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SomaliNet Forum (Archive): Islam (Religion): Archive (Before Feb. 16, 2001): ^^^^^Sufism in Somaliland^^^^^
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kamal

Thursday, February 08, 2001 - 06:05 am
From Bulletin of the School of Oriental
and African Studies, v 17:, 1955. Reprinted by permision of Oxford University
Press


Sufism in Somaliland: a Study in Tribal Islam - Part One. BY I.M. LEWIS

....
Relations with Arabia: the Introduction of Islam

The historical foundations for the contemporary claim to descent from the Prophet lie in the existence of relations between Somaliland and Arabia from the earliest times. Immigration from and to Arabia has always been and still is a constant feature of Somali life. There has always been a considerable floating population of Arabs in various stages of absorption among the Somali. Moreover, there is little doubt that Islam reached Somaliland shortly after the Hejira and its establishment is recorded by Arab writers of the 9th and 10th centuries. The coastal commercial colonies which had been founded by the Himyarite Kingdom before Islam eventually developed into the small Muslim states of Zeila (in its widest extension known as Adal) in British Somaliland, and of Mogadishu in Somalia. These were ruled by local dynasties of Somalized Arabs or Arabized Somalis. The history of Zeila has been adequately described by Trimingham (1952, pp. 58 ff.) and need be no more than summarized here. Cerulli's research (Cerulli, 1994, 1996, 1927) shows that from the beginning of the 10th until half-way through the 13th century Mogadishu was functioning as a trading colony which comprised a federation of Arabian tribes. Persians also played some part in its early history. The Arab settlers had elected chiefs and acknowledged the religious and jural authority of one lineage, the Qahtan ibn Wa'il. In the course of time Somali influence increased and from a loose federation of Arab-Somali peoples, a sultanate with a local dynasty (the Muzaffar) emerged in the 13th century. The Muzaffar sultanate flourished in the 13th and 14th centuries and by this time Shangani and Hamarwein, the two halves of the town of Mogadishu, were firmly established and Hamarwein was dominant. This dynasty survived into the 16th century when the sultanate declined as a commercial centre and reverted to a hegemony of small townships. At the same time Mogadishu was under pressure from tribes of the Hawiye tribal family who were advancing southwards through Somalia. By the second half of the 18th century Somalis had gained control of Shangani and imposed their imam as ruler of Mogadishu. Portuguese and British colonization contributed to the final collapse of the sultanate. In the 17th century the town had been occupied by the Imam of Oman for a short space, and remained after his withdrawal in vague dependence to him. With the division of the Muscat State early in the l9th century, Mogadishu was allotted to the Sultan of Zanzibar, who attempted to secure a more binding dependence by establishing military garrisons along the coast. Almost immediately after, these were sold to Italy and Mogadishu became part of the former Italian colony of Somalia.

Southern Ethiopia supplied Zeila with its trade and the town reached its greatest heights in the 14th century, but began to decline after Ahmad Granhe's celebrated campaigns against Christian Ethiopia in the 16th century. Its history was from the beginning the chronicle of a series of wars against the Ethiopian infidels waged in alliance with the other petty Muslim states of southern Eritrea and north-eastern Ethiopia. Mogadishu, as we have seen, had a shorter period of prosperity in the 11th century and then declined fairly rapidly under the joint pressure of nomadic incursions from the interior and the influence of external colonization. Such centres as these had an important effect in the development of Islam among the Somali. With the Arabian colonies firmly entrenched in the other trading ports they provided a foothold from which Mohammedanism spread amongst the nomads of the interior.(14)


Sufism among the Somali

The Somali are orthodox Sunnis and adherents of the Shafi'ite rite of the Shari'a. Sufism is well developed and the remainder of this paper will deal with the role of Sufism in Somali society. As is well known, this revitalizing current arose in Islam between the 9th and 10th centuries, attaining in its classical form its aesthetic and theological climax in the l1th and 13th centuries. True Sufism is now considered by some authorities to be in decadence (Arberry, 1950). In Somaliland after a period of great activity and general expansion up till the 1930's, the Dervish movement seems to be on the wane, although it is extremely difficult to assess its true importance at the present day. Tribal Sufism has always tended to form a conservative barrier against European administration and many of its adherents have strongly opposed the extension of education lest it should undermine their authority. Administrative hostility, real or imagined, has reinforced the esoteric and clandestine character of Sufi practice and made it all the more difficult to estimate its true significance. However, it is not difficult to study its functional importance as a movement in the social structure of Somali society, for whatever its present number of adherents, it has left an indelible impression as will be seen.

The adherents of Sufism belong to the congregations or communities, in many Muslim countries known as zawiya, in Somaliland as jama'a, of the various Orders (tariqa,'The Way ') into which the movement is divided according to the doctrines and services (dhikr) ordained by the founders of Orders. Tariqa means 'path' in the sense of the Way to follow in the search for righteousness and the Way to God. The end of the tariqa is ma'rifa, absorption in God (gnosis). Those who have travelled furthest, through virtue, the practice of devotion, and the grace which God has vouchsafed them are nearest Him. As the Path is traversed successive steps of the way are demarcated as ' stations ' or ' states '. These are discussed below. For his godliness and virtue the founder of each Order is held to be closer to God and to exemplify in his teaching and life the True Path which it behooves the zealous to follow. The founder is a guide who through his particular qualities of devotion. and by his special virtue including the grace (baraka) bestowed upon him by God leads his disciples towards God. His baraka passes to those who follow in his Path and dedicate their lives to his example. Each Order is distinguished by the specific discipline which its founder has established as the True Path. Since there is no God but Allah and Mohammed is His Prophet, religious prestige is a function of connexion with the Prophet's Qurayshitic lineage. Thus those in whose blood (recorded in personal genealogies) the Prophet's grace (baraka ) flows are eminently suitable for election to the office of head (khalifa) of an Order or of a congregation (Sheik). Sheiks and khalefas, as also the founders of the Orders themselves, have personal genealogies tracing descent from ancestors connected with Mohammed. To what extent such claims are historically true is in the present context irrelevant. The tradition is that descent from Quraysh entitles to religious office and that to be a Sufi sheik or khalifa implies such descent. Thus in their furthest extension the personal genealogies of the founders of Orders and of their local representatives, sheiks and khalifas, reach back to the Prophet's lineage. According to the lineage principle in terms of which relationships in Somaliland are understood each jama'a is identified with the genealogy of its khalifa or sheik. The consequences of this in the total genealogical structure of Somali society will shortly be seen. Within each tariqa the authority of the incumbent of the office of regional khalifa is founded upon a chain of tradition which has two branches. Unlike his personal genealogy, these attach to the office, not to the person. The silsilat al-baraka (chain of benediction) traces the chain of grace which unfolds from the founder of the Order through his successive disciples down to the present incumbent of the office of khalifa. The silsilat al-wird, the other branch, connects the founder with the Prophet and, through his mediation, with Allah. The silsila (lit. 'chain ' ) consists of a list of names through which spiritual affiliation is traced and in some ways resembles a genealogy. It is quite separate, however, from the sheik's personal genealogy although that also is regarded as endowed with power.

In initiation (wird), the covenant ('ahd) of the tariqa is administered to the novice by the head of the community in a formal ceremony at which the service (dhikr) pertaining to the Order is celebrated (for a description, see Robecchi-Bricchetti, 1899, p. 423; Trimingham, 1952, p. 237). The novice swears to accept the khalifa as his guide and spiritual director through the baraka of the founder. He is then instructed in the performance of prayer tasks (called variously awrad, ahzab, and rawatib), and is provided with a prayer-mat to carry upon his shoulder, a vessel for ablution, and a rosary (tusbah) to finger as he recites his prayers. Somali tariqas are characterized by fewer stages in the novice's progress towards illumination than were customary in classical Sufism (see on this point, Arberry, 1950, pp. 74- ff.). At first the novice is styled 'aspirant' (murid) but also referred to by his brethren ('ikwan') as ' brother '. The majority of initiates never proceed beyond this stage. Qutb, which is the next step, requires a certain degree of mystical perfection but is not comparable to the qutb of literary Sufism. Each successive step becomes increasingly difficult, and al-wasil the next grade, signifying union with God after long strife (i.e. the attainment of gnosis), corresponds to induction to the leadership of a fraternity. Al-maddad, the final goal, is attained by few pilgrims indeed, for it is that reached usually only by the founders of the Orders themselves. Membership of the community does not imply celibacy; adherents live with their families in the community. Women have their own tariqas where they participate in the services in the name of the Prophet's daughter, Fatima, whom they regard as the founder of women's Orders. Female adherents are veiled (the veil is not normally worn by women in Somaliland), and are generally more amply clad than other Somali women. But for them also there is no embargo on marriage. There are always many people who although not formally admitted to an Order and not living in the community, follow the public ceremonies while ignorant of their esoteric content. Acknowledging the piety and religious powers of the founder whom they venerate as a saint, they regularly call upon his followers whom they regard as similarly endowed to act as mediators in disputes. Many of the brethren thus fulfil the functions of qadis and this is one of the many ways in which the sphere of interest of the Sufi community encroaches upon that of the tribal structure. Tribesmen turn to the head of the jama'a for assistance and counsel, to the neglect of the tribal authorities This is one instance of a wide and far-reaching conflict between Sufism on the one hand and the tribal organization on the other which we shall consider in some detail below.


SOMALI TARIQAS

The three most prominent tariqas in Somaliland are in the order of their introduction, the Qadiriya, the Ahmediya, and the Saalihiya. The Rifa'iyya tariqa is represented amongst Arab settlers but is not widely distributed or important. In the south the Order's main centres are the coastal towns of Mogadishu and Merka: there are also some adherents in the British Protectorate. The Qadiriya, the oldest Sufi Order in Islam, was introduced into Harar in the 15th century by Sharif Abu Bakr ibn 'Abd Allah al-'Aydarus (known as al-Qutb ar-Rabbani, ("The Divine Axis" ), who died in 1508-9 (A.H.91 1 ) . Abu Bakr is probably the best-known Shai'ite saint in southern Arabia - where he is called al-'Adani (15) and his mosque is the most famous in Aden (16). The Qadiriya became the official Order of Harar and has considerable influence in the surrounding country. To the south the Order does not appear to have acquired much importance in the interior of Somalia until the beginning of the l9th century when the settlement of Bardera, known locally as jamaha, was founded on the Juba river. The Qadiriya has a high reputation for orthodoxy, is on the whole literary rather than propagandist, and is said to maintain a higher standard of Islamic instruction than its rivals. The Ahmediya, and the derivative Saalihiya, were both introduced into southern Somalia towards the close of the last century, although the Ahmediya may have entered British Somaliland somewhat earlier. This Order was founded by Sayyid Ahmad ibn Idris al-Fasi (1760-1837) of Mecca and brought to Somalia by Sheik Ali Maye Durogba of Merka. Muhammad ibn Salih, in 1887, founded the Saalihiya as an offshoot of the Rashidiya founded by Ahmad ibn Idris's pupil Ibrahlm al-Rashid (Cerulli, 1923, pp. 11, 12; Trimingham, 1959, pp. 235 6). The principal Saalihiya proselytizer in Somalia was Sheik Muhammad Guled, a former slave, who launched the Order there by the foundation of a community among the Shidle (a Negroid people occupying the mid-reaches of the Shebelle river, see Lewis, 1955, p. 41). Muhammad Guled died in 1918 and his tomb is at Misra (named after Cairo, Misra in Somali), one of the communities which he had established among the Shidle. The Order's stronghold is in Somalia but there are some communities in British Somaliland. According to Cerulli (op. cit., pp. 14, 18) the Saalihiya is strongly propagandist and inferior to the Qadiriya in mysticism and teaching. In the past it has been closely associated with Somali nationalism and the two rebellions of this century have taken place under its mantle and in its name. The more important rising was that led by Muhammad b. 'Abd Allah (born about 1865) of the Habr Suleemaan Ogaadeen tribe, who made several pilgrimages to Mecca (1890-9), and joining the Saalihiya, sought to attract the northern Somali to this Order. He founded several communities and in 1895 proclaimed himself khalifa-designate in Somaliland. In 1899 he assumed the title of Sunni Mahdi and initiated the jihad against all infidels. He was repudiated by the leader of the Saalihiya in Mecca and from 1900 to 1904 British forces, with from time to time half-hearted Ethiopian and nominal Italian support, conducted four major campaigns against him. His power was continually diminished but the rebellion was never decisively crushed and dragged on until 1920 when the Mahdi died.

The Ahmediya with the smallest number of adherents of the three Orders is said to concentrate more on teaching than the Saalihiya (Cerulli, 1923, pp. 12 ff.). Both Orders are for the most part distributed in cultivating villages along the two rivers of Somalia and in the fertile land between them. Qadiriya congregations, on the other hand, are more usually dispersed amongst tribes and do not form autonomous settlements of cultivators. This, naturally, is particularly the case in the north where there is little arable land.

Where the congregation forms a stable cultivating settlement, the land, which has been acquired through adoption into a host tribe, is the collective property of the community and is divided among the affiliates by their sheik. Continuity of tenure depends upon the maintenance of satisfactory relations with the tribe of adoption and the regular fulfillment of the various obligations which adoption imposes. Tenure is precarious and is in theory at any time revocable by the ceding tribe. It follows that the individual holdings obtained by affiliates are not automatically inheritable; absolute rights to land or crops are never obtained by members of the community. If a member leaves he relinquishes all rights to his holding and probably his crops also, although he may sometimes be allowed a portion of the harvest. The fields are worked collectively so that the harvest in each brother's holding represents the collective labour of the community. Part of the harvest is used to maintain the funds of the jama'a, which also depend upon gifts made by tribesmen and payments for ritual or religious services performed by affiliates. Liabilities met from these general funds consist of aid to the poor, assistance of pilgrims to Mecca, and expenses connected with missionary work and the various dues payable to the tribe of adoption. As far as the host tribe is concerned the jama'a acts as a tribal section subject to the same privileges and duties as are other sections of the tribe. Congregations act as training centres for the devouts (wadaad), (17) usually described as ' bush teachers ' or ' bush preachers ', who wander from camp to camp through the bush stopping now and then to hold classes where at least some rudimentary knowledge of theology is imparted. In these transitory bush schools children are taught prayers and verses from the Koran and generally acquire the ability to read and write Arabic. Children receive a thorough grounding in the Koran and their familiarity with Koranic texts remains with them throughout their lives. Wadaad are also important as acting in the capacity of unofficial qadis administering the Shari'a to the extent to which its competence is recognized by tribal authorities, i.e. in matrimonial affairs, inheritance of property, contract. mortgage, etc., and assessment of the requisite compensation for injuries (18). In intertribal politics they have little authority to award decisions, and where their recommendations conflict with tribal interests they are normally ignored for Wadaad here act as mediators rather than as arbitrators. It is probably through the Wadaad who issue from the jama'a communities that Sufism exerts its greatest influence in Somali social structure. The parent communities themselves are essentially centres of mystical devotion and have produced a considerable Arab-Somali religious literature written mainly in Arabic but in some cases in Somali transcribed in an adaptation of Arabic script (19). It is probable also that Sufi works are to be found in Somali oral literature and research should be directed to discovering to what extent this is the case. Mysticism is adopted as a means to union with God (gnosis); Somali Sufistic literature treats of divine ecstasy and is similar to Sufi writing in general. An interesting example is an unpublished manuscript called tawassul ash- shaikh Awes written by Sheik Awes, (20) which consists of a collection of songs for dhikr. Where such works are biographical, as for example in the autobiography of Sheik 'Ali Afaye Durogba, (21) they contain an account of the author's justification to claim descent from Quraysh. Almost all such works include a section in which the author's claims to Qurayshitic descent are set forth. Perhaps the most important of Somali Sufi literature is a collection of works by haaji 'Abdullahi Yusif published under the title al-majmu'at al-mubaraka (22). Haaji 'Abdullahi of the Qadiriya tariqa was a member of a group of sheiks (known as Asheraf), (23) attached to the Majeerteen tribes of the Daarood tribal family; his work is analysed by Cerulli (1923, pp. 13-4, 92-5).


THE CULT OF SAINTS

An important feature of the Sufi communities lies in the extent to which their founders are venerated. The local founders of Orders and congregations ( jama'a) are often sanctified after their death. Their veneration gives rise to cults which overshadow the devotion due to the true founder of the tariqa and even of the Prophet Mohammed. Their tombs become shrines (gashin in Somalia), tended by a small body of followers or the descendants of the sheik and those who have inherited his baraka. To the shrines come the members of the Order as well as local tribesmen who are not initiates, to make sacrifice as occasion demands, and to take part in the annual pilgrimage to the shrine of the saint on the anniversary of his death. Outstanding events in his life are similarly celebrated. Muslim saint-days which have no connexion with indigenous saints are unpopular especially in the interior. But to the extent to which the Qadiriya Order is followed emphasis has been given to the saint-day (mawlid ) of the founder al-Jilani, although even this festival enjoys only limited observance. Saints are not always associated with a particular congregation or Order. Many are ubiquitous, and common to several Orders, share the same veneration within the religion of the country. They are venerated for particular qualities. One of the most popular in Somalia, Saint Au Hiltir (a name suggestive of non-Islamic origin) is regarded as the protector of man from the attacks of crocodiles; another, Saint Au Mad, is recognized by tribes of the Rahanwiin tribal-family as the guardian of the harvest.

