of the book (Jews and Christians) split into seventy sects, and this religion will split into seventy three; seventy two will go in to the hell fire, and one of them will go to paradise, and it is the Jamaa`ah." (Abu Dawud, vol 3, Hadith #4580, English Translation)

[The term Jamaa`ah was explained by the companion `Abdullaah ibn Mas`ood (radhiallaahu `anhu) as meaning that which agrees with the truth. He said in his famous statement, "The jamaa`ah is that which agrees with the truth, even if it is a single person." (Reported by ibn Asaakir in Tareekh Dimashq - Arabic)]

Then there is no doubt that each of these groups claims for itself that it is the saved group, and that it is correct and that it alone follows the Messenger (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam), but the way of truth is a single way and it is the one which leads to salvation, and any other way is one of the ways of misguidance which leads to destruction as has been clearly explained by the Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) in another hadith, reported by the companion `Abdullaah ibn Mas`ood (radhiallaahu `anhu), who said,

"Allaah’s Messenger (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) drew a line with his hand and said, "This is the straight path of Allaah." He then drew lines to its right and to its left and said, "These are the other paths, which represent misguidance and that at the head of each path sat a devil inviting people to it (path)." He then recited, "And verily, this is My straight path, so follow it, and follow not (other) paths, for they will separate you away from His path." (Reported by Ahmad, an-Nasaa’ee and ad-Daarimee and collected in Miskhaat ul-Masaabih, Vol 1, Hadith #166, Arabic-English Translation)

So the path is to stick to the Book of Allaah and to the Sunnah of His Messenger (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam), as occurs in the following hadith. The Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) said,

"I have left you with two things, as long as you hold to them, you will never go astray, they are the Book of Allaah and My Sunnah." (Collected by Imaam Maalik, rahimahullaah, in his Muwatta, the Book of Decree. Hadith #3, Page 434, English Translation)

So the criterion to judge the claim of any group or individual who claims to be on the right path, is to see how close its beliefs and teachings are in accordance to the Qur'ân and Sunnah.

The external deceptive claim of the Naqshbandi group, under the guise of Islaam should not be a means of confusion to anybody, as to the reality of its deviant nature. History is a witness to the well-known slogan, "If you cannot beat them, then join them" - this is exactly what the group is doing. Its aim is to destroy Islaam from within, wearing the cloak of Islaam.

A serious effort should be made to enlighten those of the group’s followers who may be genuinely seeking the light of pure Islaam, but as a result of the group’s brainwashing have fallen into its clutches.

Whatever has been said in this booklet is not to be taken lightly, since this is a matter that could take a person completely outside of the fold of Islaam into Kufr (disbelief). This is not mere opinion of laymen but the verdict of the Ulamaa’ of Islaam, who have pronounced anyone holding such weird beliefs, which contradict the very fundamentals of Islaamic belief, and continue to persist in such beliefs even after the evidence has been clearly shown to them, risks falling outside of the fold of Islaam. It should be kept in mind that the above statements are being made for conveying knowledge only and not to make declaration of Kufr (disbelief) of any people.

It is compulsory on the `Ulamaa’ to make an effort to inform the public through all means available about the group’s deviant nature. Articles exposing the group should be written and distributed. Many Muslims have passively sat by for a long time, believing that the group would soon fizzle out and disappear. Instead, its cancerous growth has continued unabated and unchecked. As for those who in spite of what they have read, continue to have misgivings about exposing the group due to their desire to maintain an image of unity with respect to Islaam, then let them reflect on the following incident, "When some people mentioned to Imaam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (rahimahullaah) that they felt uneasy about criticizing people (who had deviated in their beliefs), he replied - "If I were to remain silent, how then would the masses know truth from falsehood?" (Reported by Imaam Ibn Taymeeyah in Majmoo`ah ar-Rasaa’il wa al-Masaa’il, vol 4, Page 10, Arabic). According to the unanimous agreement of Muslim scholars, those who introduce deviant writings and religious rites, contrary to the Qur'ân and Sunnah have to be exposed and the Muslm nation warned against them. In fact, when Imaam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (rahimahullaah) was asked if one who fasted, prayed and secluded himself in the Masjid was dearer to him than one who spoke out against people involved in deviations, he replied, when one fasts, prays and secludes oneself, he does so for himself alone; but if he speaks out against deviations, he does so for Muslims in general, which is more noble.

With this we end this article. After having read this article, if you believe it is your duty and responsibility to Allaah, to warn your brothers and sisters, then please do not be a silent spectator, spread the truth to the best of your ability. Perhaps you may save a soul or two from the deviant clutches of the group.

Finally, we ask Allaah to give all of us the taufeeq to recognize the truth, to understand it, to implement it and to call to it.

Wal hamdulillaahi Rabbil `Aalameen
By Al-Hidaayah

The Absurdities Of The Naqshabandees

2008-09-01T07:27:00.000-07:00

Here is a small offering of extracts from the belief and practices of the modern day Naqshabandees. There are more comprehensive refutations out there, indeed there are complete web sites dedicated to such. However it is perceived that if one just reads the following, the reality of this sect will become apparent without the need to delve any deeper.
The worshipers of Animals

Ameen Mohammed Barsa, the author of El Mawaahib Essarmadiyya (the eternal gifts) says: "I have been accompanying Darweesh Khaleel... and then he ordered me to be at the service of the animals... until when I used to meet a DOG in my way I stand until it takes its way first so I don't go be- for it, and I kept on that way seven years, and then he asked me to be at the service of the dogs of this place (Hadhra, place where Sufis meet) with obedience and devotion, and ask from them supplies (madad), and he (his sheikh) said: by serving one of these dogs you will reach a great happiness so I was so lucky that I got that service that I was giving the best of my- self according to his will and hoping in his glad tiding. Once I was near one of the dogs so I felt in its neighbourhood a very delightful pleasure so I stood facing it and I got crying very warmly, so the dog lied on its back and it raised its four limbs to the heaven and I heard a gentle weeping and a sad mourning so I raised humbly my arms and I kept saying: aameen, aameen until it became silent and raised again on its legs."

And then he says a similar story that happened to him with a camel! [El Mawaahib Essarmadiyya p. 118-119 El Anwaar El Qudusiyya p.130]

Strange how these Soofees are always praying to dogs and camels or claiming "wahi" from them. Strange how the Prophet (sal-Allaahu alayhe wa sallam) warned us of the connection between these animals and the jinn!
Considering it Wajib to look at women

On page 20 of 'Sheikh' Nazim's book, Mercy Oceans: "For every action, you may find three ways, or positions. These are called wajib, sunnah, and haram. We will illustrate these terms with some examples: The top class of people are the Awliya, the Saints. They have, in their eyes, a divine light, a divine power, that burns away badness in those people upon whom they look. Because of this divine quality, THEY MAY LOOK EVERYWHERE, AT MEN OR AT WOMEN. IT HAS BEEN ORDERED FOR THEM TO LOOK. THERE IS NO PROHIBITION FOR THEM TO LOOK. THEREFORE, THEIR LOOKING IS 'WAJIB.' "
The Love of prostitutes

At http://www.al-sunna.org/Stories/Sharani.html Nazim narrates something called Sharani's prayer: Abdul Wahab Ash-Sharani, a famous 'scholar' and Soofee of Egypt, was praying to Allah to have Mercy on Prostitutes saying: "Most Merciful Lord, those Prostitutes are like a huge wall, a great barrier that keeps the honour of ladies. They put themselves forward as a buffer in front of honourable ladies, keeping animal-men away from them; if not for those prostitutes, bad men, like big donkeys, would rush upon honourable ladies also; but those women make themselves available, putting themselves forward, so that those men come to them, and thus honour is protected - so please grant Your Mercy to those women. So many people are carrying such heavy burdens and we must look at their situations with the eye of wisdom; or else we will be in the stable with donkeys; if we aren't satisfied being in that stable, we may climb up, up, up. This is only one drop from the secrets of the Holy Qur'an, one ray coming from the Sun of Divine Predestination (Qadr)."
The Givers of Life and Death [Aoudhoubillah]

Ameen Mohammed Barsa says in El Mawaahib p.133, El Anwaar p. 137, Djaami' V 1 p. 146.: "I was once talking with one of my colleagues (called Mohammed) until we reached the discussion about worshiping and he asked me: "until where does the worshiping reach ?" I told him "Until when you tell someone die ! he will instantly die", and then I realised that I had pronounced the expression "die !" without giving much attention to it, so my friend died instantaneously and he kept in his death state. I got perplexed for that and did not feel very comfortable. Then I went back to him and I found him changed because of the lack of heat in his body, I got then more worried and then I got the inspiration to say "Mohammed make alive again !" so I said it to him three times, and then I saw that life began to run gradually again in him and me looking at him until he recovered his initial state."

Shirk In The Naqshbandi Tareeqah

2008-09-01T07:25:00.000-07:00

Source: Alwalaa'wa'lbaraa

Yesterday I was invited to visit the Naqshbandi homepage, because it’s great, I was told. This caused me to take one of their articles and demonstrate once again the greatest Shirk that we can find in their writings.

The article, "Meded - Asking Support From Grandsheikh", which I include below, contains several jaahilee 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, Shaytaan, 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 while 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.

Who was Ibn Arabi?

2008-09-01T07:16:00.000-07:00

http://www.allaahuakbar.net/sufism/who_was_ibn_arabi.htm

He was a prominent Sufi; in fact he was an extreme Sufi. His name was Muhammad ibn ‘Ali ibn Muhammad al-Taa’i al-Andalusi. The scholars have told us about him in response to a question which was put to them. The question was as follows:

What do the imaams of the religion and the guides of the Muslims say about a book which has been circulating among the people, the author of which claims that he wrote it and distributed it to people by permission of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) which was given to him in a dream which he claims to have seen? Most of this book contradicts what Allaah revealed in His Books and is opposed to what His Prophets said.

Among the things that he says in this book are: Adam was called insaan because in relation to the truth (Al-Haqq), he was like the pupil [insaan] of the eye, the part that can see.

Elsewhere he said: Al-Haqq which is transcendent is the physical creation which you can see.

Concerning the people of Nooh he said: if they had turned away from their worship of [their idols] Wudd, Siwaa’, Yaghooth and Ya’ooq, they would have lost more of Al-Haqq.

Then he said: Every object of worship is a manifestation of Al-Haqq. Those who know it, know it, and those who do not know it, do not know it. The one who has knowledge knows what he is worshipping and in what image the object of his worship is manifested. These many and varied manifestations are like the limbs of a physical image.

Then he said concerning the people of Hood: They reached a true state of closeness (to Allaah) and were no longer remote. The heat of Hell no longer affected them and they gained the blessing of closeness to Allaah because they deserved it. They were not given this delicious experience as a favour, but because they deserved it as a result of the essence of their deeds, for they were on a straight path.

Then he denied the idea of the warning against those of mankind against whom the word of punishment is justified.

Should the one who believes in what he says be denounced as a kaafir, or should we accept what he says, or what? If the person who listens to him is an adult of sound mind, and does not denounce him by speaking or in his heart, is he a sinner, or what?

Please explain to us clearly and with proof, as Allaah has taken the covenant from the scholars on that basis, for negligence [on the part of the scholars] causes a great deal of confusion to the ignorant. (‘Aqeedah Ibn ‘Arabi wa Hayaatuhu by Taqiy al-Deen al-Faasi, p. 15, 16).

(The author) mentioned the response of some of the scholars:

Al-Qaadi Badr al-Deen ibn Jamaa’ah said:

The passages quoted, and other similar parts of this book, are bid’ah and misguidance, evil and ignorance. The religiously-committed Muslim would not pay any heed to them or bother to read the book to find out more.

Then he said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) could never give permission in a dream for something which goes against and contradicts Islam; on the contrary, this is from the evil insinuations or whispers of the Shaytaan and a trap whereby the Shaytaan is playing with him and tempting him.

