What is the place of sufism in Islam? What truth is there in ‘religious experiences’
Question:
, contacts with the Divine, etc.? Some people hold such
phenomena in high regard, claiming the similarities between experiences
of people from different religions and from opposite corners of the
globe, to be proof. How should people who claim to be sufis or
believers/followers of sufism be seen? Isn’t prayer and remembrance
also a form of contact with the Almighty, SWT?
Answer: Praise be to Allaah.
The
The following is a comparison between the beliefs and rituals of Sufism and Islam which is based on the Qur’aan and Sunnah.
Sufism
“… and be not of al-mushrikoon (the disbelievers in the Oneness of Allaah, polytheists, idolaters, etc), Of The Sufis
But
“And The Sufis
“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 Some Sufis believe in wahdat al-wujood
The Sufis
“But seek “And make ready against them all that you can of power…” [al-Anfaal 8:60] The
The Sufis
“The believers are only those who, when Allaah is mentioned, feel a fear in their hearts…” [al-Anfaal 8:2] Moreover,
The Sufis
“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
“And
[al-Zukhruf 43:36]
The Sufis
“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
“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
“And worship your Lord until there comes unto the certainty (i.e., death).” [al-Hijr 15:99] The Sufis
“[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
The Sufis claim that they take knowledge directly from Allaah, without the mediation of the Prophet
The Sufis celebrate Mawlid and hold gatherings for sending blessings on the Prophet
The Sufis
The Sufis
“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
With
“And so 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
When
So
The Messenger of Allaah
And Allaah is the Source of Strength and the Guide to the Straight Path.
word “Sufism” was not known at the time of the Messenger or the
Sahaabah or the Taabi’een. It arose at the time when a group of
ascetics who wore wool (“soof”) emerged, and this name was given to them. It was also said that the name was taken from the word “soofiya” (“sophia”) which means “wisdom” in Greek. The word is not derived from al-safa’ (“purity”) as some of them claim, because the adjective derived from safa’ is safaa’i, not soofi (sufi).
The emergence of this new name and the group to whom it is applied
exacerbated the divisions among Muslims. The early Sufis differed from
the later Sufis who spread bid’ah (innovation) to a greater extent and
made shirk in both minor and major forms commonplace among the people,
as well as the innovations against which the Messenger 
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) warned us when he said,
“Beware of newly-invented things, for every newly-invented thing is an
innovation and every innovation is a going-astray.” (Reported by
al-Tirmidhi, who said it is saheeh hasan).
has numerous branches or tareeqahs, such as the Teejaniyyah,
Qaadiriyyah, Naqshbandiyyah, Shaadhiliyyah, Rifaa’iyyah, etc., the
followers of which all claim that their particular tareeqah is on the
path of truth whilst the others are following falsehood. Islam forbids
such sectarianism. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
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]
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.
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):
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]
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):
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]
(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.
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):
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]
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).
allow dancing, drums and musical instruments, and raising the voice
when making dhikr, but Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
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.
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):
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):
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.”
claim to have gnosis and knowledge of the unseen, but the Qur’aan shows
them to be liars. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), but the Qur’aan shows them
to be liars. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) with the words (interpretation of the meaning):
claim that they can see Allaah in this life, but the Qur’aan shows them
to be liars. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and in a conscious state
(as opposed to dreams). So are they better than the Sahaabah?? (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). They say, “Haddathani qalbi ‘an Rabbi (My heart told me from my Lord).”
(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?
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).
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):
(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.
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):
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]
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).
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.
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:
(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.’”