Tombs are scattered all over Somaliland and many, certainly, commemorate pre-Islamic figures who have been assimilated in Islam. Some of the families acting as the custodians of their ancestors' shrines have developed into small clans, usually dispersed; others have lost all autonomy and are scattered as holy men (wadaad ) proselytizing and teaching. Others again remain attached to a particular tribe as the holders of a hereditary office of qadi. Such, for example, is the case with the seven lineages of the Gasar Gudda tribe of Lugh-Ferrandi in Somalia, where-the office of tribal chief rotates among six lineages, while that of qadi is invested in the seventh, the Rer Dulca Mado (Ferrandi, 1903, pp. 213, 262 ff.; Lewis, 1953, p. 115). This represents one of the possible conclusions in the history of a saintly family attached initially to a tribe in clientship, where the religious group has worked its way into the lineage structure of the tribe and established a permanent position. A good example of a dispersed clan venerated for their baraka are the Rer Sheik Mumin whose ancestor's shrine is at Bur Hakaba among the Elai of southern Somalia. Their influence extends throughout the entire Rahanwiin tribal family and tribute is paid to them on account of their reputation as sorcerers (Ferrandi, 1903, pp. 138-9, 942-3). Ferrandi describes them unflatteringly as a gang of robbers implicated in cattle raiding and profiting by their ancestor's sanctity to impress and exploit ignorant people. A similar dispersed sheikly group are the Au Qutuh of the British Protectorate whom Burton (1894, I, P. 193) described as the descendants of Au Qutb ibn Faqih 'Emar who was then claimed to have crossed from the Hejaz ' ten generations ago ' and to have settled with his six sons in Somaliland. The Au Qutub are widely scattered and are found as far south as the Ogaden. They have the title ' Shaykash ' which Burton translates ' reverend '. In fact, such families of Arabian origin are found all over Somaliland and are often rapidly assimilated in the Somali social structure where their members enjoy high prestige (cf. Cerulli, 1926).


THE ROLE OF SUFISM IN THE SOCIAL STRUCTURE
We may now consider the position held by Sufi tariqas and congregations or communities in the social structure. It is obvious that for the total social structure the fraternities provide potential channels of alliance amongst warring tribes separated by the very nature of the tribe. For the communities, economic and political entities though they may be, and often themselves at enmity even within the same Order, are bound together through community of religious purpose. They aim at the development and diffusion of Islam. Such were the ideals so successfully translated into a transcendental movement ignoring the narrow bonds of tribalism by the Saalihiya Mahdi haaji Muhammad b. Abdallah. His campaign is an illustration of the potentialities which the tariqa organization offers for the extension of national unity when a sufficiently great figure emerges to inspire such feeling. Now, as elsewhere in Islam, the new urban political parties seem to have their roots in the tariqa organization and to be a development from it (24). Trans-tribal nationalist aspirations which previously found some outlet in it are now promoted by political associations, the strongest of which is at the moment the Somali Youth League (S.Y.L.). Within the tribal structure individual communities exercise considerable influence, and it is this aspect of their social functions which I wish particularly to consider. As we have seen, among the nomads and especially in the north of Somaliland where there is little or no arable land, communities cannot generally form cultivating settlements as they do in the less barren south. They cannot therefore so easily exist as independent autonomous local groups. Among the southern cultivating tribes (the Sab) settled cultivating communities occupy an interstitial position on the ground. As social entities they are accordingly in a better position to develop into units independent of tribal allegiance and to play an interstitial role in the social structure. This naturally has important consequences in the lineage structure. To take an example. The Qadiriya community of Bardera (known locally as the jamaha) was founded on the Juba River at the beginning of the l9th century by Sheik Ali Kurre, a Rahanwiin tribesman. New settlements quickly sprang up round the mother community. The affiliates were faced with considerable hostility from the surrounding tribes. They fought the Galla Boran, the Gasar Gudda (Somali Rahanwiin) who were successfully defeated and their centre Lugh-Ferrandi destroyed, and, finally, the people of Bardera extended their sway to the coast subjecting the villages of Baidoa, Molimat, and the coastal town of Brava. Thus they established dominion over all tribes of the Rahanwiin tribal family. Retribution, however, was to follow. The Rahanwiin recovered strength under the leadership of the Sultan of the Geledi (then a powerful Rahanwiin tribe), and after a series of battles besieged and destroyed Bardera in 1843. For some years Bardera lay deserted but began to rise again with the foundation of a new community by Sheik Muhammad Eden of the Elai. By 1924 it was possible for Colucci (1924, p. 264) to describe the new centre in the following terms: ' The settlements of Bardera constitute a truly independent territorial group freed from all adherence to the tribes from whom the original grants of land were obtained '.

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FYI

Thursday, February 08, 2001 - 07:08 am
SUFISM:
The Deviated Path

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; thus this article takes an objective approach, and tries to be conservative rather than extreme in its analysis of Sufism. 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) left us upon.


Sufism: Its Origins

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) 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 likeof 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 Allah'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

Incorporation of Music in Rituals

Music of all forms is forbidden by the majority of scholars, and remains attached to forbidden practices such as drinking, fornication and parties. However, after the Muslim conquest of the Deccan under Malik Kafur (c. 1310), a large number of Hindu musicians were taken with the royal armies and settled in the North. The acceptance of the Sufi doctrines, in which music was an accepted means to the realisation of God, enabled Muslim rulers and noblemen to extend their patronage to this art.14 At the courts of the Mughal emperors Akbar, Jahangir, and Shah Jahan, music flourished on a grand scale, and Sufi Dervishes used music as a means to enter ecstatic trances.

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 zikr, 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]

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 zikr, 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) 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) (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) 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.

______________________________

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

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kamal

Friday, February 09, 2001 - 02:43 am
http://sunnah.org/tasawwuf/sufisnk.htm

It is soo easy to jump to conclusions based on the interpretation of human beings... Allah[swt] alone knows perfect truth...

There is something that appeals to me about sufism and it is beyond any selfish need for self gratification...

i'll continue to search until i am satisfied for myself on the truth of wether sufism is a BID'A or not!!!

The other side if you care to know:

http://www.qss.org/articles/sufism/toc.html

Wasalamu a'alaykum

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FYI

Friday, February 09, 2001 - 06:54 am
Kamal, go ahead do your search all you can and want, but the Prophet of Allah has left for us two things: The Quran and His sunnah. The Prophet was no sufi. Islam is sufficient for us, and it is only Shaytaan who wishes to turn us away from our religion of the prophet 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. The Prophet was not into asceticism (seclusion); he was always around with people and remembered Allah and performed worship of Allah always; he did the normal things too and he even enjoyed the comapany of women. 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.

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JB

Friday, February 09, 2001 - 07:28 am
Masha Allah FYI

Bro Kamal keep searching for the truth. Allah will show you the right way, Insha Allah.

I can be accused of cutting and pasting too but i think most people don't bother to read long cuts and paste. I have to admit i only read the last two comments because they were short and sweet!

Asalaamu Alaykum.

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kamal

Friday, February 09, 2001 - 01:26 pm
I have some serious questions in the issues of involving my self with the following;

-politics
-war
-isolation
-music
-bid'a

politics
********

I have no interest in who runs what as long as i have my peace and i am respected and allowed to go about my life without having to submit to the wishes of another man. Sufism has been fine for a long time and all of a sudden some have realised that what once was a way to increase ones sincerity is been classed as a treat beacuse they (sufis) don't take active interest in politics... you would be wrong to believe such a mis-information, noone can absulutely escape involvement in politics in one form or other unless you live on a remote mountain top... there are alot of different sufi sects and i have not fully explored what is available... personaly POLITICS is out... wether sufis get involved or not.

WAR
***

I personally have no interest in killing some else becuase they are not muslim or they are bad mouthing mulims or what ever... i can't justify the death on another in the name of allah[swt]... Call me ignorant cos you wont be wrong my journey has just begun and i might not fuly appreciate the simple code of total submission to allah[swt], i have been told i am in trouple if i can't straighten my view for all muslims must be ready to give their lifes for allah[swt] without question... for it is allah[swt] who gives and takes life after all... my arguement to my friends has so far been if someone did attack my family or friends allah forbid, my act to retaliate agains such offenders would wholly be a selfish act propelled by anger and pain due to the action of the attackers... do i lack Ikhlas! i beg allah correct my view then..... on the issue of Sufis not taking part in JIHAD that is totaly false even though that was my intial beleive too... sufis are more interested in the internal JIHAD which our prophet[pbuh] reffered to as a greater cause with higher reward... To correct you sufis do take active involvement in External JIHAD to defend ISLAM... well i won't be surprised if there are those that have elivated them selves from the plain of concsiousnes that we know as reality... such a person will not be aware of the world that we are aware of and hence any JIHAD would not even be apparent to their reality... Not making excuses for anyone but... let me clarify that there are little expectations in terms of duties from an indivitual who is insane... ok don't panic, there is little comparison... I believe that sanity has different levels like the marking on a ruler...a varried spectrum that spans from the CONSCIOUS to the SUBCONSIOUS. I visualise insanity as a dominance of the subconscious over the conscious hence the inability to relate to the real world... an insane person is as confussed and unaware of the totality of their surrounding as much as a sane person has the same problem when they are dreaming
for in the dream state a sane person's mind is dominated by the sub-conscious... imagine if all people shared the same dreams then it is my assumption that the insane people of the world would be at greater ease in the dream an see all the sane people as totaly out of touch in it...

Back to reality... in the spectrum that i described let us say that certain sufis in their search to bring them self closer to allah[swt] achieve a state of mind that takes them slightly away from the norm that we are aware of and hence they no longer hear, see, and feel the same way as we do... they can't relate to us for we no longer speak the same tongue... if we see 3d they might be able to see 4D and if we hear 20Mhz may be they hear 50mhz and if we can taste 2-3flavors may be they can taste 8-10flavors...

I have my reasons to be able to make these assumptions...... bottomline is how can an indivitual who can't feel the emotion required to kill for the sake allah[swt] be expected to take part in a war he is not aware of...

isolation
*********

please don't misunderstand me for allah's slave[pbuh] was for sure a man of the people and loved to be amoung them dearly and loved women.

He[pbuh] did retreat at times to recieve inpiration. To retreat from worldly desires is a form of islotion in my eyes. To seek nothing more the basic neccesary nuitrients to keep you alive in your attepmt to do nothing but... UTTER the names of allah[swt] from awake to fall to wake... that to me is most noble undemanding and unselfish of a man who just wants to please the most high, mercyfull and magneficent SUBHANA WATA'ALLA...

For your information sufis love women too and yes there are sufi women in history and i hope present day too. Isolation gives a man total submergence into the awareness of allah[swt]... that is a way to clearly purify i think one's IKHLAS(sincerity)..

Music
*****

Let me not even go too deep into a metophoric explaination... the quran is recieted with rythme...

music is nothing but a tool for sincrenising the mind and the body... The Niya of the indivitual would be the only thing that could introduce any negativity in the music...by itself it is nothing but rythmic... just serves the mind like a clock serves you in your everyday activities....... are clocks BID'A...

Bid'a
*****

To innovate is not not islamic... to change any part of what is required of us is innovation... Islam is complete... no-one can add or subtrate from it in any way what so ever...

So let me conclude by saying that i am drawn to sufism for the parts of their practise that is above the minimum required of every muslim...

5 times prayer is the minimum duty given to man... i would like to pray in my heart and make allah[swt] a constantly present in my thoughts IS THAT BID'A?

I would like to be able to control my anger, for i have a bad temper which makes me sin more then is tolerable, is that BID'A?

I would like to find total submergence into universal peace where i can feel harmony with my environment, is that BID'A?

I desire internal peace and better control of my NAF'S so as to bee a better ABIDUL ALLAH, is that BID'A?

I would not take part of any BID'A knowingly... therefor my need to investigate the positive aspects of SUFISM is pure an innocent...

I have tasted once something that i can't describe with words or relate to any ideas past or present... i once felt total sumergence into something like a force field that made everyone around me my family, the animals would come close to me somehow knowing i would not harm them, the trees looked like they were dancing with the music of the wind... i saw somethings before they happened, i dreamt and of people i had not seen in years and recieved visitation from them the following day... I saw more then i see today, i heard more then i hear today, i tasted flavors i can't translate...... was i touched, possessed, or just imagined it???

I need to know what it was that happened, hence i search and beg allah[swt] to guide me and keep me save....

Allahu akbar

may allah[swt] grant us all a touch of magical insipration in our lifes, may we all always seek to find ways to purify our IKHLAS and strengthen it.
Amiin

Garapkiina ha galo ilahey

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FYI

Friday, February 09, 2001 - 02:16 pm
Kamal, you can do whatever you want. Althought these are commandments of Allah, no one is forcing you to fight in the way of Allah, to do dawa, to involve in the affairs of Muslims (your community), to not isolate yourself, and no one is forcing you to not play music instrument(kurbaan) while remembering and worshipping Allah (dikir).

I’m telling you that the Prophet and the shahaba were not sufis, but they were commanded to strive hard in the way of Allah (do jihad); make dawa, get involve in the affairs of the Muslims (community) and not be idle (the sahaaba didn't seclude themselves from the community); and they didn't mix music with the worship of Allah.

The prophet told the sahaaba in order for them to get success and happiness all they had to do was to follow the Quran and His sunnah. They didn’t do more than what the prophet ordered to do; to do more was considered by them to be doing bidah and to not do what the Quran and the sunnah ordered was considered by them to be sin.

The shahaaba understood and believed and acted as the Prophet told them and they are our examples.

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Anonymous

Friday, February 09, 2001 - 02:34 pm
Imaam Ash-Shaa'fee on Sufism:

"If a person excercized Sufism (Tasawafa) at the beginning of the day, he does not come to Dhuhur except an idiot." [Talbees Iblees].

"Nobody accompanied the Sufis forty days and had his brain return (ever)." [Talbees Iblees].

Concerning the famous Sufi leader, Al-Harith Al-Muhasbi, Imaam Ahmad ibn Hanbaal (R) said:

"Warn (people) from Al-Harith (a Sufi leader) the strongest warning!... He is the shelter of the Ahl Kalaam (people of rhetoric)." [Talbees Iblis].

The famous Sheikh Abu Bakr Ad-Djaza'iri stated:

"Sufism is a shameful deception which begins with Dhikr and ends with Kufr. Its outward manifestation appears to be piety, but its inward reality forsakes the Commandments of Allah." [Illat-Tasawwuf Yaa Ibadallah].

Ash-Sheikh Muhammad ibn Rabee' ibn Haadee Al-Madkhalee, a well known teacher at the Islamic University of Medinah and the son of a well known scholar, brings in his book "Haqeeqatus Soofiyyah Fee Dau'il Kitaabi Was Sunnah", the following:

Concerning the practice of the Sufiyyah in wearing woolen clothing as a sign of Zuhd (abstemiousness/disassociation from the wordly life) and in their attempt to mirror the Prophet 'Isa (AS):

"Ibn Taymiyah (R) mentions in Al-Fataawaa (11/7) from Muhammad ibn Seereen (a famous Tabi'ee who died in 110H) that it reached him that a certain people had taken to wearing woollen clothes in order to resemble 'Isa ibn Maryam (AS), so he said: 'There are a people (Sufis) who have chosen and preferred the wearing of woollen clothes, claiming that they want to resemble Al-Maseeh ibn Maryam (AS). But the way of our Prophet (SAAW) is more beloved to us, and the Prophet (SAAW) used to wear cotton and other garments."

Sheikh Al-Madkhalee goes on:

"As regards the first appearance of Sufism, then the word "Sufism" was not known in the time of the Sahabah, indeed it was not well-known in the first three and best centuries. Shaykhul Islam Ibn Taymiyah (R), mentions that the first appearance of Sufism was in Basrah in 'Iraaq, where some people went to extremes in worship and in avoiding the worldly life, such as was not seen in other lands. [Al-Fataawaa (11/6)]."

Commenting on the reaction of the early Sufis while hearing Qur'an being recited (it was their pratice to fall out and act dumb-struck), Ibn Taymiyah (R) says:

"This was not found to occur amongst the Sahabah, so when it appeared a group of the Companions and the Tabi'een such as Asmaa bint Abi Bakr and 'Abd Allah Az-Zubair and Muhammad ibn Seereen criticsed that since they saw that it was an innovation and contrary to what they knew from the manners of the Sahabah." [Al-Fataawaa (11/6)].