His words about Adam, that he is the pupil of the eye, and his likening Allaah to His creation, and his remark that ‘Al-Haqq which is transcendent is the physical creation which you can see’ – if by ‘Al-Haqq’ he is referring to the Lord of the Worlds – is a clear statement of anthropomorphism [likening Allaah to His creation] and he has taken this notion to extremes.

With regard to his denial of what has been narrated in the Qur’aan and Sunnah concerning the warning: this makes him a kaafir in the view of the scholars of the followers of Tawheed.

His comments about the people of Nooh and of Hood is vain and false talk which deserves to be rejected. The best way of dealing with that is to destroy this and all other similar passages of his book, for it is no more than fancy words, an expression of baseless ideas and an attempt to introduce into the religion ideas that do not belong to it. The ruling on this is that it should be rejected and ignored. (Ibid., p. 29, 30).

Khateeb al-Qal’ah Shaykh Shams al-Deen Muhammad ibn Yoosuf al-Jazari al-Shaafa’i said:

Praise be to Allaah. His comment about Adam being called insaan is anthropomorphism [likening Allaah to His creation] and is a lie and falsehood. His belief that the idol-worship of the people of Nooh was valid is kufr. Anyone who says such a thing cannot be approved of. His comment that ‘Al-Haqq which is transcendent is the physical creation which you can see’ is false and contradictory, and it is also kufr. His comment that the people of Hood had reached a true state of closeness (to Allaah) is a lie against Allaah, and by saying this, he has rejected what Allaah said about them. His remark that they were no longer remote and that Hell became a blessing and a joy for them is a lie and a rejection of everything that was revealed to the Prophets; the truth of the matter is what Allaah said about that, that they (the people of Hood) will abide in the torment forever.

Concerning those who believe what he says – and he knows what he said – the same ruling applies to them as to him: that they are misguided kaafirs, if they have knowledge. If they do not have knowledge, then the person who says that out of ignorance should be told the truth and taught about it, and should be stopped if possible.

His denial of the warning to all people is a lie and a rejection of the consensus (ijmaa’) of the Muslims. No doubt Allaah will bring about the punishment. Islam offers definitive evidence that a group of sinners from among the believers will be punished, and the one who denies that is regarded as a kaafir. May Allaah protect us from wrong belief and denying the Resurrection. (Ibid., p. 31, 32).

Ibn Taymiyah said:

The Muslims, Christians and Jews all know something which is a basic principle of the Muslims’ religion: that whoever says of any human being that he is a part of God is a kaafir, he is regarded as a disbeliever by all these religions. Even the Christians do not say this, although their belief is a major form of kufr; no one says that the essence of creation is part of the Creator, or that the Creator is the creation, or that Al-Haqq which is transcendent is the physical creation which you can see.

Similarly, his remark that if the Mushrikeen turn away from idol-worship, they will have turned away from Al-Haqq to the extent that they have abandoned idol-worship, is obviously kufr according to the basic principle that is common to all the religions. For the religions are agreed that all the Prophets forbade idol-worship and regarded as disbelievers those who did that; the believer cannot be a believer unless he disavows himself of worshipping idols and of everything that is worshipped instead of Allaah. As Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning);

“Indeed there has been an excellent example for you in Ibraaheem (Abraham) and those with him, when they said to their people: ‘Verily, we are free from you and whatever you worship besides Allaah, we have rejected you, and there has started between us and you, hostility and hatred for ever until you believe in Allaah Alone’” [al-Mumtahanah 60:4]

-- and he quoted other aayaat as proof -- then he said:

Whoever says that if the idol-worshippers give up their idols, they will have turned away from Al-Haqq to the extent that they have abandoned idol-worship, is an even worse kaafir than the Jews and Christians, and the one who does not regard them as kaafirs is an even worse kaafir than the Jews and Christians, for the Jews and Christians regard idol-worshippers as disbelievers, so how about one who says that the one who gives up idol-worship has turned away from Al-Haqq to the extent that he has abandoned idol-worship?! Let alone the fact that he says, The one who has knowledge knows what he is worshipping and in what image the object of his worship is manifested. These many and varied forms are like the limbs of a physical image and the energy in a spiritual image; nothing but Allaah is being worshipped in everything that is worshipped. He is an even greater kaafir than the worshippers of idols, for they only take them as intercessors and mediators, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “ [The Mushrikeen say] ‘We worship them only that they may bring us near to Allaah’” [al-Zumar 39:3]

“Have they taken (others) as intercessors besides Allaah? Say: “Even if they have power over nothing whatever and have no intelligence?” [al-Zumar 39:43]

They acknowledged that Allaah is the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and the Creator of the idols, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And verily, if you ask them: ‘Who created the heavens and the earth?’ Surely, they will say: ‘Allaah (has created them)’” [al-Zumar 39:38] (Ibid., 21-23)

Shaykh al-Islam also said:

When the faqeeh Abu Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Salaam came to Cairo and they asked him about Ibn ‘Arabi, he said:

He is a vile and evil shaykh who says that the world is eternal and does not see anything haraam in any sexual relationship.

He mentioned the belief that the world is eternal because this is what [Ibn ‘Arabi] believed, but this is well-known form of kufr and the faqeeh Abu Muhammad denounced him as a kaafir because of this. At that time Ibn ‘Arabi had not yet said that the universe was God or the universe was the image and essence of God. This is a greater form of kufr because those who say that the universe is eternal still believe that there had to be Someone Who brought it into existence, that from the One Who must exist comes that which may exist. Those shaykhs who met him [Ibn ‘Arabi] said that he was a liar and a fabricator, and that in his books such as al-Futoohaat al-Makkiyyah etc. there were lies which could not be concealed from any intelligent person.

Then he said:

I have not even mentioned one-tenth of what they mentioned about kufr, but people who do not know about them have been deceived by these ideas, just as they were deceived by the Baatini Qaraamitah when they claimed to be descendents of Faatimah and said that they belonged to the Shee’ah, so the Shee’ah began to like them without knowing of their hidden kufr. So the person who is attracted to them is one of two things: either he is a heretic and hypocrite, or he is misguided and ignorant. With regard to these pantheists (ittihaadiyoon), their leaders are the leaders of kufr and must be executed, and their repentance cannot be accepted if they are seized before they repent, for they are among the greatest heretics, those who make an outward display of being Muslim whilst concealing kufr in their hearts, those who conceal their beliefs and their opposition to Islam. Everyone who follows them, who defends them, who praises them, who admires their books, who is known to help them, who does not like to speak against them or who makes excuses for them by saying that we do not know exactly what these statements mean, who says ‘How can we be sure that he wrote this book?’ and other excuses which no one but an ignorant person or a hypocrite would come up with, must be punished.

Indeed, it is obligatory to punish everyone who knows about them but does not help to resist them, because campaigning against these people is one of the most serious duties, for they have corrupted the minds and religious belief of many shaykhs, scholars, kings and princes, and they are spreading corruption throughout the world, preventing people from following the path of Allaah. The harm that they cause to the religion is greater than that done by those who damage the worldly interests of the Muslims but leave their religion alone, such as bandits on the highways and the Tatars (Mongols) who took their wealth but left their religion alone. Those who do not know them should not underestimate the danger they pose. Their own misguidance and the extent to which they misguide others defies description.

Then he said:

Whoever thinks well of them and claims not to know how they really are should be informed about them. If he does not then turn his back on them and denounce them, then he should be classed as one of them.

Whoever says that their words could be interpreted in such a way that it does not contradict sharee’ah is one of their leaders and imaams. If he is intelligent, he should know what they really are. But if he believes in it and behaves like this openly and in secret, then he is a worse kaafir than the Christians. (Ibid., p. 25-28 – adapted and abbreviated)

Ibn Hajar said:

Some confusing words of Ibn ‘Arabi were mentioned to our master Shaykh al-Islam Siraaj al-Deen al-Balqeeni, and he was asked about Ibn ‘Arabi. Our Shaykh al-Balqeeni said: he is a kaafir. (Ibid., p. 39).

Ibn Khaldoon said:

Among these Sufis are: Ibn ‘Arabi, Ibn Saba’een, Ibn Barrajaan and their followers who follow their path and their religion. They have many books in circulation that are filled with blatant kufr and repugnant bid’ahs, trying to interpret clear texts in very far-fetched and repugnant ways, such that the reader is astounded that anyone could attribute such things to Islam. (Ibid., p. 41).

Al-Subki said:

These later Sufis, such as Ibn ‘Arabi and his followers, are misguided and ignorant and beyond the pale of Islam; those among them who have knowledge are even worse. (Ibid., p. 55).

Abu Zar’ah ibn al-Haafiz al-‘Iraaqi said:

Undoubtedly the famous book Al-Fusoos contains blatant kufr, as does al-Futoohaat al-Makkiyyah. If it is true that he wrote this and continued to believe in it until he died, then he is a kaafir who is doomed to eternity in Hell, no doubt about it. (Ibid., p. 60).

So how can any sane person say that these brilliant scholars did not understand Ibn ‘Arabi? If they did not understand him, who can?

An incident from which we learn a lesson:

Al-Faasi said:

I heard our companion al-Haafiz al-Hujjah al-Qaadi Shihaab al-Deen Ahmad ibn ‘Ali ibn Hajar al-Shaafa’i say: there were many disputes about Ibn ‘Arabi between me and one of those who like Ibn ‘Arabi, until I insulted him because of the bad things that he had said, but that did not make the man change his mind. He threatened to complain about me to the Sultaan in Egypt with regard to a matter that was different from that which we were arguing about, just to cause trouble for me. I said to him: the Sultaan has nothing to do with this! Come, let us make Mubaahalah [call our sons, our wives and ourselves and pray and invoke the Curse of Allaah upon those who lie – cf. Aal ‘Imraan 3:61]. It is very rare, when people make Mubaahalah and one of them is lying, for that one to go unpunished. So he said to me, ‘Bismillaah’ [i.e, he agreed]. And I said to him: ‘Say: O Allaah, if Ibn ‘Arabi is misguided, then curse me with Your Curse’ – so he said that. Then I said, O Allaah, if Ibn ‘Arabi is rightly-guided, then curse me with Your Curse. Then we parted. Then we met in a park in Egypt on a moonlit night, and he said to us, Something soft touched my leg, look! So we looked but we did not see anything. Then he checked his eyes and he could not see anything (i.e., Allaah had afflicted him with blindness).

This is the meaning of what Al-Haafiz Shihaab al-Deen ibn Hajar al-‘Asqallaani told me. (Ibid., p. 75, 76).

This is how this man has misguided and deceived those who are seeking the truth and who want to follow the path of right guidance. He is a heretic who was not ahead of his time in any way except in misguidance and kufr. He does not possess any light or wisdom; on the contrary he is in the depths of darkness and ignorance.

We have quoted the words of scholars other than Ibn Taymiyah, to point out the kufr of Ibn ‘Arabi, so that people should not think that Ibn Taymiyah was the only one who denounced him as a kaafir. If you want to see other among those Scholars who decided that Ibn Arabi is a Kafir and who are accordingly not wahabis. As none of them was alive even at the time of the grand fathers of Muhammed bin Abdul Wahhab. Nor do they all agree with the teaching of Imam Ibn Taymiyyah Al-Harrani then click this link

Who was Mansoor Hallaj

2008-09-01T07:13:00.000-07:00

http://www.allaahuakbar.net/sufism/index.htm

Who was Mansoor Hallaj and What was his role in Islamic History?

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)

For more information, see Taareekh Baghdaad by al-Khateeb al-Baghdaadi, 8/112-141; al-Muntazam by Ibn al-Jawzi, 13/201-206; Siyar A’laam al-Nubalaa’ by al-Shihaabi, 14/313-354; al-Bidaayah wa’l-Nihaayah by Ibn Katheer, 11/132-144

And Allaah is the Guide to the Straight Path.

What is a Sufi and What is Sufism?