Concerning the spread of Sufism, Ibn Al-Jawziyyah said:

"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." [Talbees Iblis].

Shaikh Abu Zahrah (R) said concerning the reason for the appearance of Sufism and the sources from which it sprung:

"1. The first source: Some worshippers amongst the Muslims turned all their attention to avoidance of the worldly life and to cutting themselves off in order to worship. This first began in the lifetime of the Prophet (SAAW) when some of the Sahabah decided to spend the night striving in Prayer and abandoning sleep. Others decided to fast every day without fail. Others decided to cease having marital relations with women. So when that reached the Prophet (SAAW) he said: "What is wrong with a people who say such and such. But rather I fat and I refrain from fasting, I pray and I sleep, and I marry women. So whoever turns away from my Sunnah, then he is not from me (Al-Bukharee and Muslim). Furthermore, the innovation of living like monks (monasticism) is forbiddeen in the Qur'an. He said:

"...the Monasticism which they invented for themselves..." [57:27].

However, when the Prophet (SAAW) passed on to join the company of the highest angels, and many people entered into Islam from the previous religions then the number of those who went to extremes in avoidance of worldly life and its blessings grew and Sufism found a place in the hearts of these people since it had come across a fertile planting ground.

2. The second matter which attracted peoples' souls was something which appeared amongst the Muslims in the form of two ideologies. One of them was philosophical whilst the other was from the previous religions. As for the first, then it was the view of the Illumist school of philosophers who held that knowledge and awareness is brought about in the soul by spiritual exercies and purification of the soul. As for the second ideology, then it was the belief that the Deity dwells in human souls, or that the Deity is incarnate in humanity. This idea began to find a place amongst those sects who falsely attributed themselves to Islam in the earlier times, when the Muslims became mixed with the Christians. This idea appeared amongst the Sabians and some of the Kaysaamiyyah, then the Qaraamitah, then amongst the Baatinees, then in its final shape it appeared amongst some of the Sufis...There is another source from which it took, and which causes the manifestation of Sufi tendencies, which is the idea that the texts of the Book and the Sunnah have an outer, apparent meaning and an inner, hidden meaning...it seems clear that they took this idea from the Baatinees." [Ibn Taymiyah by Abu Zahra].

Ibn Al-Jawziyyah said after criticising the Sufis for their impostition of hardship upon themselves and for their going beyond bounds of abstemiousness to the point of self torture:

"So this self seprivation which went beyond bounds, which we have been forbideen from, has been turned around by the Sufis of our time, ie. the sixth century, so that they have become as deserious of food as their predecessors were of hunger, and they enjoy morning meals, evening meals and sweet delicacies, all of which or most of which they attain through impure wealth. They have abandoned lawful earnings, turned away from worship and spread out carpets on which they idly recline, most of them have no desire except for food, drink and frivolous activities. [Talbees Iblis].

Speaking of the false miracles claimed by many Sufi leaders, Ibn Taymiyah said:

"It may also be done with the help of their devils as they are a people who are as closely attended by devils as they are by their own brothers... These people who experience these satanic happenings are under a great delusion, in their foolishness they are deprived of all blessings, they only increase that which is feared, they devour the wealth of the people in futile acts, they do not order the good, nor do they forbid evil, and they do not fight Jihaad in Allah's Cause." [Al-Fataawaa].

Futher, Sheikh Al-Madkhalee says:

"Then I return to the point that when I saw that most of the callers were negligent of the most important aspects of Islam which is the call to Tawheed and the correction and purification of 'Aqeedah from all Shirk, which takes the form of worshipping the dead, attachment to the graves and calling upon the dead and the absent, and they remained silent about the other deviation of the present day Sufi orders which are very widespread in the lands of the Muslims, and anyone who travels outside this land will see the predominace that the Sufi orders ahve over the minds of the Muslims in Egypt, Syria, Morocco, Africa and India. Whether is is the Rifaa'ee order, or the Tijanis, or the Ahmadiyyah, or the Qaadiriyyah, or the Burhamiyyah, or the Shadhiliyyah, or the Khattaaniyyah, or the Darqaawees, or the Naqshabandis or whichever of the large number of Sufi orders...when I saw this I wished to remind of that which I held to be something very important. Likewise, I wished to provide my brothers, who study in the highly regarded Daarul Hadeeth, and they come from various Islamic lands where there are many Sufi orders, with some knowledge and some protection from the deadly sickness of Sufism."

As for those authentic and well known books by the 'Ulemah that have refuted Sufism:

Al-Fataawaa - by Sheikhul Islam Ibn Taymiyah Tabless Iblis - by Ibn Al-Jawziyyah, ibn Taymiyah's student Tanbeebul-Ghabee ilaa Takfeer Ibn 'Arabee - by Burhaanuddeen Al-Baqaa'ee Tahdheerul-'Ibaad min Ahlil-'Inaad bibid'atil-Ittihaad - by Al-Baqaa'ee (same as above - died in 885H).

These are just some of the statements by scholars, past and present, concerning the Sufiyyah. There are many, many more...and the research goes on...

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Anonymous

Friday, February 09, 2001 - 02:36 pm
Assalamu Ala Manit Taba'a Al Huda

> Subject: Soofee's Trick or Treat Da`wah
>
> as salaamu `alaikum wa raHmatullaah...
>
> ===
> "WHO DO WE TAKE OUR DEEN FROM?"
>
> Sufyaan Ath-Thawree said, "Whoever listens to a person of innovation has
> left the protection of Allaah and is entrusted to it - meaning the
> innovation."
>
> Abu Nu`aym, al-Hilyah, 7/26, 34
> Ibn Battah, al-Ibaanatul Kubraaa, 444
> ===
>
>
> Bismillaah Ar-RaHmaan Ar-RaHeem
> As-Salaamu `Alaikum wa RaHmatullaahi wa Barakaatuh
>
> I once mentioned what Kabbani al-Naqshbandi said in Montreal's Gazette
> and would now like to be more specific, by posting some excerpts from the
> article. Typical soofee's pleasing of kuffaar even if it means offending
> Islaam and the truth. It is poor faith to please men by displeasing
> Allaah, as a marfoo` report says.
>
> In shaa' Allaah, I will do my best not to take the soofee's words out of
> context, as there is no need to trick or treat when it comes to these
people
> (or anyone else). Allaah, in His Mercy, made the truth clear, its night is
> like its day. WalHamdulillaah.
>
> The only thing I have added are a few (!)'s in order to make sure no one
> misses anything, although everything is so obvious. I got tired after a
> while, too many (!)'s could be added. Bear with me and may Allaah
> ta`aalaa reward you all.
>
> Wassalaamu `Alaikum
>
>
> Emic Cehajic
>
> P.S. the first part contains excerpts from the article, "Sufi's Choice"
> and the second part is from a posting by Kabbani, wherein he mentioned
> what type of scholars the Ummah needs today. Very ironic and Allaah's
> help is sought.
>
>
============================================================================
>
> SUFI'S CHOICE
>
> by Mark Abley
> The Gazette, October 22, 1994, Montreal, Canada
>
> (...)
>
> "In churches, mosques and synagogues, you find the difference in
religions.
> But in Sufism (!!!), you find more unity. You go straight to the essence,
> which is God." [words of Hisham Kabbani]
>
> (...)
>
> "You have to be both material and spiritual," he [i.e. Kabbani] told a
> follower who quoted an early Madonna song, Material Girl, to disparage
> life in the West. "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 criticize -
> they are accepting everything (!!). That's why, when my children are
> looking at Madonna on MTV (!), I say, "Let me come and look also!"" (!!!)
>
> The sheikh was fully aware of the effect he was having. From under his
> white turban, he paused and peered around the room. He tugged gently at
> his navel-length beard. One of his listeners suggested that most imams -
> Muslim priests - would be horrified at what the sheikh had just said.
>
> "Yes, there will be many objections from the imams," he said, "I don't
> care (!). We pray; we do our obligations; but we also want others to
> feel at ease."
>
> The relationship between Sufism and mainstream Islam is intricate and
> vexed. Though it's grounded in Islam, the movement keeps its distance
> from Muslim orthodoxy: some Sufis believe their orders existed before the
> founding of Islam itself in the 7th century.
>
> (...)
>
> Then from somewhere in the folds of his clothing, the sheikh produced a
> pair of strawberry-flavored candies (! Trick or treat?). He handed one
> to the Gazette photographer, Allen McInnis, and one to me. Without a
> backward glance, he stalked out of the room.
>
> * * *
>
> On a recent observation, the centre was empty but for a tall,
> headscarved woman, Barbara Dingwall, and her 2-month-old son. She sat on
> a cushion against a wall, rocked her child, poured out a cup of sweet tea
> and spoke about the faith at the centre of her life.
>
> "The Naqshbandi way being the sober way it is, we don't get into the
> kind of emotional trances they do in North Africa. Eveo so, it can get
> pretty intense at times."
>
> At the centre of Sufi practice is the dhikr, or guided meditation. At
> the Naqshbandi centre, dhikr takes place twice a week (for everyone), in
> addition to a Saturday session for women only. The centre also offers
> Friday prayers. It all adds up to a lot of religious observance by a
> core of no more than 50 people.
>
> And what pleasure does Dingwall take from it all?
>
> "Different feelings come over you in dhikr, depending on what you're
> doing and how attuned you are to the leader. There's definitely a
> release from tensions. Occasionaly it's as though you're out of your
> body, with a wonderful sense of light and calm."
>
> (...)
>
> One of the running debates within their movement asks whether you need
> to be a Muslim in order to be a Sufi. A U.S. offshoot called the Sufi
> Order of North America teaches that you don't. But Dingwall views that
> group with a tinge of disapproval:
>
> "They take the chants and the whirling, and create a package of their
> own with them. For me, it's quite watered down. We don't push to make
> everyone become Muslim - but we do feel that Islam is the necessary outer
> discipline you need to reach the inner goal."
>
> (...)
>
>
>
>
> ==========================================================================
> Subject: msa: Sufism - Islam - by Shaykh Hisham Kabbani
>
>
> Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Raheem
>
>
> "IN THE TIME OF THE PROPHET TASAWWUF WAS A REALITY WITHOUT A NAME.
> TODAY TASAWWUF IS A NAME, BUT FEW KNOW ITS REALITY."
>
> [] <-- added comments
>
>
> The Islamic Nation today is in need of good scholars who observe the
> correct teachings of Islam ('alimun 'aamil), trying their best to bring
> back what has been destroyed of the Islamic religion over the years and
> who are able to differentiate between right and wrong, halal and haram,
> and who believe in Haqq and oppose Batil, not fearing anyone on the way
> of Allah.
>
> [Someone mentioned watching Madonna on MTV?]
>
> Muslims of today have no one to advise them nor guide them in the
> teaching of their religion and the good manners and behavior of Islam.
>
> [Except for Kabbani?]
>
> On the contrary, we see only scholars pretending to know something,
> imposing their corrupted ideas and beliefs about Islam on everyone.
>
> ["imposing their corrupted ideas and beliefs about Islam on everyone."]
>
> They are at every convention, giving lectures and talks about Islam
> from a narrow and limited perspective, not according to the guidance
> the Sahaba of the Prophet nor of the great Imams of Islam nor the
> consensus of the majority of Muslims.
>
> [Sahaba, radee Allaahu `anhum, used to say that in churches, mosques and
> synagogues you find differences in religion but in Sufism, you find more
> unity? Sahaba used to "accept everything"? Sahaba didn't see anything
> wrong in watching 'things' like Madonna? Who is he trying to fool?]
>
> If scholars would listen to their consciences and return in loyalty
> and sincerity to Islam without the influence of governments or other
>
> [if they only would...]
>
> powers that control Muslim countries with their money, devoting
> themselves only to da'wa and irshad and remembrance of Allah and His
> Prophet (s), then the situation in the Islamic world could change and
> Muslim life would improve tremendously. Our hope is that in this new
> Islamic year 1416, Muslims in America and throughout the world will come
> back together in unity, linked to one rope, Allah's Rope, to establish
> the Sunnah and the Shari'ah of Prophet Muhammad (s).
>
> [Aameen]
>
> (...)
> However, in the past students were influenced by the good manners and
> good morality of their teachers. Therefore Muslims were sincere and
> loyal. But today our scholars are dry and Islam is taught to them in
> non-Muslim universities by non-Muslims professors (if you are clever
> you can understand).
>
> [If you are clever, you indeed will.]
>
> As-salaam alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu,
> The poorest in front of Allah, servant of the Sunnah of the Prophet (s),
>
> Shaikh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani
>
> President - Haqqani Islamic Foundation
> P.O. Box 1184
> Fenton, Michigan 48430

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kamal

Saturday, February 10, 2001 - 05:22 am
Salamu alaykum

What can i say?

Naqshbandi
**********
**********
**********

Sufism is known as the Way of the Heart, the Way of the Pure, the Mystical Path of Islam. By whatever name it is called, it is the path which takes the seeker to the Divine Presence. In essence Sufism is a means and a way by which the seeker will move from the gravity of his or her lower self, to ascend, with the assistance of a mystical guide, and through the methods and practices defined by the Way he or she has chosen, to the state wherein the Vision of God is presented to her or him. The ways to God are as numerous as the breaths of mankind. Each individual person has his or her own, personal and private way to the Divine Presence.

Each person is a unique representative of the Divine. The Sufis say, "If human beings knew their own inner secrets, never would they look elsewhere for seeking happiness, peace and inner light." Therefore the essence of the Path is to find oneself. "Know thyself, know thy Lord!" is an imperative of the Sufi Way.

please stop flooding my link... i was looking to highlight my interest and share my finds as i search for understanding..... i was thinking others also had the need to find out and decide for themself... flooding will not be productive to my gaining any better understading...

Antone can go on the net and copy to pate here....please... if you want to contripute them speak from your mind and heart....

Ocean of love
*************

I hope that everyone has come to this meeting for the sake of their love of the Lord. We all want a happy peaceful life. Nobody wants a bitter life, everyone wants a sweet life. Or does anyone want a bitter life? A peppered life? No! Everyone asks to have a sweet life. Neverthesles, in our days many lives are very bitter. It isn't sweet.


Naqshbandi sufi way
*******************

Historically speaking, the Naqshbandi Sufi Way can be traced back to the first of the Rightly-Guided Successors of Muhammad the Messenger. His name was Abu Bakr Siddiq, who succeeded the Prophet in his knowledge and in his role of guiding the Community of Spirituality. God said in the Blessed Quran "he was the second of two in the cave, and he said to his friend: do not be sad, for God is with us.":O Quran, 9:40) Concerning Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, the Blessed Prophet said, "the sun never rose nor set on anyone better Abu Bakr except prophets." (Tarikh al-Khulafa). He also said, "Abu Bakr does not precede you in anything in the way of prayers or fasting but in a secret rooted deep in his heart." (Manaqib as-Sahaba of Imam Ahmad ). The Prophet (s) also said, "If I had taken to myself a beloved friend, I would have taken Abu Bakr as my beloved friend; but he is my brother and my companion." (Sahih Muslim)

Bayazid al-Bistami's Doctrine of Oneness
****************************************

This doctrine, which consisted of five elements: to keep their obligations according to Divine Revelations and Inspirations and the Traditional Path of the Messenger, to always speak the truth, to keep the heart from hatred, to avoid harmful food, and to shun innovation.

Bayazid said that the ultimate goal of the Sufis is to see God in the Hereafter. To that effect he added: "There are special servants of God, who if God veiled them from His vision in Paradise, would have implored Him to bring them out of Paradise as the inhabitants of the Fire implore Him to escape from Hell."

For more got to the site below...

http://naqshbandi.net/haqqani/Sufi/sufi_islam.html

Women in Sufism
***************

http://www.webcom.com/threshld/society/articles/women.html

Since the beginning of consciousness, human beings, both female and male, have walked the path of reunion with the Source of Being. Though in this world of duality we may find ourselves in different forms, ultimately there is no male or female, only Being. Within the Sufi traditions, the recognition of this truth has encouraged the spiritual maturation of women in a way that has not always been possible in the West.

In Sufism, a Sheikh should:

-Follow the Prophet Muhammed sallallahu alaihi wasallam.
-Follow the sharia and act from the Sunnah.
He has a silsila (lineage) and a licence to teach the path.
-He speaks what's in your heart. He answers questions that you have not spoken aloud.
When you are in his presence, you forget your troubles. He takes your load. You feel your troubles lifted.
-He praises Allah and not himself. He points to Allah and not himself.
-Practices what he preaches.

From

http://www.bahu.co.za/adab.htm

:::: The biggest problem for me has been fear to ask a sheik anything because... somehow i feel there is something wrong in asking a question the will come across as jahila..... i know most friends don't dare ask they just follow for they fear segragation...i don't i welcome it if that is the way my curiousity will be delt with.


jazaka allah Khayr

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Anonymous

Saturday, February 10, 2001 - 08:50 am
kamal, you don't own this link. You flood on here yourself some cut and paste from other people, not from your mind and heart. Why do you want to stop others? if you looking for knowledge, you have to understand that it is not good to have one sited deal. you promote your things and let promote others theirs.


The word “Sufism” was not known at the time of the Messenger or the Sahaabah or the Taabi’een. It arose at the time when a group of ascetics who wore wool (“soof”) emerged, and this name was given to them. It was also said that the name was taken from the word “soofiya” (“sophia”) which means “wisdom” in Greek. The word is not derived from al-safa’ (“purity”) as some of them claim, because the adjective derived from safa’ is safaa’i, not soofi (sufi). The emergence of this new name and the group to whom it is applied exacerbated the divisions among Muslims. The early Sufis differed from the later Sufis who spread bid’ah (innovation) to a greater extent and made shirk in both minor and major forms commonplace among the people, as well as the innovations against which the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) warned us when he said, “Beware of newly-invented things, for every newly-invented thing is an innovation and every innovation is a going-astray.” (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, who said it is saheeh hasan).

The following is a comparison between the beliefs and rituals of Sufism and Islam which is based on the Qur’aan and Sunnah.

Sufism has numerous branches or tareeqahs, such as the Teejaniyyah, Qaadiriyyah, Naqshbandiyyah, Shaadhiliyyah, Rifaa’iyyah, etc., the followers of which all claim that their particular tareeqah is on the path of truth whilst the others are following falsehood. Islam forbids such sectarianism. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“… and be not of al-mushrikoon (the disbelievers in the Oneness of Allaah, polytheists, idolaters, etc),

Of those who split up their religion (i.e., who left the true Islamic monotheism), and became sects, [i.e., they invented new things in the religion (bid’ah) and followed their vain desires], each sect rejoicing in that which is with it.” [al-Room 30:31-32]

The Sufis worship others than Allaah, such as Prophets and “awliya’” [“saints”], living or dead. They say, “Yaa Jeelaani”, “Yaa Rifaa’i” [calling on their awliya’], or “O Messenger of Allaah, help and save” or “O Messenger of Allaah, our dependence is on you”, etc.

But Allaah forbids us to call on anyone except Him in matters that are beyond the person's capabilities. If a person does this, Allaah will count him as a mushrik, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And invoke not, besides Allaah, any that will neither profit you, nor hurt you, but if (in case) you did so, you shall certainly be one of the zaalimoon (polytheists and wrongdoers).” [Yoonus 10:106]

The Sufis believe that there are abdaal, aqtaab and awliya’ (kinds of “saints”) to whom Allaah has given the power to run the affairs of the universe. Allaah tells us about the mushrikeen (interpretation of the meaning):

“Say [O Muhammad]: ‘…And who disposes the affairs?’ They will say. ‘Allaah.’…” [Yoonus 10:31]

The mushrik Arabs knew more about Allaah than these Sufis!

The Sufis turn to other than Allaah when calamity strikes, but Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And if Allaah touches you with harm, none can remove it but He, and if He touches you with good, then He is Able to do all things.” [al-An’aam 6:17]

Some Sufis believe in wahdat al-wujood (unity of existence). They do not have the idea of a Creator and His creation, instead they say that everything is creation and everything is god.

The Sufis advocate extreme asceticism in this life and do not believe in taking the necessary means or in jihaad, but Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“But seek with that (wealth) which Allaah has bestowed on you, the home of the Hereafter, and forget not your portion of legal enjoyment in this world…” [al-Qasas 28:77]

“And make ready against them all that you can of power…” [al-Anfaal 8:60]

The Sufis refer the idea of ihsaan to their shaykhs and tell their followers to have a picture of their shaykh in mind when they remember Allaah and even when they are praying. Some of them even put a picture of their shaykh in front of them when they are praying. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Ihsaan is when you worship Allaah as if you can see Him, and although you cannot see Him, He can see you.” (Reported by Muslim).

The Sufis allow dancing, drums and musical instruments, and raising the voice when making dhikr, but Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“The believers are only those who, when Allaah is mentioned, feel a fear in their hearts…” [al-Anfaal 8:2]

Moreover, you see some of them making dhikr by only pronouncing the Name of Allaah, saying, “Allaah, Allaah, Allaah.” This is bid’ah and has no meaning in Islam. They even go to the extreme of saying, “Ah, ah” or “Hu, Hu.” The Sunnah is for the Muslim to remember his Lord in words that have a true meaning for which he will be rewarded, such as saying Subhaan Allaah wa Alhamdulillah wa Laa ilaaha illa Allaah wa Allaahu akbar, and so on.

The Sufis recite love poems mentioning the names of women and boys in their dhikr gatherings, and they repeat words such as “love”, “passion”, “desire” and so on, as if they are in a gathering where people dance and drink wine and clap and shout. All of this has to do with the customs and acts of worship of the mushrikeen. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Their salaah (prayer) at the House (of Allaah, i.e., the Ka’bah at Makkah) was nothing but whistling and clapping of hands…”

[al-Anfaal 8:35]

Some Sufis pierce themselves with rods of iron, saying, “O my grandfather!” So the shayaateen come to them and help them, because they are seeking the help of someone other than Allaah . Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And whosoever turns away (blinds himself) from the remembrance of the Most Beneficent (Allaah), We appoint for him a shaytaan (devil) to be a qareen (intimate companion) for him.”

[al-Zukhruf 43:36]

The Sufis claim to have gnosis and knowledge of the unseen, but the Qur’aan shows them to be liars. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Say: ‘None in the heavens and the earth knows the ghayb (unseen) except Allaah…’” [al-Naml 27:65]

The Sufis claim that Allaah created the world for the sake of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), but the Qur’aan shows them to be liars. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And I (Allaah) created not the jinns and humans except they should worship Me (Alone).” [al-Dhaariyaat 51:56]

Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted, addressed His Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) with the words (interpretation of the meaning):

“And worship your Lord until there comes unto the certainty (i.e., death).” [al-Hijr 15:99]

The Sufis claim that they can see Allaah in this life, but the Qur’aan shows them to be liars. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“[Moosa said:] ‘O my Lord! Show me (Yourself), that I may look upon You.’ Allaah said, ‘You cannot see Me…’” [al-A’raaf 7:143]

The Sufis claim that they take knowledge directly from Allaah, without the mediation of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and in a conscious state (as opposed to dreams). So are they better than the Sahaabah??

The Sufis claim that they take knowledge directly from Allaah, without the mediation of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). They say, “Haddathani qalbi ‘an Rabbi (My heart told me from my Lord).”

The Sufis celebrate Mawlid and hold gatherings for sending blessings on the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), but they go against his teachings by raising their voices in dhikr and anaasheed (religious songs) and qaseedahs (poems) that contain blatant shirk. Did the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) celebrate his birthday? Did Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthman, ‘Ali, the four imaams or anyone else celebrate his birthday? Who knows more and is more correct in worship, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and the Salaf, or the Sufis?

The Sufis travel to visit graves and seek blessings from their occupants or to make tawaaf (ritual circumambulation) around them or to make sacrifices at these sites, all of which goes against the teachings of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): “Do not travel to visit any place but three mosques: al-Masjid al-Haraam [in Makkah], this mosque of mine [in Madeenah] and al-Masjid al-Aqsa [in Jerusalem].” (Agreed upon).

The Sufis are blindly loyal to their shaykhs, even when what they go against the words of Allaah and His Messenger. But Allaah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“O you who believe! Do not put (yourselves) forward before Allaah and His Messenger…” [al-Hujuraat 49:1]

The Sufis use talismans, letters and numbers for making decisions and for making amulets and charms and so on.

The Sufis do not restrict themselves to the specific blessings on the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) that were narrated from him. They invented new formulas that involve seeking his blessings and other kinds of blatant shirk which are unacceptable to the one on whom they are sending blessings.

With regard to the question of the whether the Sufi shaykhs have some kind of contact, this is true, but their contact is with the shayaateen, not with Allaah, so they inspire one another with adorned speech as a delusion (or by way of deception), as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And so We have appointed for every Prophet enemies – shayaateen (devils) among mankind and jinns, inspiring one another with adorned speech as a delusion (or by way of deception). If your Lord had so willed, they would not have done it…” [al-An’aam 6:112]

And Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“… And, certainly, the shayaateen (devils) do inspire their friends (from mankind)…” [al-An’aam 6:121]

“Shall I inform you (O people!) upon whom the shayaateen (devils) descend?

They descend on every lying, sinful person.” [al-Shu’ara 221-222]

This is the contact that is real, not the contact that they falsely claim to have with Allaah. Exalted be Allaah far above that. (See Mu’jam al-Bida’, 346 –359).

When some of these Sufi shaykhs disappear suddenly from the sight of their followers, this is the result of their contact with the shayaateen, who may even carry them to a distant place and bring them back in the same day or night, to mislead their human followers.

So the important rule here is not to judge people by the extraordinary feats that they may do. We should judge them by how closely or otherwise they adhere to the Qur’aan and Sunnah. The true friends of Allaah (awliya’) are not necessarily known for performing astounding feats. On the contrary, they are the ones who worship Allaah in the manner that He has prescribed, and not by doing acts of bid’ah. The true awliya’ or friends of Allaah are those whom our Lord has described in the hadeeth qudsi narrated by al-Bukhaari in his Saheeh (5/2384) from Abu Hurayrah, who said:

The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allaah said, ‘Whoever shows enmity towards a friend (wali) of Mine, I declare war against him. My slave does not draw close to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties that I have enjoined on him, and My slave continues to draw close to Me with supererogatory (naafil) acts, so that I will love him. When I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him, and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it.’”

And Allaah is the Source of Strength and the Guide to the Straight Path.

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Anonymous

Saturday, February 10, 2001 - 09:07 am
“And whoso obey Allaah and the Messenger (Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)), then they will be in the company of those on whom Allaah has bestowed His Grace, of the Prophets, the Siddeeqoon (those followers of the Prophets who were first and foremost to believe in them, like Abu Bakr As-Siddeeq), the martyrs, and the righteous. And how excellent these companions are!” [al-Nisaa’ 4:69]

Ibn Katheer (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in his Tafseer:

This means, whoever acts in accordance with the commands of Allaah and His Messenger, and keeps away from whatever Allaah and His Messenger forbid, then Allaah will give him a home in the abode of His generosity, and cause him to be in the company of the Prophets and those who come after them in status, the Siddeeqoon, then the martyrs, then the rest of the believers, who are the righteous who do righteous deeds secretly and openly. Then Allaah praises them, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And how excellent these companions are!” [al-Nisaa’ 4:69]

Al-Bukhaari narrated that ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: “There is no Prophet who fell sick, but Allaah gave him the choice between this world and the Hereafter.” When he fell ill with his final sickness, his voice became very hoarse, and I heard him saying, ‘in the company of those on whom Allaah has bestowed His Grace, of the Prophets, the Siddeeqoon (those followers of the Prophets who were first and foremost to believe in them, like Abu Bakr As-Siddeeq), the martyrs, and the righteous.’ Then I knew that he had been given the choice.”

(Tafseer Ibn Katheer).

Then he (Ibn Katheer – may Allaah have mercy on him) mentioned something about the reason why this aayah was revealed. Then he said:

Greater than all of this is the glad tidings which were reported in the books of Saheeh and Musnad, etc., through mutawaatir isnaads from a number of the Sahaabah: that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was asked about a man who loves some people but cannot catch up with them – i.e. he cannot attain the same level as them in doing righteous deeds. He (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “A man will be with those whom he loves.” Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: the Muslims never rejoiced as much as they did when they heard this hadeeth. I love the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and I love Abu Bakr and ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with them both), and I hope that Allaah will resurrect me with them even though I did not do what they did.

So, as you can see, there is nothing in this aayah that justifies the Sufis and their madhhab.

If the Sufis are sincere, then let them obey Allaah and his Messenger and adhere to His Sharee’ah – as commanded in this aayah – so that they will be among the victorious. As for their claims that the awliyaa’ (“saints”) have knowledge of the Unseen (al-ghayb), which no one knows but Allaah, and their doing Tawaaf around graves and praying to the dead as a means of worship and drawing closer to Allaah – all of this in fact means that they are seeking the help of someone other than Allaah and this is kufr and shirk. They say, “Allaah inspires us with things which He casts into our hearts in addition to what is in the Qur’aan and Sunnah”; and they say that the “elite” do not have to adhere to the Sharee’ah of Islam which is obligatory for the “masses”; and they invent adhkaar (phrases remembering Allaah) which they repeat regularly, which are not in the Qur’aan or in the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him… and after all this, they want to be among the victorious, with the Prophets and Siddeeqoon. On the contrary, they will be with the shayaateen (devils) and mushrikeen. We ask Allaah to keep us safe and sound. May Allaah bless us and you with the love for His Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him and love for his noble companions, and gather us with them in the place of honour with Him, for He is the Sovereign, the One Who is able to do all things.

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Anonymous

Saturday, February 10, 2001 - 09:23 am
The Other Side of Sufism. Critique on Sufism.
It would, In Sha' Allah, prove useful to put in the hands of those Muslims who are unaware of the hidden dangers of Sufism, and who, due to their shallow knowledge of Islam, or for other reasons.

http://www.qss.org/articles/sufism/toc.html

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kamal

Saturday, February 10, 2001 - 02:51 pm
Well i think sufism is a more stable form of Islam from what i have seen so far. Sufism is the way forward to greater good for the whole of man kind... believers as well as non-believers.

World peace is not in the hands of those who want to kill their own families...

killing is happening between muslims every where, that is not very positive in my view.

shia Vs Sunni

Sunni vs Sunni

**************
division exists even underground

hanafi Vs shafi
so fort...

Why because of mans interpretation.....

Islam was complete before

Hanafi
shafia
hambali
maliki
salafi's

or shia

*********
man is causing the problems and trouple to meet there world needs and self importance.....

sufism is the way forward to illiminate this silly distortions created by man alone...

For their actions clearly distroys their aim to preach to their followers that Islam is a complete way of life with out error...

They are introducing the error, Allah[swt] alone is perfect...

Nabi mohamed[pbuh] alone was the perfect slave.

Man and his interpretations are what is leading to differences.....

I ask you who is leading the correct way of the prophet[pbuh] out of the muslim Ummah???

Then are you saying that the rest are all commiting BID'A???

True Sufism was there at the time of the prophet[pbuh] it was respected, and appretiated.

Mystisism has been around from the begin of time... Allah[swt] gave moses the ability to achieve certain miracles...like him many prophets[cs] were also given the apportunity to reach meta-physical heights we could only concieve as magical powers... i say it is eventualy allah[swt] that touch the hearts of man, it is allah[swt] that entrust special abilities with certain people and it is allah[swt] that give us the opition to choose which path we want to follow... in our appretiation of his excellence and mercy and generousity...

I pray your views are those that were inspire in you by Allah[swt]... this is mine, don't find me an alien... i was your brother in Islam before i began my quest and i stil consider you all my brothers in Islam, even after our paste exchange...

Salamu calaykum waramatullah wabrakatu

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Structure of Sufi Orders

Saturday, February 10, 2001 - 03:37 pm
Structure of Sufi Orders

Sufism presumes a fundamental link between the shaikh, head of the Sufi tareeqah (order), and the murid (novice), extending throughout their lifetime and continuing after their death. The murid takes an 'ahd (oath) of loyalty and swears obedience to the shaikh, who in turn promises to solve the murid's problems and deliver him from every dilema whenever he calls on his shaikh for help. The shaikh also promises to interced for him with Allah so that he may be admitted to Jannah.

The murid pledges to be conscientious in practicing the set of dthikr (chants) assigned to him by his shaikh, to adhere to the rules of the order and to accept its claim on his loyalty for life over a wide range of behaviour affecting the well-being of the order. The quality and extent of the shaikh's hold over the murid is therefore almost total.

The murid's behavior even outside the order's group setting is expected to conform to rules laid down by the order. And where conflict with outside obligations arises, the murid must resolve it by acting as a Sufi and following his order's rules. The Tijaniyyeh Order makes every candidate for initiation pledge not to visit the grave of pious personality or visit any living scholar. This is one of the major factors in widening the rift between one order and another, causing an order to enter into conflict against his others in an attempt to convert, conquer or annihilate them.