2008-09-01T07:08:00.000-07:00

http://www.allaahuakbar.net/sufism/index.htm

Sufi: a follower of Sufism

Sufism: a sect that has introduced many innovated practices and beliefs into the religion of Islam while claiming to be mystical

Sufism was not known in the time of the Prophet (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace) or his Companions, nor was it well known in the first three generations after them. It first appeared in Basrah in Iraq, where some people went to extremes in worship and in avoiding the worldly life, something which is admonished in the Quran:

"The Monasticism which they invented for themselves; We did not prescribe it for them." Qur'an 57:27

Sufis belong to the Illumist school of philosophy which holds that knowledge and awareness is brought about in the soul by spiritual exercises. Orthodox Islam holds that one can achieve true knowledge and awareness through the acts of worship that exist in the Quran and Sunnah.

Sufism is often, willfully or otherwise, referred to by Sufis themselves, or by orientalists, as "Islamic mysticism", in order to give the impression that Islam is either wholly or partly an esoteric religion, with a set of dogmatic rituals to be understood by the elite alone-in this class, the Sufis! Unfortunately, the lack of any sound critical analysis of the subject in the English language allows these orientalists to flood the English and North American book market with literature that stands unchallenged, and dupes naive Muslims into believing that true salvation can only be attained by pursuing a mystical order. Their vain goal strips Islam of its Universality. The Sufis have introduced many innovations into Islam in the name of Tasawwuf and have justified such practises by fabricated statements and unsound arguments

Although many sects have appeared throughout the ages, none have outlasted as long and spread their effects into the homes of so many as Sufism has. The emotional attachment that a countless number of Muslims have towards this sect is so powerful that any analysis should be purely from an objective perspective; Its conclusions however leave no doubt as to the alien nature of Sufi teachings that have infiltrated into the religion that our beloved Prophet (s.a.w.s) left us upon.

True Muslims should be content with the name "Muslims given to them by Almighty Allah as he says: which means,

"He has chosen you (to conform to His religion) and has imposed no difficulty upon you in religion, the religion of your father Ibrahim. He named you 'Muslims' both before (in the preceding Divine Scriptures) and in this Book." (22.78)

Ibn Kathir elaborated on this verse, saying: "Allah has chosen the Muslims, honoured them, and distinguished them exclusively of other nations by the most honourable Messenger and the most perfect religion, and He has not overburdened them with more than they can bear.

Sufis believe that their teachers are also a source for legislation in worship, as they will order them to carry out acts of worship that have no basis in either the Quran or the Sunnah. The extremists from amongst them often claim that Allah dwells within His creation (i.e. in people's hearts, internal organs etc.). Consequently, they ascribe to their Sufi teachers attributes and powers which only belong to Allah, such as the knowledge of the unseen.

They often claim that the texts of the Quran and the Sunnah have an outer, apparent meaning, and as well, an inner, hidden meaning. They hold that the outer, apparent meaning is known to those who practice orthodox Islam, while the inner and hidden meanings of the Quran and Sunnah are known only to their teacher and order. These teachers will often claim that since they have advanced to the inner and hidden meaning of Islam, they no longer need to pray or fast, something that not even the Prophets were excused from.

Like many other Sufi doctrines, pantheism is adopted from man-made religions and philosophies, as confirmed by S. R. Sharda in his book, Sufi Thought

"Sufi literature of the post-Timur period shows a significant change in thought content. It is pantheistic. After the fall of Muslim orthodoxy from power at the centre of India for about a century, due to the invasion of Timur, the Sufi became free from the control of the Muslim orthodoxy and consorted with Hindu saints, who influenced them to an amazing extent. The Sufi adopted Monism and wifely devotion from the Vaishnava Vedantic school and Bhakti and Yogic practices from the Vaishnava Vedantic school. By that time, the popularity of the Vedantic pantheism among the Sufis had reached its zenith."

If Sufis insist that they are Muslims, then what is the sense of identifying themselves with Sufism rather than with Islam. The word "Sufism" was not familiar to those who lived in the first and the best three generations of as-Salaf as-Salih (the pious predecessors) who were commanded by Allah the Exalted and His Messenger Muhammad (s.a.w.s)

Ibn Taymiyyah makes this clear in his 'Majmu al-Fatawa: 'Some people accept everything of sufism, what is right as well as what is wrong; others reject it totally, both what is wrong and what is right, as some scholars of kalam and fiqh do. The right attitude towards sufism, or any other thing, is to accept what is in agreement with the Quran and the Sunnah, and reject what does not agree'" [Majmu Fatawa Shaykh al-Islam, Vol. 10, p. 82]

Sufism: Its Origin Part 3

2008-09-01T07:04:00.000-07:00

Part 3 - Source: http://www.allaahuakbar.net/sufism/its_origin.htm

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 recognised 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 (s.a.w) 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 (s.a.w) nor the Salaf, and all hadith which state that the Prophet (s.a.w) 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).26

The stories also of Khidr and his meeting with the 'Awliyaa', the 40 Abdaal's who are always on the Earth and can be at any place in the wink of an eye, are derived from Jewish and Christian legends, not Islamic traditions.

Innovation

Imam Malik remarked: "That which was not religion at the time of the Messenger and his companions, may Allah be pleased with them all, is never to be religion today. He who introduces a Bid'ah (innovation) in the religion of Islam and deems it a good thing, claims by so doing that Muhammad (s.a.w.s) betrayed the Message."

The Sufis are to be found indulging in and spending an enormous amount of resources defending innovated practices, declaring them to be "good innovations." These include celebrating the death of the Prophet (s.a.w.s) (a practice adopted from the reign of Fatamids, who began this innovation in order to seek the pleasure of the masses), reading Qur'an over the dead and seeking blessings form them, and the building of extravagant mosques (even though our Prophet (s.a.w.s) forbade this. Anas reports that the Messenger of Allah said: "The Hour will not come to pass until the people vie with each other in (building) the mosques." [Ahmad, Abu Dawud, anNasa'i, Ibn Majah] ).

Why they still survive Emotional attachment

The Sufi's have become such an integral part of the lives of so many Muslims that Muslims are finding it difficult to accept that the Sufi path is wrong, and accuse anyone who pinpoints the errors of Sufism as an extremist or a follower of some 'deviant' sect.

Sufism calls to human emotions rather than intellect and Islamic evidence. For example, poetry and music were the most popular form during the past hundreds of years, whereby "Sufi ideas permeated the hearts of all those who hearkened to poetry."27 Today, Sufism is followed by masses of people who desire to leave behind the complexities of this world, instead of building the ability to challenge it. Sufism provides the perfect escape, where its followers can meditate instead of thinking about the other Muslims who are suffering, let alone help them.

Similarity with pagan beliefs

Sufism is so similar to other religions, and as we noted earlier very tolerant of them, that a change to Sufism does not involve a complete change of life, as Islam requires. So Buddhists, Sikhs, Taoists and mystic Jews and Christians looking for an easy alternative find solace in Sufism which perhaps only adds another dimension to their previous way of life, rather than uprooting it and starting afresh

Simplicity

Ibnul-Jawzee says in Talbees Iblees: "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."

Sufism offers its followers a life carefree from fighting (Jihad), politics, the initiative to seek knowledge and teach it, the work of Da'wah, and allows a person to indulge in worldly activities such as music, magic, and other prohibited acts.

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 criticise - they are accepting everything. That's why, when my children are looking at Madonna on MTV, I say, 'Let me come and look also!'"

Support from the governments

Any group which manages to gain the support of an anti-Islamic Government must be suspicious. During the reign of the tyrant Mustafa Kemal, under whose leadership thousands of scholars were executed and Islamic practices banned, special permission was granted by the Turkish government in 1954 allowing the Mawlawi dervishes of Konya to perform their ritual dances. In fact, they have become a regular attraction nowadays, performing around the world along with their Turkish Mystical Music State Ensemble. 28

The Sheikh of the Naqshibandi's of America has greeted and received praises from the President of America Bill Clinton himself. And why shouldn't he, since the 'Islam' he portrays is one of pacifism and unity with the Kuffar.

Twisting of evidence

Since the Qur'an and Hadith are readily available, and cannot be changed, the Sufis have resorted to another trick used by other Mystics: Ta'weel, or changing the apparent meaning of a verse or hadith to a secret inner one which only a certified Sheikh could explain!

They also rely on providing the mass with forged hadith, such as the one stating the beseeching of Adam (a.s) in the name of Muhammad when he sinned; the stories of Khidr; the rising of the Prophet (s.a.w) from his grave so a person could kiss his hand and so on.

Because of the lack of knowledge the general mass possess on the knowledge of Hadith and Aqeedah, they believe what they are told, and pass on the stories to other generations, becoming distorted even more along the way.

Another smart tactic is to attribute forged sayings in support of the Sufi's from the righteous scholars. For example, Ibn Taymiyyah is attributed to have been a member of the Qadiri order and had been initiated, and spoken great words on Bistami and his likes. Yet Ibn Taymiyyah spent the majority of his life fighting against the teachings of Sufism, was imprisoned because of them, and bluntly stated "...Ibn Arabi who wrote "Al-Fousous," and other slandering atheists such as Ibn Sab'een and his like. They even witness that they are simultaneously the worshipers and the ones being worshiped."

The Damage to the Ummah

l Sufis distracted the Muslims from the teachings of the Qur'an and Sunnah towards the servitude of the Sheikh. Muslims thus became alienated from the teachings of Islam, and possessed no protection from the innovations and trappings of the deviant sects. Teachings such as "He (the follower) must not look to any other than his Sheikh" did nothing to cement the community. Rather, it sent the ball rolling for the wars between the various Mathabs, which culminated in fighting, rejection of each other faiths, and praying at different stations in Makkah itself.

l The Sufi's have left a lasting impression on the image of Islam, portraying it as one of peace and apolitical, and anyone who contravenes this is an impostor and considered an extremist. By relying on forged hadith such as the 'bigger Jihad is Jihad'ul Nafs (i.e. struggle against the self)' and its like, Muslims have been made to believe that work and family is the greatest Jihad, rather than establishing Allah's religion on Earth though the use of the sword.

l The Sufi influence undoubtedly contributed greatly to the decline of the Ottoman Empire. The pacifist views they spread, the lack of Shari'ah knowledge, and their befriending of the disbelievers, made sure that no one would oppose the vast changes being made to the Ottoman Laws. By 1880, the Tanzimat period was in full force, where Shari'ah was replaced by European Laws (except in limited circumstances such as in Hadd punishments), yet little opposition was heard29. Whilst the masses were busy in the construction of extravagant mosques and spinning around in circles, the Ottoman Empire was overtaken by Masons and eventually torn to parts.

Conclusion

Sufism was doomed to destruction from when it first emerged, because of its deviation from the teachings of the Qur'an and Sunnah. The small excess, the little innovation, led to the snowball effect, such that it emerged as a movement for well-meant increased Ibaadah and Zuhd, to Kufr and Innovation.

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 (s.a.w), the Qur'an and Sunnah, as understood and believed and acted upon by the best people to have lived: the Salaf us Saalih, the Companions and those who followed their footsteps.

By Br. Yusuf Hijazi

1 Al Fataawa 11/7
2 Encyclopaedia Britannica
3 Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary
4 Encyclopaedia Britannica
5 The Fundamentals of Tawheed, Abu Ameenah Bilal Phillips
6 S. R. Sharda, Sufi Thought
7 The Naqshbandi Way, pp 12,16
8 Ibn Arabi, al-Fusoos, p.191
9 Hadhihi Hiyas-Soofiyah, p.38
10 The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, p.77
11 The Triadic Heart of Shiva, pp 183-4
12 Angela of Foligno: Complete Works, pp 181-2
13 Encyclopaedia Britannica
14 ibid.
15 Naqshibandi Way
16 Memoirs of the Saints, translated by Dr. Bankley Behari
17 ibid.
18 Encyclopaedia Britannica
19 An unpublished poem from Ibn Arabi's 'Diwan', translated by Dr Austin
20 Stephen Hirtenstein's paper Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi: The Treasure of Compassion
21 Sufis of Andalusia, transl. by R. W. J. Austin, p.23
22 Encyclopaedia Britannica
23 Memoirs of the Saints, p.108
24 ibid.
25 Naqshibandi Way
26 Sheikhul Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, Majmoo' al Fatawaah
27 Encyclopaedia Britannica
28 They recently came to perform in Australia, charging $30 per head. Only the elite went to watch this 90 minute theatrical display.
29 The Islamic World, New Jersey 1991

Sufism: Its Origin Part 2

2008-09-01T07:02:00.001-07:00

Part 2 - Source: http://www.allaahuakbar.net/sufism/its_origin.htm

Incorporation of Music in Rituals

Allah's Messenger (s.a.w) said in a lengthy hadith concerning the appearance of vile acts, "...when singing-girls and stringed instruments make their appearance, wines are drunk, and the last members of this people curse the first ones, look at that time for a violent wind, an earthquake, being swallowed up by the earth, metamorphosis, pelting rain, and signs following one another like bits of a necklace falling one after the other when its string is cut." [Tirmidhi ].