The mechanism of the order struture in Sufism leads to many evil results:

Division of the Muslim ummah into fractions and orders ruled by deviant and ignorant shaikhs, thus making the ummah an easy prey for conquest by non-Muslims.
Enmity among the adherents of different orders, to the point that they will not marry into one another's families or cooperate with one another.
Deception on the part of the shaikh, who falsely claims the ability to deliver the murid from difficulties and deadly problems the befall him. The shaikh even claims he will be present at the murid's death, regardless of time or place, and ridiculously enough, will instrut him in his grave on what to tell the two angels of the grave, and will argue with them on his behalf. Finally, the shaikh promises to intercede for him with Allah on the Day of Judgment, and to help cross over as-Siraat (the bridge over Hell) on that Day, and accompany him to Jannah.(40)
This kind of deception, offering security in the grave as well as in the Hereafter, is a flagrant lie, not permissible under any circumstance. Sufi shaikhs lead simple-minded Muslims to believe in such claims, and the result is shirk (polytheism). Deceiving Muslims is one of the major sins.
Insulating the murid as far as possible from the world outside the order as to exploit and manipulate him.(41)

Al-Fanaa' is a key element in the Sufi thought. Once the Sufi becomes assiduous in dthikr, or rememberance of Allah, they claim that he acquires sufficient tranquility of heart to experience a delusion which helps him pass through the various stages described below. First he is bewildered, then intoxicated with love of the Remembered One, and finally he passes through the stage of fanaa', or annihilation, in which he 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 and nothing else.

To give a better idea of the Sufi concept of Allah, Qunawi, one of Ibn Arabi's disciples, writes:

It is inconceivable that one thing should love another thing in the respect that thing differs from it. It can only love that thing as a result of the property of some meaning shared between the two of them, in respect of which an affinity is established between them which will lead to the domination of the property of that which brings about unification over the properties which brings about differentiation...But the end of love is unity. In the last analysis, God and the perfect man are one, for Being is one.":O69)

But when the tenet of fanaa' is weighed in the scale of Islamic law, and judged by the Qur'an and Sunnah, only the part of the remembrance of Allah holds true, while all the rest of bewilderment, intoxication, annihilation and the claim of viewing Allah is revealed to be a blasphemous path to the tenets of incarnation and pantheism. Allah the Exalted says:


"There is none like unto Him; He is the All-Hearer, the All-Knower."

Like most Sufi tenets, fanaa' is mentioned neither in the Qur'an nor in the Sunnah. It is rather a Sufi gimmick and a satanic deception, originally schemed by mystics among the Jews, Zoroastrians and Christians to adulterate the great religion of Islam.(70)

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Anonymous

Saturday, February 10, 2001 - 03:44 pm
Tawhid in Sufism


The face was red with flushing blood as he tried to stop his breath for as long as he could. The eyes bulged out, though staring at nothing. Small rivulets of perspiration shone on the forehead, and the voice coming through the foaming mouth was barely audible. He could scarcely speak when he tried to complete his sentence, and then did that through his gestures, nodding with satisfaction as if the message had been transmitted by some telepathic process.

The man, a neighbour of mine, was not faking it out. He was a highly educated professional and belonged to a very respectable family. He truly believed in what he was trying to say. Somehow -- perhaps because of my appearance -- he had a misconception that I belonged to his ‘clan’. So he took very little time to begin sharing his ideas with me: ‘The fragrance of flowers, the song of birds, the air, everything... but then, you know it. Yes, yes, you know it. I am Allah, you are Allah, everything is Allah....’

I realised afterwards that in a very crude manner, the man was expressing (though technically incorrectly) ideas he had gathered from some Sufi....

The Qur’anic concept of Tawhid (monotheism) is that there is only one God -- Allah. All those characteristics which can only be associated with God must not be attributed to anyone else.
The Qur’an says:


Declare [O Prophet] that God is One! He is the rock. He is neither anyone’s father nor anyone’s son. And none is equal to Him.[112:1-3]

Therefore, the whole world is His creation: He is above all, and there is nothing like Him.
It is the correct belief in God which enlightens the heart and solves the riddle this universe is. Every creation points out to the fact that there must be a Creator and therefore reflects God:

Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. [24:35]

In Sufism, however, Tawhid, is expressed as ‘only Absolute Reality is absolutely real’. To the Sufi, this concept of Tawhid is different from pantheism (regarded un-Islamic by almost all the Muslim scholars), for the Sufistic Tawhid is not ‘everything is God’: it is ‘God is everything’, or, more ostensibly, ‘there is nothing except God’. The result is that in Sufism, Tawhid expressed as la ilaha illallah (there is no God but Allah) is the Tawhid of the ordinary, whereas the Tawhid of the elect is la mawjuda illallah (there is nothing but Allah). This means that whatever we see does not have any significance, for it does not exist in reality. It is only relatively real. What does exist in reality is God. Ibn ‘Arabi writes in his book Fususu’l-Hikam:

Although, apparently Creation is distinct from the Creator, in reality the Creator is but Creation and Creation is but the Creator. All these are from one reality. Nay, it is but He who is the Only Reality, and it is He Who manifests Himself in all these realities.

This concept is called Wahdatu’l-Wajud (Unity of Being): the idea is that a knife and a sword, for example, are called by their respective names and are treated as distinct and separate items. But when their ‘essence’ steel moves wara u’l-wara (‘beyond the beyond’, that is beyond all forms and shapes), it is called steel. Similarly, God is considered as the Ultimate Reality, which is transcendent (beyond shape and form) but in essence immanent in Creation. In the words of Sha Muhammad Isma‘il (‘Abaqat, ‘abaqah 20, al-isha#rah u’l-awwal):

For all Creation, Ma bihitta ‘yun4 is only one Definite being.

Another version of this concept is Wahdatu’l-Shahud (Unity of Appearance), according to which, God is the only Reality, and everything else is illusion. This version is again the same concept expressed in a different way. According to Sha Muhammad Isma‘il (‘Abaqa#t, ‘abaqah 20, al-isharahu’l-awwal):

...deep analysis will show that there is no difference except that owing to the difference in their stages and in their ways of reaching Lahut,5 they [the proponents of the two versions] have adopted varying styles to express their opinions.

Such beliefs often result in a strong tendency to regard a man’s physical self as a ‘form’ and to consider this form as an obstruction in his going warau’l-wara (beyond the beyond) and in reaching the Ultimate Reality. Theosophical (to be more precise, existential) realisation of this Reality through self-denial and self-control becomes the ultimate goal of life, whereas according to the Qur’an, the purpose of man's life is worship and servitude to God (51-56) and the purpose of religion is the purification of his soul to enable him to do just that (62:2). In Sufism, therefore, purification of the soul becomes the ultimate target of the Sufi’s life rather than becoming the outcome of following the dictates of Islam. For this purification, rituals and methods other than those recommended or demanded by Islam are often prescribed with such authority6 and adhered to with such pertinacity that they virtually amount to innovation in religion. That which is a means to an end becomes the end in itself: man's humility, which in Islam leads to servitude, becomes a source of his pride in Sufism; servitude, which makes him a humble servant of his Master, makes him the Master.

According to Sufism, perfect awareness of the Absolute Reality results in the Sufi's being absolutely unaware of Creation and of his own self; to be more precise, it results in his being aware of the fact that in reality there is no existence of Creation and even of his own self. This concept often leads to great imbalance; in negating his ego, the Sufi ends up worshipping it; in negating Creation, he negates life itself.

Absolute negation of the self is impracticable, absolute negation of Creation impractical.

No Man born of a woman can conceive nothingness for himself, unless he is deranged enough not to perceive anything at all. Life is not insignificant. Nor is consciousness. And every one of us knows this. Life still brings laughter, death still summons tears. Intellect is still honoured, lack of consciousness is still regarded as insanity. A man thinks and therefore is. When he thinks, he knows -- consciously or otherwise -- that it is `he' who is thinking. Therefore, if he thinks or believes that he does not exist -- that only God exists --, then he will usually end up thinking or believing that it is ‘he’ who is actually God. But God he cannot be. For the best of men -- the messengers of God --, even in their greatness, always remained in want of their Lord's mercy for the most minor of their needs:

Allahumma inni lima anzalta ilayya min khayrin faqir
Lord! verily I am needy for anything you may bestow upon me out of good. [A prayer of Moses (sws); see the Qur’a#n 28:24]

Allahumma inni ‘abduka, ibn ‘bdika, ibn amatika, nasiyati biyadik....
Lord! verily I am your slave, the son of your bondman, the son of your bondwoman, my forelock is in your hands. [that is I am completely in your power].... [A bedtime prayer of the Prophet (sws)].
Even a messenger of God is a servant of his Master. To him God is the Master whom he loves with all his heart and all his mind and all his soul. To the Sufi, however, God is the beloved whose love leads him to realise the Ultimate Reality -- and thus makes him the Master (though the Sufi will sometimes deny this. However, as long as ‘he’ believes -- consciously or otherwise -- that nothing expect God exists, he will usually be thinking of himself as the Deity7).

The usual result of this shift in the object is that in addition to the spiritual exercises and rituals recommended or prescribed by Islam to enable man to worship and serve God, the Sufi virtually makes many other exercises and rituals obligatory, which often leave him with very little energy and motivation to do God's bidding where it is actually required. And since the Sufi has a philosophical foundation for this shift from the balance required by Islam, he usually ends up being a slave of his own desires.

Vis-a-vis the society as a whole, the object of an individual’s life as envisaged by Sufism is impractical ad absurdum, as realisation of the object by all would mean negation of Creation by all and therefore negation of society, whereas realisation of the object of a man’s life as envisaged by Islam would result in the creation of a truly harmonious society. Worshipping and serving God entail responsibility towards society. One’s affiliation with society is not negated as such in Islam as a goal for achieving self-purification, just as none of the blessings of God is negated for this purpose, howsoever trivial it may appear to be.

Only when such negation becomes necessary for preventing a greater injustice to the society or to one's own self does Islam allow -- and in some cases demand -- that an individual deny the privileges he has and negate his affiliation with his society.

In Sufism, however, there seems to be a strong tendency to regard asceticism as highly desirable per se. If nothing else, there is at least an abnormal emphasis on the negation of worldly life:
Ibn ‘Ata Allah writes:


The source of every disobedience, indifference, and passion is self-satisfaction. The source of every obedience, vigilance, and virtue is dissatisfaction with one’s self. (Tr. Cryil Glasse, The Concise Encyclopaedia of Islam, second edition, London: Stacey International, 1991, p. 378).

Al Ghazali says in a al-Munqidh mina‘l-Dalal:

Then I turned my attention to the Way of the Sufis. I knew that it could not be traversed to the end without both doctrine and practice, and that the gist of the doctrine lies in overcoming the appetites of the flesh and getting rid of its evil dispositions and vile qualities, so that the heart may be cleared of all but God.... When I considered the intention of my teaching, I perceived that instead of doing it for God's sake alone I had no motive but the desire for glory and reputation. I realised that I stood on the edge of a precipice and would fall into Hellfire unless I set about to mend my ways... Conscious of my helplessness and having surrendered my will entirely, I took refuge with God as a man in sore trouble who has no resource left. God answered my prayer and made it easy for me to turn my back on reputation and wealth and wife and children and friends. (Tr. Cyril Glasse, The Concise Encyclopaedia of Islam, second edition, London: Stacey International, 1991. p. 379)

Is this abnormal inclination towards asceticism deliberate? Is it obligatory or merely desirable? -- these questions may be debatable. However, one thing is certain. As far as the concept of perfect awareness of the Absolute Reality is concerned, it inevitably leads to the conceptual negation of Creation and therefore of society.

Perhaps because of the impracticability and impracticality of their ideas, the Sufis have usually regarded it desirable per se not to reveal their inner thoughts about Tawhid (and when they do reveal them, the style they use makes their language unintelligible to most people), whereas the Prophet (sws) was told to communicate his message clearly as part of his mission (the Qur’an 5:67):

Know therefore that the ultimate of all disciples of Mystic intuition is this Tawhid, and the secrets of this discipline and cannot be written in any book because, according to a saying of ‘Arifin [those who have achieved awareness], exposing the secrets of Divinity amounts to infidelity. [al-Ghazali, Ihya ‘Ulumi’l-Din, Vol. 4. p. 641]

http://islamicweb.com/beliefs/cults/sufism.htm

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Naqshabandi Tariqah

Saturday, February 10, 2001 - 03:47 pm
The Naqshabandi Tariqah Unveiled

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 is His slave and Messenger. May the peace and blessings of Allaah be on the final Prophet Muhammad , his family, his companions and all those who follow in their footsteps until the last day. To proceed:

This little booklet is a modest attempt to analyse and expose the teachings and practices of the Tariqat ul Naqshbandi in the light of the Glorious Qur’aan 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 (SWT), 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 (SWT) says in the Qur’aan and what His truthful Messenger Muhammad 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.




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1. THE ISLAAMIC BELIEF: Allaah is the Only Truth

Allaah (SWT) says in the Qur’aan -

"That is because Allaah - He is the Truth and it is He who gives life to dead." (Qur’aan, 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 (SWT) says in the Qur’aan -

"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’aan, 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 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 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 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 (SWT) says in the Qur’aan -

"Do you feel secure, that He (Allaah), who is above the heavens, will not cause the earth to sink with you." (Qur’aan, 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 replied, "Bring her to me" so Mu`awiyah brought her to the Prophet . The Prophet then asked her, "Where is Allaah?" and she replied "Above the Sky" then the Prophet ( ) asked her, "Who am I?" and she replied, "You are Allaah’s Messenger", so the Prophet 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 (SWT) says in the Qur’aan,

"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 "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’aan,

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



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

Allaah (SWT) says in the Qur’aan - 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’aan, 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 (SWT) says in the Qur’aan,

"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’aan, 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 Seyyidina 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 Mowlana 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 intermeidary 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 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 Mowlana, Mowlana will be with that person. Even until he reaches in front of Allaah Almighty will Mowlana be with him, when Allaah Almighty questions this person Mowlana 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 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 (SWT) says in the Qur’aan -

"And Allaah is a Wakil (Guardian) over all things." (Qur’aan, 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’aan, 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 (SWT) says in the Qur’aan,

"And if Allaah touches you with harm, none can remove it but He…" (Qur’aan, 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 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 (SWT) says in the Qur’aan,

"Say the Angel of death, who is set over you, will take your souls, then you shall be brought to your Lord." (Qur’aan, 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 Mowlana 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 Mowlana 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’aan and Sunnah.

The Prophet Muhammad 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)



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 Mowlana 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 Mowlana Sheikh Nazim experience that Mowlana 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’aan,

"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 rightly said, as reported by the companion Abu Huraira (radhiallaahu `anhu) who said that Allaah’s Messenger 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 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)




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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’aan 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 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 , 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 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 , as occurs in the following hadith. The Prophet 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’aan 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’aan 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 towfeeq to recognize the truth, to understand it, to implement it and to call to it.

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Sufism -- The deviated path

Saturday, February 10, 2001 - 04:07 pm
Sufism -- The deviated path

"And when it is said to them: 'Make not Mischief on the Earth' They say, 'Why, we only want to make peace!'" - 2:11

http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Senate/8841/menu.html

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MM

Saturday, February 10, 2001 - 06:40 pm
To Kamal.
asalamu calaykum.
In the past two decades, some of our Somali young people were becoming attractive to Wahabism. Since then, according to those youths the Tawhid is Wahabism, everyone else is mushrik especially sufis are nothing but mushriks. They claim that they are following the Kitab &Sunnah, and they are fighting against bid’ah, they conclude that all the muslims are mushriks except the followers of Mohamed Abdul-Wahab who is their sect leader. They belief as they were brain washed and spoiled by the oil sheikhs of Saudis, that no one is following the kitab & sunnah except themselves, but to them the kitab and sunnah are the words of Mohame Abdul-Wahab only. These are the people you are arguing with, brother Kamal. I would suggest to you do not waste your time with them they won listen to you. Because you said I will keep searching the truth, but these brothers are not looking for the truth with you because they think they already reached the truth which is wahabism.

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FYI

Saturday, February 10, 2001 - 08:12 pm
MM, FYI, I'm not wahabi nor follower of the guy you mentioned, Mohamed Abul-wahab. I follow Mohamded bin Abdullahi bin Abdul-Mutalib. I told Kamal when he said he would keep searching the truth to go ahead do his search all he can and want, but the Prophet of Allah has left for us two things: The Quran and His sunnah. I told him no one is forcing him to fight in the way of Allah, to do dawa, to involve in the affairs of Muslims (your community), to not isolate himself, and no one is forcing him to not play music instrument (gurbaan) while remembering and worshipping Allah (dikir). However, I happened to believe that both Wahabism and Sufism are deviated paths from Islam.

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kamal

Sunday, February 11, 2001 - 04:01 am
Istakhfurullah

Forgive me brother for starting this issue, for there is no gain here but sin... I am far from accepting anything or anyone who is defferentiating between the muslims of the world... I know there is lot for me to learn in terms of the Holy quran and ahadith. There is no doubt in my mind that these two things are pure in themselves, my desire is to settle for my own peace of mind, why and how there has been such branching and defferentiation and disection of purity???

I am aware of the the tension between muslims... For i ahve friends from both shia and sunni... They refuse to even pray Friday prayers together...I have prayed along side my shia brother and there is little difference in our salat... I didn't mind if you placed a stone or some natural material beneath his forrhead but it was his wish to pray on a sijah...