The deception of Sufism is brought to full light by looking at the lives of their esteemed leaders, the Sheikhs of whom which they place full trust in heir knowledge and obey their every command, and by contrasting the Orthodox Islamic teachings against the Sufi alternative.

Sufi Sheikhs: Role Models or Deviants?

Bayazid Tayfur al-Bistami

Bayazid is considered to be "of the six bright stars in the firmament of the Prophet (s.a.w)"15, and a link in the Golden Chain of the Naqshibandi Tariqah. Yet his life reeks of Shirin all aspects.

Bayazid al-Bistami was the first one to spread the reality of Annihilation (Fana'), whereby the Mystic becomes fully absorbed to the point of becoming unaware of himself or the objects around him. Every existing thing seems to vanish, and he feels free of every barrier that could stand in the way of his viewing the Remembered One. In one of these states, Bayazid cried out: "Praise to Me, for My greatest Glory!"

Yet this concept is to be found nowhere in the Qur'an, nor Sunnah, nor in the behaviour in the Salaf us Saalih.

Bistami's belief in the Unity of all religions became apparent when asked the question: "How does Islam view other religions?" His reply was "All are vehicles and a path to God's Divine Presence." Was this the Message of Tawheed which the Prophet (s.a.w) practised and was followed by the Sahaabah? He attributed the believers to be the same as the disbelievers themselves, who Allah describes as being worse than cattle (Surah 7, verse 179) and dogs; the same disbelievers who the Prophet (s.a.w) stated he had been commanded to fight till they testified that there was no deity but Allah.

The whole life of Bayazid is rife with such contradiction to Eeman. From a young age, he left his mother stating to her that he could not serve Allah and his mother at the same time.16 When walking through the streets, he once called out "I am God; why do you not worship me?" He spent his time sitting with his head resting between his knees, one of his companions stating he did so for thirty years. But strangest of all was his obedience to a dog he once came across. The dog had apparently become upset at Bayazid's attempt to avoid him, to which the dog spoke to him and scolded him. So Bayazid pleaded "O dog, you are so enlightened, live with me for some time."17

Ibn Arabi

During the late 12th and early 13th centuries, under the influence of speculative mysticism, Ibn al-Arabi produced a system that created a complete chasm between the law and Sufism. In societies, such as Islamic India, that had a strong pre-Islamic heritage of mysticism, this chasm became much wider.18

Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi holds perhaps the highest position amongst all Sufi Schools, and was pivotal in the permanent split between Islam and Sufism. He claimed to have received direct orders from the Prophet (s.a.w) himself, including a book of completely new hadith never seen or heard of before.

Prior to his receiving 'revelation', Ibn Arabi was well known to attend nightly parties in Seville. During one of these nights, he heard a voice (his drunk inner self?) calling to him, "O Muhammad, it was not for this that you were created". He fled in fear to a cemetery, where he claims to have met, and received instruction from, Jesus, Moses and Muhammad, peace be upon them all. From his books, innumerable forged sayings attributed to the Prophet (s.a.w) have been used, to the extent that countless of Muslims consider these to be real.

The following are quotes from Ibn Arabi:

"The man of wisdom will never allow himself to be caught up in any one form or belief, because he is wise unto himself".19

"All that is left to us by tradition (Hadith) is mere words. It is up to us to find out what they mean"20. (This reflects his alliance with Baatini (inner) meanings and interpretations)

"He (Ibn Rushd) thanked God that in his own time he had seen someone (Ibn Arabi) who had entered into the retreat ignorant and had come out like this (knowledge of inner meanings)- without study, discussion, investigation or reading"21

Junaid

Junaid was the fourth head of the Safavid order who sought to transform the spiritual strength of the order into political power. What may be unknown to his followers however was his policies of military adventurism combined with Shi'a and Sufi piety.22 His son, Haydar, himself established the Safavid dynasty and the Twelver Shi'a Islam in Iran came under his grandson, Isma'il I.

He was said to have blown a fatal breath at his slave-girl, to which he argued that she was ruining his forty years of spiritual practices.23

This so-called 'Saint', a supposed friend of Allah, made the following remarks:

"I saw a thief who was being gibbeted. I bowed to him... for being true to the profession he followed."

"He who fears Allah never smiles".

"One moments forgetfulness of the Lord ruins a thousands years worship".

Mansur al-Hallaj

Mansur is renowned for his claim "Ana-l-Haq" (I am the Truth), for which he was executed for apostasy. Yet he is still revered by Sufis even though he abandoned all the laws governing Tawheed.

He was said to have lived in one cloak for a full twenty years, along with a scorpion inside. He stood bare-footed and bare-headed for one year at the same spot in Makkah. During his prayers, he would say "O Lord! You are the guide of those who are passing through the Valley of Bewilderment. If I am a heretic, enlarge my heresy." He also said "I denied your religion (Islam) and denial is obligatory on me, although that is hideous to Muslims."24

Abu Yazid

Abu Yazid once prayed one Juma'a prayer in 24,000 different places. He told the religious authorities in one place: "I was praying in 12,000 different houses of worship today." They asked: "How?" He said, "By the power of the Lord Almighty. If you don't believe me, send people around to ask." They sat and waited until messengers returned saying that he was seen in so many places. Abu Yazid said later: "I was afraid to say 24,000, so I only said 12,000." So Abu Yazid clearly lied, when he could have simply not mentioned anything in the first place.

Are these truly the ones who we are told to receive the knowledge of our religion from? Do these men reflect the teachings of Islam? A man who left obedience to his mother, to the obedience of a dog? Are we supposed to follow men who receive revelation in a cemetery after spending the night at a party? Or a man who kills his slave girl for 'disturbing' his worship? To us, Islam calls smiling a charity, not a deviation from Allah's Pleasure. Islam forbids prostration to anyone but Allah. The Prophet (s.a.w) used to make du'a seeking Allah's guidance, not begging for heresy. And Islam teaches us truthfulness, not lies.

Evidence Against their teachings: their beliefs and practices

Position of the Sheikh and Wali

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".25

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 (s.a.w) 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 (s.a.w) on a regular basis (in reality).

Distortion of the concepts of Dhikr, hadith, Qur'an

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 "wrongdoe," "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]

Sufism: Its Origin Part 1

2008-09-01T06:48:00.000-07:00

Article from: http://www.allaahuakbar.net/sufism/its_origin.htm

The word Sufi is most likely to be derived from the Arabic word "soof", meaning wool. This is because of the Sufi habit of wearing woolen coats, a designation of their initiation into the Sufi order. The early Sufi orders considered the wearing of this coat as an imitation of Isa bin Maryam (Jesus). In reply to this, Ibn Taymiyyah said: "There are a people who have chosen and preferred the wearing of woolen clothes, claiming that they want to resemble al-Maseeh ibn Maryam. But the way of our Prophet is more beloved to us, and the Prophet (s.a.w.s) used to wear cotton and other garments."1

Sufism is known as "Islamic Mysticism," in which Muslims seek to find divine love and knowledge through direct personal experience of God2. Mysticism is defined as the experience of mystical union or direct communion with ultimate reality, and the belief that direct knowledge of God, spiritual truth, or ultimate reality can be attained through subjective experience (as intuition or insight)3

Both the terms Sufi and Sufism and Sufi beliefs have no basis from the traditional Islamic sources of the Qur'an and Sunnah, a fact even admitted by themselves. Rather, Sufism is in essence a conglomerate consisting of extracts from a multitude of other religions with which Sufi's interacted.

During the primary stages of Sufism, Sufis were characterised 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 organised 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-Majnoon 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.

The Mixing Pot

With the demise of the Companions and their successors, the door became open for the distortion of Islamic Principles. The enemies of Islam had already burrowed deep into the ranks of Muslims and rapidly caused Fitnah through their spreading of forged hadith and subsequently created new sects such as the Khawaarij and Mu'tazilah.

Sufism gained its breeding ground during this period, whereby it gained its support from the Dynastic Rulers, who had deviated from Islam to the extent whereby magic was used as entertainment in their courts, even though magic is considered as Kufr in Islam.5 During this period, Sufism developed its Shi'a flavour, indeed the roots of contemporary Sufism have been traced back to Shi'a origins (see later).

Sufi ideology and thinking flourished during the times of the likes of Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi, Jalal Ad Din Rumi, and Imam Ghazali. Their translation of Greek philosophical works into Arabic during the third Islamic century left an indelible mark on many aspects of Sufism, resulting in Greek pantheism becoming an integral part of Sufi doctrine. Pagan practices such as Saint worshipping, the use of magic and holding venerance towards their Sheikh overtook the Orthodox practices of Islam and had little resemblance to the Islam left by our Prophet (s.a.w).

By examining the mystic doctrines of Christianity, Hinduism, Taoism and other religions, it becomes clear how closer Sufism is to these religions than to Islam. In fact, Sufism is never characterised under "Islam" in any system of catalogue, but rather under 'Mysticism'.

Sharda highlights these unsurprising similarities by stating that: "After the fall of Muslim orthodoxy from power at the centre of India for about a century, due to the invasion of Timur, the Sufi became free from the control of the Muslim orthodoxy and consorted with Hindu saints, who influenced them to an amazing extent. The Sufi adopted Monism and wifely devotion from the Vaishnava Vedantic school and Bhakti and Yogic practices from the Vaishnava Vedantic school. By that time, the popularity of the Vedantic pantheism among the Sufis had reached its zenith."6

The following comparison demonstrates the non-coincidental similarity that Sufism shares with other religions:

Concept of validity of all religions

The Sufi doctrine of all religions being acceptable before Allah is derived from the Mystical beliefs of other religions, and not Islam, for Allah says: "Truly, the religion in the Sight of Allah is Islam..." [2: 19].

Take for example the Buddhists:

"No Buddhist who understands the Buddha's teaching thinks that other religions are wrong... All religions acknowledge that man's present state is unsatisfactory. All teach an ethics that includes love, kindness, patience, generosity and social responsibility and all accept the existence of some form of Absolute."

The Sufis also believe the same: "Allah does not distinguish between the non-believer and the Faasiq (wrong doer) or between a believer and a Muslim. In fact they are all equal to Him... Allah does not distinguish between a Kaffir or a hypocrite or between a saint and a Prophet."7

In al-Fusoos, Ibn Arabi leaves no doubt as to his conviction in the unity of all religions: "Beware of restricting yourself to one particular religion and disbelieving in everything else, so that great good would be missed by you, indeed you would miss attainment of knowledge of the affair in the form he is following. Rather be ready to accept all forms of belief. This is because Allah is higher and greater than to be comprehended by one belief to the exclusion of others. Rather all are correct, and everyone who is correct receives award, and everyone who is rewarded is fortunate, and everyone who is fortunate is one with Whom He is pleased."8

Union with the Creator

Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'aala is completely distinct from His Creation. He neither resembles His Creation, nor is He enclosed by it. Sufis however, with their deviant doctrine of Wahdat ul Wujood, believe contrary to this. Ibn Arabi, the Sufi scholar with whom which the concept of Wahdat ul Wujood is rightly attributed, asserted that since Allah's Attributes were manifested in His creation, to worship His creation is similar to worshipping Him: "So the person with complete understanding is he who sees every object of worship to be a manifestation of the truth contained therein, for which it is worshipped. Therefore they call it a god, along with its particular name, whether it is a rock, or a tree, or an animal, or a person, or a star, or an angel."9

This is how far the Sufis deviated because of their reliance on Greek and Eastern philosophy, rather than the Qur'an and Sunnah. To them God is not Allah Alone with whom no one else shares in His Dominion, but rather everything we see around us, and ultimately our own selves! Glory to Allah, who Stated "There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer" [42: 11]. Looking at where Sufism derived its understanding from, we find the same ingrained beliefs:

"When you live in the wisdom home, you'll no longer find a barrier between "I" and "you," "this" and "that," "inside" and "outside;" you'll have come, finally, to your true home, the state of non-duality."10

"Finally, the experience of realisation matures sufficiently that the [spiritual aspirant] may rightly utter the startling assertion, 'I am Shiva' (a Hindu deity)".11

"When I am in that darkness I do not remember anything about anything human, or the God-man.. I see all and I see nothing. As what I have spoken of withdraws and stays with me, I see the God-man.. and he sometimes says to me: 'You are I and I am you'".12

Corruption of Tawheed in Allaah's Attributes

Sufis totally deny all of Allah's Attributes, such as His Face, His Hands, His Istawaa etc, using metaphorical meanings to explain His Attributes. Although the Companions and Tabi'een believed in them without any resemblance to His creation, the Sufi's deem His Attributes to be a part of His creation.

Ibn Arabi went as far as to say that he saw Allah during one of his ecstatic trances, in the shape of a young blond boy sitting on a Throne! (see Bezels of Wisdom, London 1980). Other Sufi Gnostics followed suit in Ibn Arabi's trail: "In the writings of Ibn al-Arabi and Ibn al-Farid, eternal beauty is symbolised through female beauty; in Indo-Muslim popular mystical songs the soul is the loving wife, God the longed-for husband." 13

Tassawuf OR Sufism

2008-09-01T06:47:00.000-07:00

The word “Sufism” was not known at the time of the Messenger or the Sahaabah (companions) or the Taabi’een (Companions of the Companions of the Prophet). 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 Naqshbandiya, Qaadriya, Chhishtiya, Saharvardiya, Shaadhiliyyah, Rifaa’iyyah, Rehmaaniya, Rizviya, Subhaniya, Gausiya, Teejaaniyah, Sanusiyyah, Sahiliyyah 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.

Source: http://www.allaahuakbar.net/sufism/TASSAWUF.HTM

Justifying Wahhabism

2008-09-01T06:42:00.000-07:00

The relationship between Muhammad bin Abdul-Wahhab and Ibn Taymiyah

(Qur'an 49:6)
O you who believe! If a rebellious evil person comes to you with any news, ascertain the truth, lest you harm people in ignorance, and afterwards you become regretful to what you have done. (Qur'an 49:6)

As for the relationship between Muhammad bin Abdul-Wahhaab and Ibn Taymiyah, Abdul-Wahhab was indeed influenced by Ibn Taymiyah. In fact Abdul-Wahhab started a similar movement at his time. But Abdul-Wahhab had his da3wa (invitation to Islam) in the heart of the Arabian Desert, while Ibn Taymiyah in the center of the area and heart of Islam at that time, Sham (Syria). So he gained much more followers.

Muhammad Bin Abdul-Wahhab came at a similar time, when in Arabia people started worshipping stone and grave in the name of Islam. He fought a lot of innovations and additions to Islam and his efforts succeeded in uniting with the family of Sa3ud and forming the first Saudi state, but at that time the family of Saud were righteous people, unlike the family of Saud of today. It is interesting to note that Abdul-Wahhab and his students were all Hanbalis, just like Ibn Taymiyah. The first Saudi State ended with the 3rd Ottoman campaign led by Muhammad Ali Basha himself, but even that failed to erase the methodology. The methodology is until today widespread in the entire peninsula and not only Saudi Arabia.

Frankly, I hear a lot of slander thrown at Muhammad bin Abdul-Wahhab, and I personally used to dislike him. But when I read his book Kitab al-Taw7eed and checked the accessions thrown at him I did not find any of the slander thrown at him truthful. Some cases he is clearly innocent from what is said, sometimes what they accuse him of is clearly in accordance with Quran and Sunnah. Like for example the Sufis attack him for destroying the dooms that were built over the graves of the Companions, but the fact is there are many Hadeeths that say that such things are the actions of the Jews and Christians, and that those who build such things are the worst of the creation and that the Prophet cursed such a thing, and that he strictly forbade such a thing. So as you see, those who attack him are either ignorant about the Sunnah or are just venting out hatred against Arabs.

Some of the other innovation Abdul-Wahhab students canceled, was the innovation of performing four prayers one for each school (mathab). Like a Hanafi would do Athan (call prayer) and then all the Hanafis would perform the prayer behind a Hanafi Imam, then a Maliki would do Athan and the Malikies would do their prayer and so on. Abdul-Wahhab students canceled this and praying in the Ka3ba returned to be unity like it was at the days of the Companions and like it is today, thanks for Allah.

In fact if Abdul-Wahhab is what I know about him by now, then he is Insha' Allah another reformer (Mujadid) like Ibn Taymiyah: he revived the forgotten of the Sunnah, he fought innovations, and he returned the people to the understanding of the Companions.

As for the Wahhabi Da'wa today, most Wahhabi people live in Saudi Arabia. Almost all people in Mecca and Medina belong to this school. They don't use the term Wahhabi, but rather, Salafi Da'wa or Ahlul Sunna wal Jama'a. Although, they have a negative view about women and some modern inventions, they played in important role to keep Islam alive in Arabia. They also played a significant role in raising up Islam and resisting missionary Christians in the Muslim world. Many people think that Wahhabi people are bad because the King of Saudi Arabia is bad. This assumption is clearly wrong since the Saudi king does not follow that school. His jails are full with Wahhabi scholars. Some people (unfortunately) slander Wahhabis as a way to slander Arabs. If you want to know the truth about those people, I advice you to check this site that is maintained by a famous Wahhabi scholar: www.Islam-qa.com and check out www.usc.edu/dept/MSA

Ultimately, I advice all Muslims: Do not judge people before you listen to them.

Article source: http://islamicweb.com/beliefs/creed/wahhab.htm

Shaikh al-Islam Ibn-Taymiyah

2008-09-01T06:19:00.000-07:00

One of the best Muslim scholars

Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah is a very famous Muslim scholar. To understand Ibn Taymiyah we need to understand the time that Ibn Taymiyah came at. Ibn Taymiyah came at a time when many people came into Islam but unfortunately wanted to bring some of the stuff from their old religions into Islam and make a mix. The result of that appeared as groups like the Shi3a & the Sufis and so on. At that time Islam was drifting away and the people started clinging to the things that were added to Islam not to Islam itself. Ibn Katheer in his most famous book "al-bidayah wal-nihayah (The starting and the beginning)" says that deviation and misguidance speed so much that Sunnah and true Islam was hard to find (much worst than today), and he actually gives examples of places and such. He said "and when we come to see the state of the people of Damascus that time, the people there were worst than the polytheist Kafirs like Christians and Sabians. Innovations and Shirk spread so commonly that it was thought to be Sunnah and it was defended vigorously against any kind of reform or return to the sundae."

At these times Ibn Taymiyah came. Obviously, this was around the time of the Crusader presence. Also, you have a significant of the Christian population becoming Muslim or forming certain sects and certain people who were already Muslims were forming certain sects. As one says, you are a product of your environment. A very large percentage of Syrians were Christian and joining Islam and they were bad influences. Ibn Taymiyah attacked the idea of having saints. The idea of saints originated from Catholicism and Christian Orthodoxy. As for Druze (1) and Alawite (2), Ibn Taymiyah call for their persecution since they are worse polytheist than Christians are. The Mamelukes were not interested in the piety of Orthodox Sunni style. They favored the Mystical Dervish styles of the Sufis etc.... Today, with Mamelukes and Fatimite influence, Egypt still has heavy mystical influence and Sufism.

Ibn Taymiyah had one little magnificent idea: Islam was perfect and complete at the days of the companion, a lot of stuff was added to Islam afterwards by Sufis and others, since Islam WAS perfect before then these things we do no need. So, he wanted to revive the understanding of Islam according to what the Companions of the prophet (or al-Salaf al-Salih7) understood. Of course Ibn Taymiyah did not come up with that concept by himself, the concept was started by the prophet who used to say in every Friday that people will come and they will add to Islam, and that these additions are evil and are rejected, and that those who add them will not be forgiven and there will not get reward for their worship. The Companions understood that and they followed it perfectly. The guidelines of the concept are very apparent in all the 4 schools especially the last school (mathhab), the Hanbali which came at a time when deviations and innovations were many so It had a solid and clear methodology in fighting such things, Imam Ahmad Bin Hanbal spent several years in the jails of Bani al-3abbas because of his stand against the deviant mu3tazillah when they claimed that the text of Quran was uttered by Gabriel not by Allah (fitnat khaliq al-Quran).

Anyway as Muslims got deeper and deeper into these deviations, Allah made their situation worse and worse. First Allah gave the shi3a the upper hand on the Sunnis and they founded states in Yemen (Zaidiya), eastern Arabia (Qaramita), Iran (Ismailis and Twelvers) and Egypt (Fatimites). Ibn Katheer says in the same book (al-bidayah wal-nihayah) that this was indeed the long due punishment that the people deserved with their leaving Islam. But the people still insisted on deviation and innovation so Allah sent both the Mongol and the Crusaders as punishments on the Muslims. At such times, came Ibn Taymiyah.

Ibn Taymiyah was a follower of the Hanbali School, his father was the head of that school but he died when Ibn Taymiyah was 17. When Ibn Taymiyah became 20 he was acknowledged to be the head of the Hanbali School by all Hanbali major scholars. The nature of the Hanbali school and the fact that it was the last lead remain away from all the innovation and deviation aground them. Many Hanbalis deviated too but for some time the only groups that slicked to pure Islam were a small group among the Hanbalis and the ever-small group of the students of Hadeeth. The rest were in dissension. Ibn Taymiyah started a revolution. He was sick and tired of all the innovation and deviation aground him, so he started a merciless war against everything that is not Islam yet claiming to be Islam. He attacked many people that the people considered holy like al-Ghazali, Ibn Arabi, Ibn Seena (philosopher from the Mu3tazila (3)) and many others. Ibn Taymiyah was set on living Islam like the Companions understood it and lived it, without the additions that people added and without taking anything away from Islam. He was able with his great ability at speech and great knowledge to gain a huge number of supporters in a short time. Indeed, Ibn Taymiyah enemies had no argument at all, anyone who studies Quran and Sunnah sees that everything Ibn Taymiyah called for was good and everything he fought was bad. The guy was so careful not to do or say anything unless he is sure of the strength of his argument.

Ibn Taymiyah attacked Ibn 3arabi, the famous Sufi that claimed for the first time that Allah exists everywhere and he claimed that Allah and his creations are the same thing. That is clearly in contradiction to Quran and Sunnah and to the understanding of the Companions (Qur'an 67:16). So Ibn Taymiyah declared him a Kafir (non-Muslim) because he attributed to Allah something that we were never told, and that is Kufr by the agreement of the Sunni Muslims. By doing this, Ibn Taymiyah made the Sufis his enemies. Ibn Taymiyah was merciless with the Sufis who instead or worshipping Allah and supplicating to Allah, were worshipping their Awlia' (their leaders) and the graves, yet he was fair to the few Sufis that were righteous at his time like Abdul Qadir al-Jilani (unfortunately those Sufis are almost nonexistent today). Ibn Taymiyah did not care how much that was man respected nor how many followers did he have, he attacked whoever he found deviating and he was extremely frank about it. He even would say that so and so contradicts himself and show how, or comment on the stupidity and silliness of the ideas and methodologies. He was devoted to the truth.