At my uni on friday prayers we have, shafi's, hanafi's and maliki's... the differences are not even noticable in their prayer...

what is confusing is some of the sunni brothers pray just like the shia brother i mensioned... So i don't really understand why they won't pray together..... To me arab people have been the least motivating people i have encountered when it comes to strengthening my believes...

Each will say something else...

All i know is saturdaynights..... i am the only brother who is not shaking his behind in a night club...

The people who claim to be the true desendents of the prophet[swt] are no longer of trustworthy stature and loss my vote to guide anyone to self improvement...

We all share....1 Quran ...... ahadith can be another story... for classification as to wether... it is SAHIH OR DEIF or somewhere in between can be varried......

Should i then just... believe in the Quran???

I don't know!

There is the mind of man allowed to interpreate AHADITH..... i am far from knowing who is right who is not.....

All i have is the following link that translate to english the work of:

Bukhari
Muslim
Dawood
Malik

http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/

http://wings.buffalo.edu/sa/muslim/isl/hadith1.html#TOC

http://cwis.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muwatta/

http://cwis.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/abudawud/

Read for youselves and then come back to me and tell it is all in my mind that there is perfect harmony..... and that i need to wash my hands and never type again in this forums...... for all i do is sin.....

In reality i have allready sinned because the thought is in my mind!!! I don't see the point inhiding from ibn adam what my lord most high[swt] is already aware to be lurking in my mind.

Should i then only believe in Qudsi ahadith???

http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/hadithqudsi.html

I don't know and all youe unnecessary copy and paste are only wasting your time...

*********************
It is said in those ahadiths that the muslim nation will be divided into 73 sects of wich only one sect will enter janah.....
*********************

Only Allah[swt] knows what is meant by such hadith! Please feel free to say that all your brothers will go to Naar....

My younger brother only 15 who thought me a year ago the importance of being a practising muslim... was educated in a bangoli mosque hence he follows Hanafi figh..... i will not wish my brother NAAR... if anyone goes to NAAR let allah[swt] decide...

For there is no mension who will... therefor you will be in error to say you will...

*******My whole curiousity was begun by a somali friend informing me of the SALAFI and i started my looking into it. My saudi friends don't think too much of the SALAFI they say they are good muslims... just a little hard handed in their practices... Too much ego can be evil.

Let allah[swt] decide who best served him......

I whish all mankind could go to heaven...for we are all created to serve..... non-of us asked to be created...... i pray all that were ever born and the killers of our people go to heaven..... For surely they were only making the choices given to them by allah[swt]... I pray this dimensional existance is too narrow a comparison to the existance we will have in the here after....

All man shall taste the heat of NAAR, even for just a second for his bad thoughts...

Allah[swt] forgives all and except our prayers to all meet in the here after so we can all share in the invinate pleasure of JANAH.

salamu calaykum

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TLG

Sunday, February 11, 2001 - 08:45 am
Kamal, asalaamu alaikum dear brother,

Have your read the saying of our belove prophet peace be upon him that says something to the effect of " a fitnah is greater than killing"? Please do read that and ponder over it.
If you are confused about an issue (as I am) you should do research and clarify things for yourself before you promote anything and cause others to go astray. Please don't get me wrong. I'm not implying anything. All i'm saying is many people are reading your postings. If you were to wake up tomorrow and realize you were wrong and you had influenced a great number of people through your writing, what will u do? Those people will be blaming you on the day of judgement. Let's all excercise a little wisdom here.

I know exactly how you feel. Many of us didn't know a lot about Islam before joining university. And when u see all the divisions or problems amongst our ummah (an i'm talking about the MSA's here, forget about what is out there in the greater world) and every side screaming from the roof tops they are the "saved sect" it is kinda hard to get things straight. All I can tell you is, search, read and be fair to yourself. Ask Allah for guidance. It is said that the right way is clear from the wrong way and truth is distinct from falsehood.
As for hadiths, you can't do without them. If it wasn't for the hadiths, our whole system will be in problems. We wouldn't know how to pray, fast or purify ourselves. And please don't take your Islaam from "groups". You intention should be to please Allah and you should want to follow what Allah and his messenger legislated. Not what any human being said. May Allah help you in your search for the truth and guide us all to the straight path. Ameen.

Your sister in Islam.

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FYI

Sunday, February 11, 2001 - 10:32 am
I agree what TLG said. Following "groups", be they Wahabis, Sufis, Salifis and any other 73 groups will lead to nowhere, except deviation from the right bath, the right bath of the Prophet Mohamed bin Abdullahi bin Abdul-Mutalib, who said he left for us two things: The Quran and His sunnah. The sahaaba called themselves Muslims only. They didn't call themselves Sufis, Wahabis, Salafis. They only followed the Quran and the sunnnah of Mohamed bin Abdullahi bin Abdul-Mutalib which make them reach success and happiness in this world and in the hereafter. All people have to do is to follow the Quran and His sunnah (nothing less; nothing more). They strived hard for the diin of Allah with their nafs and wealth. They didn’t do more than what the prophet ordered to do; to do more was considered by them to be doing bidah and to do less what the Quran and the sunnah ordered was considered by them to be sin. The sahaaba were not sufis, wahabis or any other group. they associated no partners to God; they did rigthious works, enjoined equity; established prayers; friends unto one another; fulfil the covenant; Allah united their hearts and opened them to Islam; they were promised for heaven; they helped others and did dawa; obeyed Allah and His prophet; spent in the way of Allah, strived in the way of Allah, took not unbelievers as friends, constantly rememberd Allah in whatever they did and wherever they were, shared knowleged to one another, enjoyed the good things they were given, turned away from everything vain like music, enjoined right and forid wrong, helped one another if weak and oppressed, strived hard and fought for Allah, prefered believers for friends, didn't befriend Allah's enemies. They followed right bath which Allah and His prophet commanded (Quran and Sunnah), then Allah was pleased with them and they were pleased with Allah (Radiyalaahu Anhum), because

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Anonymous

Sunday, February 11, 2001 - 07:17 pm
HOW WOULD YOU RESPOND TO THE CLAIM THAT SUFISM IS BID'A?

I would respond by looking to see how traditional ulama or Islamic scholars have viewed it. For the longest period of Islamic history--from Umayyad times to Abbasid, to Mameluke, to the end of the six-hundred-year Ottoman period--Sufism has been taught and understood as an Islamic discipline, like Qur'anic exegesis (tafsir), hadith, Qur'an recital (tajwid), tenets of faith (ilm al-tawhid) or any other, each of which preserved some particular aspect of the din or religion of Islam. While the details and terminology of these shari'a disciplines were unknown to the first generation of Muslims, when they did come into being, they were not considered bid'a or "reprehensible innovation" by the ulema of shari'a because for them, bid'a did not pertain to means, but rather to ends, or more specifically, those ends that nothing in Islam attested to the validity of.

To illustrate this point, we may note that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) never in his life prayed in a mosque built of reinforced concrete, with a carpeted floor, glass windows, and so on, yet these are not considered bid'a, because we Muslims have been commanded to come together in mosques to perform the prayer, and large new buildings for this are merely a means to carry out the command.

In the realm of knowledge, books of detailed interpretation of the Qur'an, verse by verse and sura by sura, were not known to the first generation of Islam, nor was the term tafsir current among them, yet because of its benefit in preserving a vital aspect of the revelation, the understanding of the Qur'an, when the tafsir literature came into being, it was acknowledged to serve an end endorsed by the shari'a and was not condemned as bid'a. The same is true of most of the Islamic sciences, such as ilm al-jarh wa tadil or "the science of weighing positive and negative factors for evaluating the reliability of hadith narrators", or ilm al-tawhid, "the science of tenets of Islamic faith", and other disciplines essential to the shari'a. In this connection, Imam Shafi'i (d. 204/820) has said, "Anything which has a support (mustanad) from the shari'a is not bid'a, even if the early Muslims did not do it" (Ahmad al-Ghimari, Tashnif al-adhan, Cairo: Maktaba al-Khanji, n.d., 133).

Similarly ilm al-tasawwuf, "the science of Sufism" came into being to preserve and transmit a particular aspect of the shari'a, that of ikhlas or sincerity. It was recognized that the sunna of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) was not only words and actions, but also states of being: that a Muslim must not only say certain things and do certain things, but must also be something. The shari'a commands one, for example, in many Qur'anic verses and prophetic hadiths, to fear Allah, to have sincerity toward Him, to be so certain in ones knowledge of Allah that one worships Him as if one sees Him, to love the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) more than any other human being, to show love and respect to all fellow Muslims, to show mercy, and to have many other states of the heart. It likewise forbids us such inward states as envy, malice, pride, arrogance, love of this world, anger for the sake of ones ego, and so on. Al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi relates, for example, with a chain of transmission judged rigorously authenticated (sahih) by Ibn Main, the hadith "Anger spoils faith (iman) as [the bitterness of] aloes sap spoils honey" (Nawadir al-usul. Istanbul 1294/1877. Reprint.
Beirut: Dar Sadir, n.d., 6).

If we reflect upon these states, obligatory to attain or to eliminate, we notice that they proceed from dispositions, dispositions not only lacking in the unregenerate human heart, but acquired only with some effort, resulting in a human change so profound that the Qur'an in many verses terms it purification, as when Allah says in surat al-Ala, for example, "He has succeeded who purifies himself" (Qur'an 87:14). Bringing about this change is the aim of the Islamic science of Sufism, and it cannot be termed bid'a, because the shari'a commands us to accomplish the change.

At the practical level, the nature of this science of purifying the heart (like virtually all other traditional Islamic disciplines) requires that the knowledge be taken from those who possess it. This is why historically we find that groups of students gathered around particular sheikhs to learn the discipline of Sufism from. While such tariqas or groups, past and present, have emphasized different ways to realize the attachment of the heart to Allah commanded by the Islamic revelation, some features are found in all of them, such as learning knowledge from a teacher by precept and example, and then methodically increasing ones iman or faith by applying this knowledge through performing obligatory and supererogatory works of worship, among the greatest of latter being dhikr or the remembrance of Allah. There is much in the Qur'an and sunna that attests to the validity of this approach, such as the hadith related by al-Bukhari that:
Allah Most High says: "....My slave approaches Me with nothing more beloved to Me than what I have made obligatory upon him, and My slave keeps drawing nearer to Me with voluntary works until I love him. And when I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, his sight with which he sees, his hand with which he seizes, and his foot with which he walks. If he asks me, I will surely give to him, and if he seeks refuge in Me, I will surely protect him (Sahih al-Bukhari. 9 vols. Cairo 1313/1895. Reprint (9 vols. in 3). Beirut: Dar al-Jil, n.d., 5.131: 6502)--which is a way of expressing that such a person has realized the consummate awareness of tawhid or "unity of Allah" demanded by the shari'a, which entails total sincerity to Allah in all one's actions. Because of this hadith, and others, traditional ulama have long acknowledged that ilm or "Sacred Knowledge" is not sufficient in itself, but also entails amal or "applying what one knows"--as well as the resultant hal or "praiseworthy spiritual state" mentioned in the hadith.

It was perceived in all Islamic times that when a scholar joins between these aspects, his words mirror his humility and sincerity, and for that reason enter the hearts of listeners. This is why we find that so many of the Islamic scholars to whom Allah gave tawfiq or success in their work were Sufis. Indeed, to throw away every traditional work of the Islamic sciences authored by those educated by Sufis would be to discard 75 percent or more of the books of Islam. These men included such scholars as the Hanafi Imam Muhammad Amin Ibn Abidin, Sheikh al-Islam Zakaria al-Ansari, Imam Ibn Daqiq al-Eid, Imam al-Izz Ibn Abd al-Salam, Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulsi, Sheikh Ahmad al-Sirhindi, Sheikh Ibrahim al-Bajuri, Imam al-Ghazali, Shah Wali Allah al-Dahlawi, Imam al-Nawawi, the hadith master (hafiz, someone with 100,000 hadiths by memory) Abd al-Adhim al-Mundhiri, the hadith master Murtada al-Zabidi, the hadith master Abd al-Rauf al-Manawi, the hadith master Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti, the hadith master Taqi al-Din al-Subki, Imam al-Rafi'i, Imam Ibn Hajar al-Haytami, Zayn al-Din al-Mallibari, Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri, and many many others.

Imam al-Nawawi's attitude towards Sufism is plain from his work Bustan al-arifin [The grove of the knowers of Allah] on the subject, as well as his references to al-Qushayris famous Sufi manual al-Risala al-Qushayriyya throughout his own Kitab al-adhkar [Book of
the remembrances of Allah], and the fact that fifteen out of seventeen quotations about sincerity (ikhlas) and being true (sidq) in an introductory section of his largest legal work (al-Majmu: sharh al-Muhadhdhab. 20 vols. Cairo n.d. Reprint. Medina: al-Maktaba al-Salafiyya, n.d., 1.1718) are from Sufis who appear by name in al-Sulamis Tabaqat al-Sufiyya [The successive generations of Sufis]. Even Ibn Taymiyya (whose views on Sufism remain strangely unfamiliar even to those for whom he is their "Sheikh of Islam" devoted volumes ten and eleven of his Majmu al-fatawa to Sufism, while his student Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya wrote his three-volume Madarij al-salikin as a detailed commentary on Abdullah al-Ansaris Manazil al-sairin, a guide to the maqamat or "spiritual stations" of the Sufi path. These and many other Muslim scholars knew firsthand the value of Sufism as an ancillary shari'a discipline needed to purify the heart, and this was the reason that the Umma as a whole did not judge Sufism to be a bid'a down through the ages of Islamic civilization, but rather recognized it as the science of ikhlas or sincerity, so urgently needed by every Muslim on "a day when wealth will not avail, nor sons, but only him who brings Allah a sound heart" (Qur'an 26:88). And Allah alone gives success.

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MMJ

Sunday, February 11, 2001 - 07:26 pm
FYI, TLG

"Not what any human being said"
Do you mean you recieved the Qur'an and sunnah from jibril (cs) or God gave you stritht tru?

Or

you met Muxamed (CSW) and you are Saxabi?, what you telling me is that you have the qur'an and sunnah and you have not leaned from human being?

From now on, I may say to you (radhiya Lahu Anka)

***To all Readers******

Please watch the alive saxabies.

MMJ

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FYI

Sunday, February 11, 2001 - 07:55 pm
MMJ,

We learned from the sahaab and read their ways (books). Abukari, Muslim, Abu darda, etc. They were not sufis.

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kamal

Monday, February 12, 2001 - 02:50 am
Thankyou all for your contripution...
My search goes on... i do have many goals and this was just one to know about sufism and their role in Islam... undoubtedly... i have many other journeys allah permitte...

-to memorise the holy quran
-to know all sahih ahadith
-many more... with Niyah and Ikhlas

may allah[swt] give me the time...

For those who think i am a islamic student... i suppose we all are... i am at university for a different reason..... earthquake prevention...

lots of death can i suppose blind your perspective...

**************************************************
Khalaas
**************************************************

I do not want anyone to sin on account of something i began... forgive me once again... please do not enter in this page any further...

Take you sinns else where i don't want responsibility for it... i'll seek my knowledge from books and fake internet sites... i don't think anyone here can keep any real objective... jumping to your guns when ever there is a question from an uneducated person...

salamu calaykum

allah reward you all for your sincere effort to add to my knowledge....

:::::::::::: resist the temptation to comment after me.................

;:::::::::::::::::::
:::::::::::::::::;;; SESSION CLOSED......
::::::::::::::::::::

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Anonnymous

Monday, February 12, 2001 - 06:02 am
"O People, lend me an attentive ear, for I know not whether, after this year, I shall ever be amongst you again. Therefore, listen to what I am saying to you very carefully and take these words to those who could not be present today.

O People, just as you regard this month, this day, this city as sacred, so regard the life and property of every Muslim as a sacred trust. Return the goods entrusted to you to their rightful owners. Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you. Remember that you will indeed meet your Lord, and that He will indeed reckon your deeds. Allah has forbidden you to take interest, therefore, all interest obligations shall henceforth be waived. Your capital, however, is yours to keep. You will neither inflict nor suffer inequity. Allah has judged that there shall be no interest and that all interest due to Abbas bin Abdul-Muttalib (the prophet's uncle) shall henceforth be waived.

Every right arising out of homicide in pre-Islamic days is henceforth waived and the first such right I waive is that arising from the murder of Rabiyah bin Al-Harith (relative of the prophet). O Men, the unbelievers indulge in tampering with the calendar in order to make permissible that which Allah forbade, and to forbid that which Allah had made permissible. With Allah the months are twelve; four of them are holy; three of these are successive and one occurs singly between the months of Jumadah and Shaaban.

Beware of Satan, for the safety of your religion. He has lost all hope that he will ever be able to lead you astray in big things, so beware of following him in small things.

O People, it is true that you have certain right with regard to your women, but they also have rights over you. If they abide by your right then to them belongs the right to be fed and clothed in kindness. Do treat your women well and be kind to them for they are your partners and committed helpers. And it is your right that they do not make friends with any one of whom you do not approve, as well as never commit adultery.