Ibn Taymiyah did not care who liked him and who hated him, he cared for what was right and what was wrong. Later on a person from 7Hama city asked Ibn Taymiyah about the issue of Allah being over the throne (al-istiwa') so in answer Ibn Taymiyah dictated his book "al-3aqeedah al-hamawiyah" which basically was based on what the Companions believed in regard to theme issues, and he gave extensive evidence for it from the sayings of the companions, the understanding of companions to Quran and from the narrated Sunnah. The fact was that at that time people in Sham (Syria) had a different view on this issue than the view of the Companions, their understanding was that to deny the attributes of Allah and make them symbolist to some other things. Ibn Taymiyah was able to clearly show how this is not what the Muslims for the first three generations believed in, and that this belief was added to Islam. By this Ibn Taymiyah also gained the asha3irah as another enemy. Then Ibn Taymiyah made his most famous Fatwa (religious verdict) with regards to promising to make divorce that those who promise "3alai al-talaq" not intending to really do, then it doesn't count. The three other schools of Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) were in agreement on the contrary so they were so raged at his Fatwa, although" today all Muslims are in agreement that his Fatwa was indeed correct. But anyway the result of his Fatwa is that the leaders among the other schools became all against him. So, Ibn Taymiyah gathered against him the ash3aris, Sufis and the Sectarian and that meant trouble and conspiracies to come.

The 3 groups started making plans to get rid of Ibn Taymiyah from his position, so they went to the ruler and told him that Ibn Taymiyah claims that Allah is in the sky and that this is bad. The ruler was fair and held a debate between both sides: Ibn Taymiyah, all the judges, and all the others. At the end of the discussion the ruler said that Ibn Taymiyah was correct and that these scholars were misguided about where Allah is (ola'ika ada3u rabbabum).

Issues like this continued and later the 3 groups managed to get other rulers to be less sympathetic with Ibn Taymiyah and he was jailed several times. That is no shame of course since Imam Ahmad himself was put in jail and prophet Yusuf (Joseph) was put in jail too. Ibn Taymiyah also spent some of his time in Jihad against the Mongol. He also gave several motivating speeches to the armies that went to fight when he did not go with them himself.

Ibn Taymiyah, with his daring frank approach was very successful at exposing the zeal and deviation of many groups. He was one man who started with a few students but ended up with a huge group of followers returning to follow Islam like the Companions did. The prophet told us about such people when he said "Allah has put for my nation for every 100 years a man who will revive the forgotten and correct the deviation." and Insha' Allah Ibn Taymiyah is among those Reformers (Mujadids).

The efforts of Ibn Taymiyah soon lead to a righteous government by the Ayyubis to be formed. Bani Ayyub (children of Saladin/Salah al-Deen) adopted an Islamic reform policy that they are until today praised for, they followed much of what Ibn Taymiyah called for with a few exceptions, the most important one was that they were still ash3aris in their faith. But the fact that they were the only Sunni righteous government for a long time, and that they declared their Sunnism and a war against so many deviations shows that they are indeed a gigantic improvement over those who came before them.

As for his Fatwa regards the Isma3ilia (Isma'ilism) being Kafirs (non-Muslims), then that is true. He did declare them Kafirs, but then again so do ALL Muslims. The Isma3ilis believe Quranic texts have a hidden mending, and that there is a knowledge of the unseen, that only the Ismaili scholars can know about. That is known as Batiniyah (hidden religion), and the Sunni Muslims are in 110% agreement that this is s Kufr (disbelieving in Islam). Besides the fact that Ismailis believe that Quran is distorted, this is Kufr too. As for his Fatwa that the ruler should kill them all, then that is also not his opinion alone. Many scholars since the days of the Companions believed that a Zindeeq (the non-Muslim who claims himself to be a Muslim to attack Islam from inside) has no repentance in this life, that we must kill him, if he is under Islamic law. And this is by the way, the opinion of the majority, but the Ismailis hate Ibn Taymiyah so much because only the students of Ibn Taymiyah are the ones that refute these groups and expose their Kufr to all the people so that they will not be fooled by them.

Ibn Taymiyah died young but he left a lot of books. Many of Ibn Taymiyah students became big time scholars like Ibn al-Qayim and al-Thahabi. Ibn Taymiyah efforts are until today very useful, his guideline are until today used by the Muslims who want to follow Islam like it was at the days of the companions, without any additions and without any deletions.

Shaikh al-Islam Ibn-Taymiyya was the best when it comes to debating with Christians. If you read his debate with Christian scholars, you will find him supper. He showed very clearly their contradiction and man-made modification to their Bible. His book "Al-Jawab Al-Sahih Liman Baddala Qaula al-Maseeh (The right answer to those who changed the message of the Messiah)" is the best ever book that was written against the missionary Christians. May Allah bless his soul, he was a great man. I have to say that all Damascus attended his funeral including all these who he was in-dispute with them about some branches in Islamic practices like the Sufis and other schools. Muslims prayed at him even in far countries such as Yemen and China. Ibn-Taymiyah was one of the greatest men in Islamic teaching he is one of very few Imams who fought on the front-line side by side with Muslim soldiers. He was school in Fiqh and Jihad at the same time.

Notes:

1. The Druze supposedly the progeny of the Shiite faith from the Fatimid Empire that Saladin Al Ayubbi destroyed. They belive that al-Hakim (985-1021), an Ismaili ruler, is the embodiment of God.

2. But what about Ibn Taymiyah's supposed call for the killing of Alawites, because they are not following the Sunnah way. It is known that the Alawites and Druze both have some aspects of Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and pre-Christian and pre-Islamic philosophy on spirituality. Even Christians had pre-Christian traditions in their religion, so it was natural when some converted that they brought some of that.

3. As far as the Mu3tazillah they are a split from Islam that tried to have certain Neo-Platonic ideas and have Greek Philosophy melange with Islamic ideas and have esoteric ideas.

ARTICLE SOURCE: http://islamicweb.com/beliefs/creed/taymiyah.htm

Sufism A Mystical Movement

2008-08-31T04:27:00.000-07:00

The Sufis are not an ethnic or religious group, but a mystical movement that is found all over the Islamic world and that still has a deep influence on the varied populations of the Middle East.

Sufism grew historically as a reaction against the rigid legalism of the orthodox religious leadership and as a counterweight to the growing worldliness of the expanding Muslim empire.

One source of Sufism is to be found in the twofold presentation of God in the Qur'an: on the one hand he is described as the almighty creator, lord and judge, and on the other hand he is seen as abiding in the believer's heart and nearer to man than his own jugular vein.

Sufism searches for a direct mystical knowledge of God and of his Love. Its goal was to progress beyond mere intellectual knowledge to a mystical (existential) experience that submerged limited man in the infinity of God. It used Jewish, Christian, Gnostic, Hellenistic, Zoroastrian and Hindu traditions that were brought into Islam by converts from the many conquered populations. The name Sufi is derived from the Arabic word Suf which means wool. Early Sufis wore simple coarse woollen garments similar to those of Christian monks.

Sufism believed that the Qur'an and Hadith have secret, esoteric, meaning and symbolism (Batin). In opposition to the literal method of interpretation (Tafsir), Sufism used an allegorical method (Ta'wil) which looked for the hidden meaning and symbols in the holy texts.

Sufism had an important part in the formation of Muslim societies as it educated the masses and met their felt needs, giving spiritual meaning to their lives and channeling their emotions. Sufis were also great missionaries who converted new regions to Islam.

Its cultural contribution was a rich poetry in Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Urdu, Sindi, Pashto and Punjabi, which spread its mystical ideas all over the Muslim world and enriched local literature and identity.

Several techniques were developed to achieve the goal of a blissful union with Ultimate Reality. They were known as Dhikr (remembrance, mention of God) and Sama' (hearing). In the Dhikr Sufis would recite the many names of God and sing hymns of praise. Special forms of breathing were supposed to aid concentration and help them attain to an ecstatic state in which they actually felt they had reached union with God. During the Sama', poetry, music and dance were used as an aid to reaching the ecstatic state.

These informal groups later crystalized into Sufi brotherhoods gathered around famous leaders. In some countries even today most Muslims belong to one order or another. Around the Muslim world there are hundreds of orders and they are an important religious and political force.

Sufism is found amongst both Sunnis and Shi'a, being a movement within orthodox Islam. However it has many links with Isma'ilism and other extreme Shi'a sects (Ghulat) as it developed in similar times and circumstances.

Sufism developed in the 8th and 9th centuries in three major centres: 1. The cities of Basra, Kufa and Baghdad in Iraq. 2. The city of Balkh in the Khorasan district of Persia. 3. Egypt.

Muhammad is regarded as the first Sufi master who passed his esoteric teachings orally to his successors who also received his special grace (barakah). An unbroken chain of transmission of divine authority is supposed to exist from Muhammad to his successor 'Ali and from him down to generations of Sufi masters (Sheikhs, Pirs). Each order has its own Silsilah (chain) that links it with Muhammad and 'Ali.

HISTORY

1. FIRST STAGE - ASCETICISM

Under the Umayads (661-749) there was a growing tendency to compare the wealth and luxury of the ruling class with the simple lifestyle of the first Caliphs. Devout believers were shocked by the worldliness and opulence of court life and they reacted with a growing concern for reality in their own personal relationship with God. Outward observance of the Shari'a laws could not satisfy their growing spiritual hunger, and they started to imitate Christian hermits who had discovered asceticism and poverty as a way to develop a close relationship with God.

The first Sufis were ascetics who meditated on the Day of Judgement. They were called "those who always weep" and "those who see this world as a hut of sorrows." They kept the external rules of Shari'a, but at the same time developed their own mystical ideas and techniques. "Little food, little talk, little sleep," was a popular proverb amongst them. Mortification of the flesh, self denial, poverty and abstinence were seen as the means of drawing near to God, and this included fasting and long nights of prayer.

SOME EARLY SUFIS

Hasan of Basrah (d.728) was one of the first Sufi ascetics. He exhorted his followers against attachment to this evil world and encouraged them to reject it and to follow a path of poverty and abstinence.

Ibrahim b. Adham (d. 777) of Balkh in Khorasan taught his disciples the importance of meditation and of silence in worship.

Shaqiq of Balkh (d.810) taught that only a rigid system of self-discipline could lead to absolute trust in God (tawakkul) and to the mystical state (hal).

Al-Muhasibi (d.837 in Baghdad) taught that self-discipline and self-examination were the needed preparation for fellowship and union with God.

Dhu an-Nun of Egypt (d.859) taught that Ma'rifah (inner knowledge, enlightenment, Gnosis) was necessary to attain real union with God.

Abu Yazid al-Bistami (d. 874) taught that union with God is achieved through the annihilation of self (Fana'). This is done by a total stripping away of a person's attributes and personality and by rigorous mortification of the flesh. He was the first "intoxicated" Sufi who in his ecstatic state felt that God had replaced his own ego and now dwelt in his soul. This caused him to exclaim: "Glory to me! How great is my majesty!"

Junaid of Baghdad (d.910), stressed the importance of wisdom and sobriety in achieving both fana' (dying to self, extinction of self) and baqa' (abiding in God).

The first great Sufi martyr was Hallaj who was crucified in 922 in Baghdad for blasphemy. His offence was the statement "I am the Truth" which signified that he had attained union with God who now dwelt in his body instead of his own self. He saw Jesus as his great example of a holy man in whom God was incarnate.

2. SECOND STAGE - MYSTICISM OF LOVE

A woman from Basrah in Iraq, Rabi'a al-Adawiya (d.801) introduced the theme of Divine Love into Sufism. She yearned to love God only for Himself, not for hope of any reward (paradise) nor out of fear of judgement (hell). Following her death the love theme became a dominant feature of Sufism. It expressed the Sufi's yearning for the development of a love relationship with God that would lead to an intimate experience of God and finally to a total union with God.

The love theme found its main expression in Sufi poetry in which the relations between God the Divine Lover and the man searching for his love were symbolically described. Early Sufi poems in Arabic express the soul's deep yearning for union with the beloved. Persian poetry often compared the soul's love relationship with God to that between a man and a beautiful youth. In Indian poetry the loving wife yearning for her husband symbolised the soul's yearning for God. Later poets developed the long mystical poems called Mathnawis ( Masnawis) which expressed in symbolical verse the manifold emotions of love to God and of unity with him.

Persia had the greatest flourishing of Sufi poetry, and most of its classical poetry has a Sufi content. One example is the Mathnawi "Mantiq al-Tair" (speech of the birds) by Farid al-Din 'Attar, an allegory which portrays the mystic on his pilgrimage from asceticism through illumination to union with God.

Jalal ad-Din Rumi (1207-1273), named "Mawlana" - our Lord or Teacher - was the greatest Persian mystical poet. His famous Mathnawi of 26,000 rhythmic couplets is a real encyclopaedia of Sufi allegorical and mystical thought and experience. Persian Sufis regard it as next to the Qur'an in holiness. Rumi also founded the Mawlawi (Mevlevi) order of whirling dervishes.

Sufi poetry uses the symbols of wine (God's intoxicating love), the wine cup (the Sufi's heart) and the cup bearer (the spiritual guide). The wine house is the religion of love and it is compared to the religion of law symbolised by the mosque. Learning the many Sufi symbols and their meaning is essential to an understanding of this kind of poetry.

3. THIRD STAGE - SUFI APOLOGETICS

Early Sufi masters gathered informal circles of disciples and transmitted their teachings orally. At first, the orthodox religious authorities were very suspicious of the Sufis and accused them of heresy and blasphemy. This led some Sufis in the 10th century to defend Sufism by writing handbooks of their teaching and practice in the hope of proving their orthodoxy. Al-A'rabi (d.952), Makki (d.996), Sarraj (d. 988), Kalabadhi (d.1000) and Hujviri (d.1057) were such masters who wrote in defence of Sufism. They also published histories and biographies of Sufism, trying to prove that it was based on the practice (Sunnah) of the Prophet and his companions.

Al-Qushairi (d. 1072) defended Sufism against the accusations of antinomianism (lawlessness). In addition to writing biographies of Sufi saints he wrote "Risala", a book in which he defined Sufi doctrines and terms. He defined the mystical stations (maqamat, a result of the Sufi's own labours), and states (ahwal, mystical states bestowed by God's grace).

Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (d.1111), called Hujjat al-Islam - Proof Of Islam, was a great Muslim thinker who found no satisfaction in his extensive study of theology and law. Turning to Sufism he found in it the certainty of God he had yearned for and failed to find in his previous studies. In his book "The Revival of the Religious Sciences" (Ihya' 'Ulum ad-Din) he attempted to reconcile Sufism with orthodoxy. It was immensely popular and finally guaranteed Sufism an official place in orthodox Islam alongside Law and Theology.

4. FOURTH STAGE - PHILOSOPHICAL-MYSTICAL SYSTEMS (THEOSOPHY)

Theosophy is any mystical system of religious philosophy that claims a direct intuitive insight into God's nature. Theosophical speculations on the nature of God and man were introduced into Sufism by Sahl al-Tustari (d.896) and at-Tirmidi (d 898).

The greatest of all Sufi theosophical writers in Arabic was Ibn al-'Arabi (d.1240) who was born in Spain. He travelled to Tunis and Mecca and finally settled in Damascus. In his 500 books he teaches that all existence is but a manifestation of God, the one ultimate divine reality which is totally "other", an undifferentiated unity, but in whom the archtypes of all potential beings exist. This is the "unknown God" from whom emanates a hierarchy of divine beings (Names, Lords) the lowest of whom is the Lord of revelation and creation who is also called the First Intellect. The emanations are the mediating link between the unknowable, transcendent God and the created world. This teaching was the basis of the Sufi concept of the Unity of Being (Wahdat al-Wujud). The First Intellect, an emanation of the God was also called the "idea of Muhammad". He is the archtype through whom man was made. This emanation is incarnated in a Perfect Man in every generation - the perfect Sufi. This man most fully manifests the nature of God and he is the pole (Qutb, axis) around which the cosmos revolves. Ibn al-'Arabi saw himself as such a "pole" and he called himself the seal (the most perfect) of the saints.

Another theosophical system, that of illumination, was developed by Shihab al-Din Suhrawardi (executed in Aleppo in 1191). He taught that all things exist as varying degrees of light, beginning with the Absolute Light, the Light of Lights who is God himself. Light then spreads out from God in ever weaker degrees (angels), each reflecting the light above it to those beneath it. The whole world of being is composed of innumerable angels of light spreading out in geometrical patterns.

Indian Sufis were influenced by Hindu mysticism and strayed far from Islamic orthodoxy in their speculations. The Naqshbandi order founded in the 13th century in Central Asia to preserve true Islam from the ravages of the Mongol invasions, succeeded in keeping them within orthodoxy.

Ahmad Sirhindi (d.1624) taught that the Unity of Being was a subjective experience occurring only in the Sufi's mind - not the Hindu concept of total annihilation of the personal in the infinite.

5. FIFTH STAGE - THE RISE OF SUFI ORDERS

Sufi orders began to form in the 12th and 13th centuries centering around a master founder and stressing companionship (Suhbah, fellowship) as essential to the Sufi spiritual path.

This was the time of the terrible Mongol invasions when the 'Abassid Caliphate in Bagdad was overthrown. Sufism was one of the forces that helped prevent the downfall of Islam. It helped convert the conquerors and had a stabilising influence on the community during those troubled times. This period was actually Sufism's golden age.

In its first stages Sufism had been the prerogative of a limited spiritual elite. From the twelfth century onwards it succeeded in involving the Muslim masses on a large scale in its network of orders. Sufi hospices, (Zawiyas in Arabic, Khanagas in Iranian, Ribat in the Maghreb and Tekkes in Turkish) were founded all over the Muslim world from Morocco to Central Asia. The Sheikh of each order, a successor of the original founder, presided over the hospice. In this centre he taught his disciples (Murids) and performed with them the Sufi rituals of Dhikr and Sama'.

There was an elaborate initiation ritual for the disciple when he was admitted into full membership (usually after three years). In this ceremony he received from the Sheikh a special cloak (Khirqa) which symbolised poverty and devotion to God. Sufis had no rule of celibacy and most were married. The orders received endowments from sympathetic rulers and rich citizens and some eventually became fabulously wealthy. Sufi orders had an extensive missionary outreach into Africa and into Southeast Asia where they are still very influential.

Each order developed its own specific set of techniques for its Dhikr and Sama', used by its members to attain to the ecstatic state. These rituals also had a social function, helping to unify people from widely varying backgrounds into a spiritual brotherhood.

The orders were thus a unifying force in society, drawing members from all social classes to their Dhikr and Sama' ceremonies as well as to their joyous celebrations of the anniversaries of the deaths of their founder ('Urs). They provided the masses with a spiritual and emotional dimension to religion which the hair splitting legalists could not supply.

The orders also established trade and craft guilds and provided hospices for travellers and merchants which were located along the great trade routes (such as the famous silk road). Between the 13th and the 18th century most Muslims belonged to some Sufi Tariqah.

SOME FAMOUS ORDERS

There are more than two hundred known Sufi orders. Some are local, others universal. Some are rural and others are urban.

THE QADIRIYAH - the oldest and most widespread order. It has branches all over the world loosely tied to its centre at Baghdad. It was founded in Baghdad by 'Abd al-Qadir Jilani (d.1166), considered to be the greatest saint in Islam. It later became established in Yemen, Egypt, Sudan, the Maghreb, Central Asia and India. The Qadiriya stresses piety, humility, moderation and philanthropy and appeals to all classes of society being strictly orthodox. It is governed by a descendant of al-Jilani who is also the keeper of his tomb in Baghdad which is a pilgrimage centre for his followers from all over the world.

THE JILALIYA - a Qadiri branch in the Maghreb, worship al-Jilani as a supernatural being, combining Sufism with pre-Islamic ideas and practices.

THE NAQSHBANDIYA - was founded in Central Asia in the thirteenth century in an attempt to defend Islam against the ravages of the Mongol invasions. It later spread to the Indian subcontinent. The Naqshbandis tried to control the political rulers so as to ensure that they implemented God's will. They were politically and culturally active, the great poet Mir Dad (d.1785) belonged to this order. They were also connected to trade and crafts guilds and held political power in the 15th century in Central Asia and in Moghul India. A Naqshbandi branch, the Khaltawiyah, had an important part in efforts to modernise the Ottoman Empire during the 18th and 19th centuries.

The Naqshbandiya developed mainly as an urban order with close links to the orthodox hierarchy. They recite their Dhikr silently, ban music and dance, and prefer contemplation to ecstasy. Their "middle way" between extreme asceticism and extreme antinomianism seemed acceptable to the orthodox hierarchy. They have been involved in underground movements against Soviet rule in Central Asia and supported the Afghan Mujahedin against the Russians.

THE MAWLAWIYAH - this order was founded by Jalal al-Din Rumi (d.1273, called Mawlana), the greatest Sufi poet who wrote in Persian. Their rituals are aesthetically sophisticated, and their Sama' is famous for its exquisite combination of music, poetry and whirling dance (in the West they are called "Whirling Dervishes") which transports them into the trace like state.

The Mawlawiya were especially attractive to the educated elite of the Turkish Ottoman Empire and were widespread in Anatolia where they had close links with the authorities.

THE BEKTASHIYA - a syncretistic order whose ritual and beliefs are a mixture of Shi'ism, Orthodox Christianity and gnostic cults. By the sixteenth century the Bektashis were the order of the famous Janissary corps, the elite military unit of the Ottoman Empire. Their magic-like rituals appealed to the illiterate masses of Anatolia. Their clergy were celibate, they practiced ritual confession and communion and had a trinitarian concept of God similar to that of the 'Alawis.

THE TIJANIYA - founded by al-Tijani in 1781 in Fez, Morocco, extended the borders of Islam towards Senegal and Nigeria and founded great kingdoms in West Africa. They taught submission to the established government and their influence is still an important factor in these countries where it is associated with conservative businessmen.

THE DARAQUIYA - was founded in the early 19th century by Mulay 'Arabi Darqawi (d. 1823) in Fez in Morocco. It was the driving force behind the Jihad movement which achieved mass conversions to Islam in the mixed Berber-Arab-Negro lands of the Sahel. It is influential today in Mali, Niger and Chad and still widespread in Morocco.

THE KHALWATIYA - was founded in northwest Persia in the 13th century and spread to the Caucasus and to Turkey. It was closely associated with the Ottoman Sultans and had its headquarters in Istanbul. It has also spread to Egypt and Indonesia.

THE SUHRAWARDIYA - was started in Iraq by al-Suhrawardi (d.1234) who stressed serious training and teaching. They have many adherents in the Indian subcontinent. They were very involved politically in Iraq and Iran during the Mongol threat, seeking to ensure the survival of Islam.

THE RIFA'IYA - was founded in the marshlands of southern Iraq by al-Rifa'i (d.1187). They stress poverty, abstinence and mortification of the flesh, and are also known as the "Howling Dervishes" because of their loud recitation of the Dhikr. They focus on dramatic ritual and bizarre feats such as fire eating, piercing themselves with iron skewers and biting heads off live snakes.

THE SHADILIYA - was started by al-Shadili (d.1258) in Tunis. It flourished especially in Egypt under ibn-'Ata Allah (d.1309) but also spread to North Africa, Arabia and Syria. It is the strongest order in the Maghreb where it was organised by al-Jazuli (d. 1465) and has sub-orders under other names. The Shadiliya stress the intellectual basis of Sufism and allow their members to remain involved in the secular world. They are not allowed to beg and are always neatly dressed. They appealed mainly to the middle class in Egypt and are still active there. It is said that the Shadiliya were the first to discover the value of coffee as a means of staying awake during nights of prayer!

THE CHISHTIYA - were founded by Mu'in al-Din Chishti in Ajmer, India. His teaching was simple and the order is known for its fervour and hospitality. They helped in the islamisation of the Indian subcontinent.