O People, listen to me in earnest, worship Allah, say your five daily prayers, fast during the month of Ramadhan, and give your wealth in zakat. Perform Hajj if you can afford to.

All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab, nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over a black, nor a black has any superiority over white except by piety and good action. Learn that every Muslim is the brother of another Muslim, and that Muslims constitute one brotherhood.

Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim which belongs to a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly. Do not, therefore, do injustice to your selves.

Remember, one day you will appear before Allah and answer for your deeds. So beware, do not astray from the path of righteousness after I am gone.

O People, no prophet or apostle will come after me and no new faith will be born. Reason well, therefore, O People, and understand my words which I convey to you.

I leave behind me two things, the Quran and my example, the Sunnah, and if you follow these you will never go astray.

All those who listen to me shall pass on my words to others, and those to others again; and may the last ones understand my words better that those who listen to me directly. Be my witness O Allah, that I have conveyed Your message to Your people."

----------------
This sermon was delivered on the ninth day of Dhul Hijah, 10 A.H. (632 A.D.)

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?

Monday, February 12, 2001 - 06:24 am
I have a question. I heard anyone can be a Sufi without being a Muslim, but anyone can not be a Muslim without taking the shahada, is that right?

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LOL

Monday, February 12, 2001 - 07:08 am
"Sufi-Goofy"

I was invited to Sufi gathering. I entered Gautama the Buddha Auditorium a few minutes early for "Osho Sufi Whirling" in order to catch the instruction which precedes all meditations at the Osho Commune. This instruction was taped, and the quality was so poor I can only assume that the unintelligible mutterings were those of a great Sufi master. Listening for five minutes, the only sentence I understood was "Your center does not move when you whirl."

I was told Sufism is a part of Islam diverging from the main trunk in two key respects: first, they advocate tolerance of all other religions, and second, the faithful twirl in place for hours at a time as a way to see God. While I suspect that the only god I'll be seeing after this meditation is the porcelain variety, I'm up for anything.

The "instruction" ends and the music begins. I'm sketchy on what to do so I just watch. Slowly, people begin to rotate in place, their arms rising up from their sides, palms outstretched. People are rotating in different directions, so I look for the instructor to see what he's doing. The instructor is moving so gracefully I forget to check the direction. His long black robe billows out on all sides, his white waist-sash trailing him like the string of a kite, his long white beard hanging straight down except for the tip, which curves to the side, like his sash. On top of the master's head is a black hat, much like a fez only twice as tall. I had seen him walking around earlier and I asked Shruti, "Is he some kind of Shriner?"

"No, the hat is supposed to represent a gravestone."

"Oh really? Why's that?"

"Because death is always hanging over our heads," said Shruti with a twinkle in her eye.

Slowly, I begin to turn. No more than five rotations later I'm so dizzy I have to stop. After I recover, I try again using the ballerina's method of focusing on a specific point, then whipping around and catching the same point again. If the ultimate purpose of Sufi Whirling is the cultivation of self-knowledge, then it's working, because I've realized I'm not a ballerina. Dizzy again, I stop once more to examine the master's method. I notice that the master does not move his head when he twirls, but stares into space while smiling peacefully, as if admiring the face of his beloved.

Just then an advanced Sufi whirler whips by in front of me. Her robe is maroon, with a maroon bikini top, and a maroon tombstone-hat. She doesn't just rotate in place, but glides across the floor like she's waltzing with herself, or with the ghost of her beloved.

I start to move again and almost immediately feel sick. This time, however, I remember my one instruction - "Your center does not move when you whirl." I close my eyes and tune into my center - a process for me like ham radio: conditions must be perfect, and even then results are unpredictable. To my surprise, the feeling of both motion and queasiness disappear almost immediately, replaced with a kind of calm like slipping into a nice warm bath.

For several seconds I continue twirling with my eyes closed, convinced that if I open them I'll immediately fall down and/or puke. When I finally do open them, again I'm surprised. The room has disappeared, replaced by a swirling whirlpool of colors like a big finger-painting. Not only am I not dizzy, but I actually feel quite good - peaceful and detached from my cares. Slowly I turn my head to the left, and into my field of view comes my hand! It hangs before me - crisp and detailed - like the robotic arm of the Space Shuttle against the swirling atmosphere of Earth.

I look away from my hand, which is less interesting than the amorphous swirl of color around me. I remember my college daze and early experiments with psychedelics; the astonishment with which I realized that perception - the very framework of experience, which I once thought to be as immutable as a mother's love - was in fact completely malleable, to the point where real objects could morph into imaginary ones - or worse, into "hyper-real" objects, whose actual unseen properties suddenly became visible - or at sufficient dosages the whole ball of wax could just melt until it looked a lot like the gorgeous, swirling mess encircling me now.

I suddenly feel dizzy, and I know immediately what the problem is: I'm thinking too much - my heavy misshapen thoughts bumping and rattling like an off-center load in a washing machine. I quiet my mind, relocate my center, and the dizziness disappears.

A maroon shape swirls around my head several times before fading to a thin streak across my field of view. With great difficulty - like doing algebra on my toes - I work it out that the shape must have been the senior student, waltzing by with her Heathcliff. I can't remember what she actually looks like, but being so literally unattainable greatly magnifies her allure. I decide to follow her if possible, and as I twirl I lurch rhythmically in what I hope is her direction. I may or may not be heading towards her, but I'm definitely heading towards the music, which wraps playfully around my head like yarn around a kitten.

I haven't thought of him for years but suddenly I remember Lefty, the kitten we adopted when I was about twelve. We got Lefty from the Pound, and unfortunately he had been taken from his mother too early, which is why on his first day home he tried to adopt the family dog - a high-strung mix of shepherd and coyote - as his mommy. This was a mistake, especially at dinner time, when he pranced over to the dog's bowl - just to say hello - and got bitten on the head. It was really just a nip - she could have bitten his head clean off without difficulty - but Lefty was such a tiny thing it ended up being a serious injury. He lay motionless for three days in a little kitty-coma, and when he finally opened his eyes and jumped up - as if he had just laid down a second ago - we all discovered - Lefty included - that he could now only turn left. He would recognize one of us, run in our direction, then veer to the left like a train on invisible curving tracks. He would stop and shake his head - knowing where we were but unable to turn in that direction - then he would do an almost complete circle to the left until we once again entered his field of view - then he would start running again. To cover a distance of less than ten feet, he would have to do at least three complete circles. We enjoyed Lefty's company for several weeks, until one day he simply disappeared. We're not sure what happened, but we think he went exploring, and just ended up someplace where home was to the right and a strange and beckoning world lay to the left.

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LOL

Monday, February 12, 2001 - 07:32 am
http://sufidance.tripod.com/

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Anonymous

Monday, February 12, 2001 - 07:24 pm
WHAT THE SCHOLARS SAY ABOUT SUFISM

Imam Malik
"Whoever studies jurisprudence [tafaqaha]and didn't study sufism[tasawafa] will be corrupted; and whoever studied sufism and didn't study jurisprudence will become a heretic; and whoever combined both will be reach the truth"[the scholar ,ali al adawi’vol.2'p195]

Imam Shafi’I
"I accompanied the sufi people and I received from them three knowledges : how to speak; how to treat people with leniency and a soft heart: and they guided me in the ways of sufism" [kashf al khafa, ajuni, vol. 1,p341.]

Imam Ahmed bin hanbal
"O my son, you have to sit with the people of sufism, because they are like a fountain of knowledge and they keep the remembrance of Allah in their heart. They are the ascetics and they have the most spiritual power."[tanwir alqulub p.405]


CONTINUOUS

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FG.

Monday, February 12, 2001 - 08:00 pm
Anonyous.

Don't mislead the people. The sufis Imams talked about are not the current sufis. I don't understand why you mislead when you know the sufis of today worship beings just like christians worship beings. Everything is wrong with them. Anything that the prophet didn't teach pbuh has no luck in islam. Islam was complete when the prophet left pbuh and we should keep to just that. AL-QURAN WA SUNNAH.

Do you know IBNU CARABI? The biggest of sufis and what he believes?. Many scholars gave the edict that HE WAS A DISBELIEVER. I will bring that later inshallah since it is bookmarked at my home computer.

It is good for you to refrain promoting something that the prophet pbuh didn't teach. May be you are more educated than he was and think you have something he cheated FROM US RIGHT?.


QUESTION:

Question:


What is the place of sufism in Islam? What truth is there in 'religious experiences', contacts with the Divine, etc.? Some people hold such phenomena in high regard, claiming the similarities between
experiences of people from different religions and from opposite corners of the globe, to be proof. How should people who claim to be sufis or believers/followers of sufism be seen? Isn't prayer and remembrance also a form of contact with the Almighty, SWT?


Answer:

Praise be to Allaah.

The word “Sufism” was not known at the time of the Messenger or the Sahaabah or the Taabi’een. It arose at the time when a group of ascetics who wore wool (“soof”) emerged, and this name was given to them. It was also said that the name was taken from the word “soofiya” (“sophia”) which means “wisdom” in Greek. The word is not derived from al-safa’ (“purity”) as some of them claim, because the adjective derived from safa’ is safaa’i, not soofi (sufi). The emergence of this new name and the group to whom it is applied exacerbated the divisions among Muslims. The early Sufis differed from the later Sufis who spread bid’ah (innovation) to a greater extent and made shirk in both minor and major forms commonplace among the people, as well as the innovations against which the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) warned us when he said, “Beware of newly-invented things, for every newly-invented thing is an innovation and every innovation is a going-astray.” (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, who said it is saheeh hasan).

The following is a comparison between the beliefs and rituals of Sufism and Islam which is based on the Qur’aan and Sunnah.

Sufism has numerous branches or tareeqahs, such as the Teejaniyyah, Qaadiriyyah, Naqshbandiyyah, Shaadhiliyyah, Rifaa’iyyah, etc., the followers of which all claim that their particular tareeqah is on the path of truth whilst the others are following falsehood. Islam forbids such sectarianism. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“… and be not of al-mushrikoon (the disbelievers in the Oneness of Allaah, polytheists, idolaters, etc),

Of those who split up their religion (i.e., who left the true Islamic monotheism), and became sects, [i.e., they invented new things in the religion (bid’ah) and followed their vain desires], each sect rejoicing in that which is with it.” [al-Room 30:31-32]

The Sufis worship others than Allaah, such as Prophets and “awliya’” [“saints”], living or dead.
They say, “Yaa Jeelaani”, “Yaa Rifaa’i” [calling on their awliya’], or “O Messenger of Allaah, help and save” or “O Messenger of Allaah, our dependence is on you”, etc.

But Allaah forbids us to call on anyone except Him in matters that are beyond the person's capabilities. If a person does this, Allaah will count him as a mushrik, as He says (interpretation
of the meaning):

“And invoke not, besides Allaah, any that will neither profit you, nor hurt you, but if (in case)
you did so, you shall certainly be one of the zaalimoon (polytheists and wrongdoers).”
[Yoonus 10:106]

The Sufis believe that there are abdaal, aqtaab and awliya’ (kinds of “saints”) to whom Allaah
has given the power to run the affairs of the universe. Allaah tells us about the mushrikeen
(interpretation of the meaning):

“Say [O Muhammad]: ‘…And who disposes the affairs?’ They will say. ‘Allaah.’…” [Yoonus 10:31]

The mushrik Arabs knew more about Allaah than these Sufis! The Sufis turn to other than Allaah when calamity strikes, but Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And if Allaah touches you with harm, none can remove it but He, and if He touches you with good, then He is Able to do all things.” [al-An’aam 6:17]

Some Sufis believe in wahdat al-wujood (unity of existence). They do not have the idea of a Creator and His creation, instead they say that everything is creation and everything is god.

The Sufis advocate extreme asceticism in this life and do not believe in taking the necessary means or in jihaad, but Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“But seek with that (wealth) which Allaah has bestowed on you, the home of the Hereafter, and forget not your portion of legal enjoyment in this world…” [al-Qasas 28:77]

“And make ready against them all that you can of power…” [al-Anfaal 8:60]

The Sufis refer the idea of ihsaan to their shaykhs and tell their followers to have a picture of their shaykh in mind when they remember Allaah and even when they are praying. Some of them even put a picture of their shaykh in front of them when they are praying. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Ihsaan is when you worship Allaah as if you can see Him, and although you cannot see Him, He can see you.” (Reported by Muslim).

The Sufis allow dancing, drums and musical instruments, and raising the voice when making
dhikr, but Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“The believers are only those who, when Allaah is mentioned, feel a fear in their hearts…”[al-Anfaal 8:2]

Moreover, you see some of them making dhikr by only pronouncing the Name of Allaah, saying, “Allaah, Allaah, Allaah.” This is bid’ah and has no meaning in Islam. They even go to the extreme of saying, “Ah, ah” or “Hu, Hu.” The Sunnah is for the Muslim to remember his Lord in words that have a true meaning for which he will be rewarded, such as saying Subhaan Allaah wa Alhamdulillah wa Laa ilaaha illa Allaah wa Allaahu akbar, and so on.

The Sufis recite love poems mentioning the names of women and boys in their dhikr gatherings, and they repeat words such as “love”, “passion”, “desire” and so on, as if they are in a gathering where people dance and drink wine and clap and shout. All of this has to do with the customs and acts of worship of the mushrikeen. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Their salaah (prayer) at the House (of Allaah, i.e., the Ka’bah at Makkah) was nothing but
whistling and clapping of hands…”[al-Anfaal 8:35]

Some Sufis pierce themselves with rods of iron, saying, “O my grandfather!” So the shayaateen come to them and help them, because they are seeking the help of someone other than Allaah . Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And whosoever turns away (blinds himself) from the remembrance of the Most Beneficent (Allaah), We appoint for him a shaytaan (devil) to be a qareen (intimate companion) for him.” [al-Zukhruf 43:36]

The Sufis claim to have gnosis and knowledge of the unseen, but the Qur’aan shows them to be liars. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Say: ‘None in the heavens and the earth knows the ghayb (unseen) except Allaah…’” [al-Naml 27:65]

The Sufis claim that Allaah created the world for the sake of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), but the Qur’aan shows them to be liars. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And I (Allaah) created not the jinns and humans except they should worship Me (Alone).” [al-Dhaariyaat 51:56]

Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted, addressed His Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) with the words (interpretation of the meaning):

“And worship your Lord until there comes unto the certainty (i.e., death).” [al-Hijr 15:99]

The Sufis claim that they can see Allaah in this life, but the Qur’aan shows them to be liars. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“[Moosa said:] ‘O my Lord! Show me (Yourself), that I may look upon You.’ Allaah said, ‘You cannot see Me…’” [al-A’raaf 7:143]

The Sufis claim that they take knowledge directly from Allaah, without the mediation of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and in a conscious state (as opposed to dreams). So are they better than the Sahaabah??

The Sufis claim that they take knowledge directly from Allaah, without the mediation of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). They say, “Haddathani qalbi ‘an Rabbi (My heart told me from my Lord).”

The Sufis celebrate Mawlid and hold gatherings for sending blessings on the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), but they go against his teachings by raising their voices in
dhikr and anaasheed (religious songs) and qaseedahs (poems) that contain blatant shirk. Did the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) celebrate his birthday? Did Abu Bakr,
‘Umar, ‘Uthman, ‘Ali, the four imaams or anyone else celebrate his birthday? Who knows more and is more correct in worship, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and the Salaf, or the Sufis?

The Sufis travel to visit graves and seek blessings from their occupants or to make tawaaf
(ritual circumambulation) around them or to make sacrifices at these sites, all of which goes
against the teachings of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): “Do not travel to visit any place but three mosques: al-Masjid al-Haraam [in Makkah], this mosque of mine [in Madeenah] and al-Masjid al-Aqsa [in Jerusalem].” (Agreed upon).

The Sufis are blindly loyal to their shaykhs, even when what they go against the words of Allaah and His Messenger. But Allaah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“O you who believe! Do not put (yourselves) forward before Allaah and His Messenger…” [al-Hujuraat 49:1]

The Sufis use talismans, letters and numbers for making decisions and for making amulets and charms and so on.

The Sufis do not restrict themselves to the specific blessings on the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) that were narrated from him. They invented new formulas that involve seeking his blessings and other kinds of blatant shirk which are unacceptable to the one on whom they are sending blessings.

With regard to the question of the whether the Sufi shaykhs have some kind of contact, this is true, but their contact is with the shayaateen, not with Allaah, so they inspire one another with
adorned speech as a delusion (or by way of deception), as Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):

“And so We have appointed for every Prophet enemies – shayaateen (devils) among mankind and jinns, inspiring one another with adorned speech as a delusion (or by way of deception). If your Lord had so willed, they would not have done it…” [al-An’aam 6:112]

And Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“… And, certainly, the shayaateen (devils) do inspire their friends (from mankind)…” [al-An’aam 6:121]

“Shall I inform you (O people!) upon whom the shayaateen (devils) descend?