THE SANUSIYA - are a military brotherhood started by al-Sanusi (d.1837) in Libya with political and military as well as religious aims. They fought against the colonising Italians and the former King of Libya was head of the order.

THE NI'MATULAHIYA - developed first in Persia and then in India as a specifically Isma'ili oriented Sufi order.

THE AHMADIYA - is the leading order in Egypt with its centre at Tanta. It was founded by Ahmad al-Badawi (d. 1276).

The orders helped spread Islam and their Sufi concepts in frontier lands such as India, Central and Southeast Asia, Sudan, Morocco and sub-Saharan Africa.

6. SIXTH STAGE - THE DECLINE AND REVIVAL OF SUFISM

The Sufi orders grew steadily in wealth and in political influence, but their spirituality gradually declined as they concentrated on Saint worship, miracle working, magic and superstition. The external religious practices were neglected, morals declined and learning was despised.

In many areas Sufi orders succeeded in ruling the ignorant masses through a well organised and power hungry hierarchy. Their local saints were revered by the populace and worshipped after their death as mediators and intercessors. Pilgrim's flocked to the Saint's tombs, willing to pay for a share in the Sheikh's baraka. The orders became rich and powerful, and both politicians and theologians feared to oppose them and preferred to share in the profits.

Some sincere mystics still rose above the general decline. In Egypt, al-Shar'ani (d.1565) lived at the time of the Ottoman conquest and was a serious and comprehensive scholar.

In Iran Sadr al-Din Shirazi (d.1640), also known as Mulla Sadra, was a great thinker who continued to develop the theology of illumination founded by Suhrawardi and integrated it with Ibn-'Arabis Unity of Being. His impact is still felt on theologians and philosophers in Iran today.

In India in the 18th century Shah Wali-Allah of Delhi tried to integrate the various schools of Sufi thought, whilst Mir Dard contributed much to the formation of Urdu poetry.

In Iran the Safavid order gained political power for two centuries (1499-1720). The Sheikhs of this order claimed descent from 'Ali and they were favourably treated by both the Mongol and the Timurid dynasties. Based in Ardabil in Azerbaijan the order became a local power in the 15th century as it alternatively allied itself with and fought against the rulers of the Turkmen tribal confederations (Ak-Koyunlu, the White Sheep and Kara- Koyunlu, the Black Sheep).

The Turkmen Safavids of Anatolia and Azerbaijan were called Kizilbash (Redheads) from the red headgear they wore. In 1501 the Safavid Sheikh Ismail I defeated the Ak-Koyunlu and took the old Mongolian capital of Tabriz where he proclaimed himself as Shah. Later he instituted Twelver Shi'ism as the state religion of Persia and imposed it by force on the population. Many Sunni 'Ulama' and Sheikhs of other Sufi orders were executed.

The Sunni Ottomans felt threatened by Shi'a Persia, and in the ensuing centuries of warfare between these two powers they evolved an aggressive Sunnism within their own Empire. The Sultan Selim I massacred all the Shi'ites that he could lay his hands on, and until modern times the Kizilbash of Anatolia and other Shi'a groups collectively called "Alevis" by the Ottomans were forced to exist as an underground movement. Alevis still number some 8 million people in modern Turkey but they are officially ignored as non-existent by the authorities.

In Arabia the Wahabi puritan revival was extremely anti-Sufi, seeing their practices and doctrines as later pagan additions to pure Islam.

Colonialism, nationalism and secularisation had a negative impact on Sufism in the 19th and 20th centuries. The modern revival of Islamic learning was accompanied by a violent reaction against the superstitions of Sufism. It was accused as being the cause of the Islamic world's backwardness compared to the West. The two great Muslim reformers of the 19th century, Jamal al-Din al-Afghani and Muhammad 'Abduh, both campaigned successfully against Sufi orders helping to diminish their influence.

In Turkey, Kemal Ataturk abolished the Sufi orders in 1925 and confiscated their lands and property. He saw them as corrupt and backward forces that hindered the modernisation of Turkish society. In other countries too post-colonial independent central governments were often suspicious of the orders. They were suspected of being cells of political unrest and revolution who held the loyalty of the masses by their superstitions, religious emotionalism and outmoded power structures.

Despite religious and political attempts to eliminate them, the Sufi orders continued to exist, often underground. With the resurgence of fundamental Islam in the second half of the 20th century came also a Sufi revival. Sufism still flourishes in North Africa, Egypt, Sudan, Iran, Central Asia, Pakistan, India and Indonesia. In Soviet Central Asia their underground networks helped Islam survive until the reforms of the late eighties. The disintegration of the Soviet Union has allowed them to return to full public activity in the new republics.

Sufism today is still a formidable force in the Islamic world. It still touches and transforms the lives of Muslim people, giving them meaning and emotional support in a world that is increasingly unstable and full of economic woes, suffering and confusion.

SUFI PRACTICE

INITIATION

Initiation into a Sufi order is seen as a necessary ritual that transmits the spiritual grace (barakah, spiritual power) of the guide (murshid) to the disciple (murid). This special grace goes back in an unbroken line to the Prophet himself. In Sufi thought it is likened to a seed planted in the initiate's soul, the equivalent of Christian baptism or new birth. At the initiation ceremony the Master who has experienced union with God and annihilation of self, in addition to giving the disciple the special garment also gives the him a secret word or prayer to help him in his meditation.

Sufis also believe in Spiritual Guides who reveal themselves to the Sufi in visions or dreams and help him on his path. Al-Khidr is one well known such guide who is sometimes identified as the prophet Elijah.

The initiate has to learn spiritual poverty (faqr) which means emptying the soul of self in order to make room for God. The illusion of the individual ego must be erased by humility and love of one's neighbour. This is attained by a rigid self discipline that removes all obstacles to the revelation of the Divine Presence.

THE PATH OR PILGRIMAGE

Sufism is seen as a spiritual path of self knowledge that leads to a knowledge of God. God is seen by the "eye of the heart", not by intellectual knowledge or legalistic customs. The outward form of religion is a mere shell which hides the kernel inside it. The kernel is the real Truth, the Sufi's goal on his spiritual path.

The Sufi path contains many stages (Maqamat) and states (Ahwal). It begins with repentance when the seeker joins the order and prepares himself for initiation. The guide (Sheikh, Pir) accepts the seeker as his disciple by the ritual of initiation when he imparts his grace, gives him strict ascetic rules to follow and a certain secret word for meditation. The disciple's path is one of continuous struggle against his lower soul. He passes through a number of spiritual stations and states clearly defined by Sufi teaching.

These are the Sufi stations: 1. detachment from the world (zuhd). 2. patience (sabr). 3. gratitude (shukr), for whatever God gives. 4. love (hubb). 5. pleasure (rida) with whatever God desires. Linked to these stations are specific moods or emotions (ahwal) such as fear and hope, sadness and joy, yearning and intimacy, granted to the pilgrim by God's grace for a while with the goal of leading him to on to Ma'rifah (esoteric knowledge, Gnosis), Mahabbah (Love) and to the ultimate goal which is annihilation of personality and unity with God.

Beyond this stage the Sufi then enters the state of Baqa', or perseverance in God. He returns from his state of intoxication (Sukr) back into the world completely transformed - reborn.

The Sufi path has three ways: Makhafah, the way of fear of God leading to purification. Mahabbah, the way of love leading to sacrifice. Ma'rifah, the way of intuitive knowledge leading to illumination.

DHIKR AND SAMA'

Dhikr and Sama' were based on words attributed to the Prophet: "Whenever men gather together to invoke Allah, they are surrounded by Angels, the Divine Favour envelops them, the Divine Glory (as-Sakinah) descends upon them, and Allah remembers them in His assembly." The hospices became centres where lay people from the countryside would gather together with the members of the order to obey the Quran's injunction to remember God often.

This was done in the celebration of the Dhikr, which involved the communal rhythmic repetition of a phrase, usually from the Quran, in which one of the names of God appears. Breath control and body movements were also used as techniques to aid in achieving concentration and control over senses and imagination. The rosary with 99 or 33 beads was used since the 8th century as an aid to counting the many repetitions (it entered Christian Churches from Sufism via the Crusades). This concentrated meditation can lead to a mystical trance and enlightenment which transforms man's whole being.

Sama' was first developed in the mid 9th century in Baghdad. It is another communal ritual practice, defined as a concert of music, poetry recital, singing and dance, which leads the participants to a mystical experience where they seem to hear the music of the heavenly spheres and the voice of God Himself. It attunes the heart to communion with God and is thought to remove all veils hiding God from man's inner vision. Drugs were used by some as an aid to reaching the ecstatic state, coffee by the Shadiliya in the 14th century.

SUFI SAINTS AND FOLK ISLAM

Sheikhs who had reached the highest mystical stage of union with God, were revered by the masses as saints (Awliya') upon whom God had bestowed miraculous supernatural powers and grace.

A cult of living and of dead saints developed around them influenced by pagan customs. They were seen as miracle workers, healers, and intercessors for others before God. Their tombs became pilgrimage centres visited by many in order to partake of the Saint's Baraka (blessing, supernatural power) to meet their needs for healing and other help. They would make vows and pray for the saint's intercession on their behalf. Special celebrations which developed into folk festivals were held on the anniversary of their deaths ('urs). They were seen to be mediators between God and man, God answering their prayers on behalf of the supplicants.

SUFI ESOTERIC TERMINOLOGY

Ahadiya - unconditioned unity.
Ahwal - mystical states.
'Aql - reason, Intelligence.
Baqa' - abiding union with God.
Barakah - transferable spiritual power of Saint.
Bast - expansive ecstasy.
Dhawq - taste, personal mystical experience.
Dervish - Persian for Sufi, meaning beggar, (faqir).
Diwan - collection of poems.
Fana' - mystical annihilation of self, union with God.
Faqir - Sufi disciple, dervish. (means poor).
Hijab - veil.
Hikmat-il-Ishraq - doctrine of illumination.
Ikhlas - absolute sincerity.
Al-Insan al-Kamil - the perfect man.
Khalwah - spiritual retreat.
Karamat - Grace, also miracles of saints.
Khanaqah - Sufi lodge.

Khirqah - patched cloak of Sufi.
Mahabbah - love.
Mathnawi - long mystical poem.
Mahfuz - protection of saints from serious sin.
Malak - angelic force.
Maqamat - stages in mystical journey.
Ma'rifah - secret knowledge, gnosis;
Murid - disciple;
Murshid - spiritual guide;
Nafs - lower soul;
Pir - Spiritual Master or guide;
Qalb - heart.
Qutb - pole, axis around which the world revolves, ÿÿÿÿÿÿperfected human beings, especially great Sufi Sheikhs;
Ribat - Sufi hospice, training centre.
Sahw - path of sobriety.
Suluk - the spiritual walk.
Shatahat - ecstatic utterances.
Sukr - path of intoxication.
Suhbah - companionship.
Silsilah - chain, spiritual lineage.
Talib - seeker, disciple.
Tawakkul - trust in God.
Tariqah - way, Sufi order.
Uns - mystical intimacy.
'Urs - festival celebrating anniversary of Saint's death.
Wahdat al-Wujjud - unity of being.
Wahidiyah - unity in plurality.
Wali - friend of God, saint.
Zawiyah - Sufi hospice.

Video - The Reality of Sufism by Abu Khadeejah as Salafi - Part 5/5

2008-08-31T04:25:00.000-07:00

The Reality of Sufism by Abu Khadeejah as Salafi - Part 5/5

Video - The Reality of Sufism by Abu Khadeejah as Salafi - Part 4/5

2008-08-31T04:23:00.000-07:00

The Reality of Sufism by Abu Khadeejah as Salafi - Part 4/5

Video - The Reality of Sufism by Abu Khadeejah as Salafi - Part 3/5

2008-08-31T04:22:00.000-07:00

The Reality of Sufism by Abu Khadeejah as Salafi - Part 3/5

Video - The Reality of Sufism by Abu Khadeejah as Salafi - Part 2/5

2008-08-31T04:18:00.000-07:00

The Reality of Sufism by Abu Khadeejah as Salafi - Part 2/5