They descend on every lying, sinful person.” [al-Shu’ara 221-222]

This is the contact that is real, not the contact that they falsely claim to have with Allaah. Exalted be Allaah far above that. (See Mu’jam al-Bida’, 346 –359).

When some of these Sufi shaykhs disappear suddenly from the sight of their followers, this is the result of their contact with the shayaateen, who may even carry them to a distant place and bring them back in the same day or night, to mislead their human followers.

So the important rule here is not to judge people by the extraordinary feats that they may do. We should judge them by how closely or otherwise they adhere to the Qur’aan and Sunnah. The true friends of Allaah (awliya’) are not necessarily known for performing astounding feats. On the contrary, they are the ones who worship Allaah in the manner that He has prescribed, and not by doing acts of bid’ah. The true awliya’ or friends of Allaah are those whom our Lord has described in the hadeeth qudsi narrated by al-Bukhaari in his Saheeh (5/2384) from Abu Hurayrah, who said:

The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allaah said, ‘Whoever shows enmity towards a friend (wali) of Mine, I declare war against him. My slave does not draw close to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties that I have enjoined on him, and My slave continues to draw close to Me with supererogatory (naafil) acts, so that I will love him. When I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him, and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it.’”

And Allaah is the Source of Strength and the Guide to the Straight Path.


Islam Q&A (www.islam-qa.com)

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Anonymous

Monday, February 12, 2001 - 09:34 pm
Imaam Ash-Shaa'fee on Sufism:

"If a person excercized Sufism (Tasawafa) at the beginning of the day, he does not come to Dhuhur except an idiot." [Talbees Iblees].

"Nobody accompanied the Sufis forty days and had his brain return (ever)." [Talbees Iblees].

Concerning the famous Sufi leader, Al-Harith Al-Muhasbi, Imaam Ahmad ibn Hanbaal (R) said:

"Warn (people) from Al-Harith (a Sufi leader) the strongest warning!... He is the shelter of the Ahl Kalaam (people of rhetoric)." [Talbees Iblis].

The famous Sheikh Abu Bakr Ad-Djaza'iri stated:

"Sufism is a shameful deception which begins with Dhikr and ends with Kufr. Its outward manifestation appears to be piety, but its inward reality forsakes the Commandments of Allah." [Illat-Tasawwuf Yaa Ibadallah].

Ash-Sheikh Muhammad ibn Rabee' ibn Haadee Al-Madkhalee, a well known teacher at the Islamic University of Medinah and the son of a well known scholar, brings in his book "Haqeeqatus Soofiyyah Fee Dau'il Kitaabi Was Sunnah", the following:

Concerning the practice of the Sufiyyah in wearing woolen clothing as a sign of Zuhd (abstemiousness/disassociation from the wordly life) and in their attempt to mirror the Prophet 'Isa (AS):

"Ibn Taymiyah (R) mentions in Al-Fataawaa (11/7) from Muhammad ibn Seereen (a famous Tabi'ee who died in 110H) that it reached him that a certain people had taken to wearing woollen clothes in order to resemble 'Isa ibn Maryam (AS), so he said: 'There are a people (Sufis) who have chosen and preferred the wearing of woollen clothes, claiming that they want to resemble Al-Maseeh ibn Maryam (AS). But the way of our Prophet (SAAW) is more beloved to us, and the Prophet (SAAW) used to wear cotton and other garments."

Sheikh Al-Madkhalee goes on:

"As regards the first appearance of Sufism, then the word "Sufism" was not known in the time of the Sahabah, indeed it was not well-known in the first three and best centuries. Shaykhul Islam Ibn Taymiyah (R), mentions that the first appearance of Sufism was in Basrah in 'Iraaq, where some people went to extremes in worship and in avoiding the worldly life, such as was not seen in other lands. [Al-Fataawaa (11/6)]."

Commenting on the reaction of the early Sufis while hearing Qur'an being recited (it was their pratice to fall out and act dumb-struck), Ibn Taymiyah (R) says:

"This was not found to occur amongst the Sahabah, so when it appeared a group of the Companions and the Tabi'een such as Asmaa bint Abi Bakr and 'Abd Allah Az-Zubair and Muhammad ibn Seereen criticsed that since they saw that it was an innovation and contrary to what they knew from the manners of the Sahabah." [Al-Fataawaa (11/6)].

Concerning the spread of Sufism, Ibn Al-Jawziyyah said:

"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." [Talbees Iblis].

Shaikh Abu Zahrah (R) said concerning the reason for the appearance of Sufism and the sources from which it sprung:

"1. The first source: Some worshippers amongst the Muslims turned all their attention to avoidance of the worldly life and to cutting themselves off in order to worship. This first began in the lifetime of the Prophet (SAAW) when some of the Sahabah decided to spend the night striving in Prayer and abandoning sleep. Others decided to fast every day without fail. Others decided to cease having marital relations with women. So when that reached the Prophet (SAAW) he said: "What is wrong with a people who say such and such. But rather I fat and I refrain from fasting, I pray and I sleep, and I marry women. So whoever turns away from my Sunnah, then he is not from me (Al-Bukharee and Muslim). Furthermore, the innovation of living like monks (monasticism) is forbiddeen in the Qur'an. He said:

"...the Monasticism which they invented for themselves..." [57:27].

However, when the Prophet (SAAW) passed on to join the company of the highest angels, and many people entered into Islam from the previous religions then the number of those who went to extremes in avoidance of worldly life and its blessings grew and Sufism found a place in the hearts of these people since it had come across a fertile planting ground.

2. The second matter which attracted peoples' souls was something which appeared amongst the Muslims in the form of two ideologies. One of them was philosophical whilst the other was from the previous religions. As for the first, then it was the view of the Illumist school of philosophers who held that knowledge and awareness is brought about in the soul by spiritual exercies and purification of the soul. As for the second ideology, then it was the belief that the Deity dwells in human souls, or that the Deity is incarnate in humanity. This idea began to find a place amongst those sects who falsely attributed themselves to Islam in the earlier times, when the Muslims became mixed with the Christians. This idea appeared amongst the Sabians and some of the Kaysaamiyyah, then the Qaraamitah, then amongst the Baatinees, then in its final shape it appeared amongst some of the Sufis...There is another source from which it took, and which causes the manifestation of Sufi tendencies, which is the idea that the texts of the Book and the Sunnah have an outer, apparent meaning and an inner, hidden meaning...it seems clear that they took this idea from the Baatinees." [Ibn Taymiyah by Abu Zahra].

Ibn Al-Jawziyyah said after criticising the Sufis for their impostition of hardship upon themselves and for their going beyond bounds of abstemiousness to the point of self torture:

"So this self seprivation which went beyond bounds, which we have been forbideen from, has been turned around by the Sufis of our time, ie. the sixth century, so that they have become as deserious of food as their predecessors were of hunger, and they enjoy morning meals, evening meals and sweet delicacies, all of which or most of which they attain through impure wealth. They have abandoned lawful earnings, turned away from worship and spread out carpets on which they idly recline, most of them have no desire except for food, drink and frivolous activities. [Talbees Iblis].

Speaking of the false miracles claimed by many Sufi leaders, Ibn Taymiyah said:

"It may also be done with the help of their devils as they are a people who are as closely attended by devils as they are by their own brothers... These people who experience these satanic happenings are under a great delusion, in their foolishness they are deprived of all blessings, they only increase that which is feared, they devour the wealth of the people in futile acts, they do not order the good, nor do they forbid evil, and they do not fight Jihaad in Allah's Cause." [Al-Fataawaa].

Futher, Sheikh Al-Madkhalee says:

"Then I return to the point that when I saw that most of the callers were negligent of the most important aspects of Islam which is the call to Tawheed and the correction and purification of 'Aqeedah from all Shirk, which takes the form of worshipping the dead, attachment to the graves and calling upon the dead and the absent, and they remained silent about the other deviation of the present day Sufi orders which are very widespread in the lands of the Muslims, and anyone who travels outside this land will see the predominace that the Sufi orders ahve over the minds of the Muslims in Egypt, Syria, Morocco, Africa and India. Whether is is the Rifaa'ee order, or the Tijanis, or the Ahmadiyyah, or the Qaadiriyyah, or the Burhamiyyah, or the Shadhiliyyah, or the Khattaaniyyah, or the Darqaawees, or the Naqshabandis or whichever of the large number of Sufi orders...when I saw this I wished to remind of that which I held to be something very important. Likewise, I wished to provide my brothers, who study in the highly regarded Daarul Hadeeth, and they come from various Islamic lands where there are many Sufi orders, with some knowledge and some protection from the deadly sickness of Sufism."

As for those authentic and well known books by the 'Ulemah that have refuted Sufism:

Al-Fataawaa - by Sheikhul Islam Ibn Taymiyah Tabless Iblis - by Ibn Al-Jawziyyah, ibn Taymiyah's student Tanbeebul-Ghabee ilaa Takfeer Ibn 'Arabee - by Burhaanuddeen Al-Baqaa'ee Tahdheerul-'Ibaad min Ahlil-'Inaad bibid'atil-Ittihaad - by Al-Baqaa'ee (same as above - died in 885H).

These are just some of the statements by scholars, past and present, concerning the Sufiyyah. There are many, many more...and the research goes on...

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Idea

Tuesday, February 13, 2001 - 04:32 am
Jazaakum Allah for your inputs.

FG,
thanks brother for your effort, may Allah reward. The things that you have mentioned in your last post, i see it happening between people, it is so normal that people don't even know that is Bidca!
Mowlid al-nabawi (ie the celebration of the birth of our beloved prophet) is considered a big religious celebration in Egypt. I think that goes back way to the period of al-fatimiyeen (who were shia). But that being ranked as a sufism...that is new!

Anonymous,

you wrote "No body accompanied the sufis forty days and had his brain return"...lol I don't know but i personally took one of my philosophy classes with a sufi prof. Truth has to be said that I was most of the time exhausted from his exhortations to wisdom but I thank him for making me love wearing hijab! But still there is a big question mark how ppl tend to practise religion these days?!?!?

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Anonymous

Tuesday, February 13, 2001 - 06:29 am
WHAT THE SCHOLARS SAY ABOUT SUFISM

Imam Nawawi "The specifications of tha way of the Sufis are…to keep the presence of Allah in your heart in public and in private; to follow the Sunnah of the Prophte pboh…to be happy with what Allah gave you…"[ in his letters,maqasid at-tawhid,p.20]

Ibn Taymiyya
"Tasawwuf has realities and states of experience which they talk about in their science.some of it is that the Sufi is that one who purifies himself from anything which distracts him from the remembrance of Allah who will be so filled up with knowledge of the heart and knowledge of the mind to the point that the value
Of gold and stones will be the same to him. And Tasawwuf is safeguarding the precious meaning and leaving behing the call to fame and vanity in order to reach the state of truthfulness, because the best of humans after the Prophets are the siddiqeen, as Allah mentioned them in the verse…"[majmu-a fatawa ibn Taymiya al –kubra, vol.11 book of tasawwuf,p.497]

Ibn Taymiyya says "what is considered as a miracle for a saint is that sometimes the saint might hear something that others do not hear and they might see something that others do not see while not in sleeping state;but in a wakened state of vision. And he can know something that others cannot know, through revelation or inapiration."[Majma’a fatawi ibn Taymiyya, voi.11 p.314]

CONTINUOUS

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Anonymous

Tuesday, February 13, 2001 - 08:56 am
In complete seclusion, the Sufi continously repeats the name of God as a highest form of dthikr. In his book, Journey to the Lord of Power, Muhiyid-Did ibn Arabi (1165-1240 A.D.) discusses the stages through which the Sufi passes in his khalwah. He suggests:

"The Sufi should shut his door against the world for forty days and occupy himself with remembrance of Allah, that is to keep repeating, "Allah, Allah..." Then, "Almighty God will spread before him the degrees of the kingdom as a test. First, He will discover the secrets of the mineral world. If he occupies himself with dthikr, He (God) will unveil to the secrets of the vegetable world, then the secrets of the animal world, then the infusion of the world of life-force into lives, then the "surface sign" (the light of the Divine Names, according to Abdul-Karim al-Jeeli, the book's translator), then the degrees of speculative sciences, then the world of formation and adornment and beauty, then the degrees of the qutb (the soul or pivot of the universe-see #16) (59) Then he will be given the divine wisdom and the power of symbols and authority over the veil and the unveiling. The degree of the Divine Presence is made clear to him, the garden (of Eden) and Hell are revealed to him, then the original forms of the son of Adam, the Throne of Mercy. If it is appropriate, he will know his destination. Then he will reveal to him the Pen, the First Intellect (as it is called by Sufi philosophers), then the Mover of the Pen, the right hand of the Truth. (The "Truth" as defined by al-Jeeli is that by which everything is created, none other than God most High.) (60)

Suffices it to say that the Prophet , whom Allah blessed with ascendence to the seventh heaven, never spoke of such detailed stages as Ibn Arabi promises to those who undertake khalwah. Nevertheless, the practice of khalwah is regularly followed by the Sufis, with the permission and the supervision of a Sufi authority.

The assigning of forty days of khalwah period is based by the Sufis on the forty days Allah had appointed for Musa (Moses) as a fasting period before speaking to him, as mentioned in different chapters in the Qur'an. One of them is from surat al-Baqarah:


meaning,
"and when We appointed (a period of) forty nights with Musa.":O2.51)

Khalwah is an obligatory practice to be undertaken by "seeker of God," which will give him an infusion of divine knowledge, according to promises of Ibn al-Arabi and his disciples.

There are many conditions of Khalwah; they include, according to al-Tijaniyyeh Order:

Entering the place of khalwah the way a masjid (mosque) is entered, performing ablution before entering it, seeking help from the spirits of the shaikhs of the Order, through the medium of the murid's own shaikh.
The khalwah place should be dark, and the worshipper should surrender all worldly and exterior religious affairs, as the first step toward surrendering his own existence.(61)
Assiduity in dthikr, or rememberance of Allah, must be maintained in order that the Remembered One may, at the final stage, make Himself manifest to the worshipper.
The heart of the murid must be perpetually attached to his shaikh, who has been appointed by Allah to guide him, so Sufis allege. The shaikh is believed to keep each murid's company constantly, spiritually as well as physically, regardless of number of him murids or their geographical locations.

Thus, the Sufi chieftains gradually drag naive Muslims into the impious belief that their shaikhs are omnipresent. Allah says:


meaning,
"There is no private talk of three, but He is their fourth; nor of five, but He is their sixth; nor of less than that nor of more, but He is with them wheresoever they may be.":O58.7)

Although it should be accepted in its literal meaning, yet the above verse should not be misconstrued to substantiate the sacreligious and pantheistic belief that Allah the Exalted essentially exists everywhere. Rather, the verse means that Allah, glory be to Him, encompasses everything with His knowledge. The Prophet did not neglect to mention and make clear to his followers any ways or means that lead to success in the Hereafter, nor did he neglect to warn them against any ways or means that lead to misery in the Hereafter. And since the practice of khalwah is not included in the ways and means of success, it must be included in the ways and means of misery.

Moreover, seeking help from anyone other than Allah is a polytheistic practice condemned by Allah in the Qur'an:


meaning,
"Say, 'Call on those whom you think (to be gods) beside Him; (then you will know that they) have no power to remove harm from you, or to avert it.' Those whom they call on (they themselves) seek the means (of becoming near to Allah). Whichever of them is nearer (to Allah)? And they hope for His mercy, and fear His punishment. Surely, the punishment of your Lord is (a thing to be) feared.":O17.56,57)

There is also another condition of khalwah: the murid must keep silent throughout the forty days of his khalwah even if he goes out for some reason. Suffice it to know that keeping silent for a whole day is forbidden by the words of the Prophet ,

"There shall be no keeping silence for a whole day until night.":O62)
Al-Munawee, in his commentary on this hadeeth, says that keeping silent for a whole day is forbidden because it is an imitation of a Christian custom.

Furthermore, the Prophet never practiced khalwah after receiving the Divine appointment of the Prophethood, nor did his companions, may Allah be pleased with them all, nor did their followers. On the contrary, the Messenger of Allah encouraged socializing among Muslims and regarded it as praiseworthy, as reported in the following hadeeth narrated by Ibn Umar:

"The believer who intermingles with people and endures patiently their mischief will have greater reward than the one who does not intermingle with people and does not endure patiently their mischief.":O63)

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Anonymous

Tuesday, February 13, 2001 - 08:58 am
"Once I visited Zaid b. Soohan while he was with a goup of people circulating a sheet of paper on which were written statements such as, 'Allah is our Lord, Muhammad is our Prophet, al-Qur'an is our imam. He who is with us we are with him, and he who is against us we are against him etc.' The paper was shown to every man present, every one of whom was then asked, 'Do you acknowledge this covenant? When the paper reached me, I was asked, 'Do you acknowledge it, young man?' 'No!' I said. Thereupon, the head of the goup interjected saying to his men, 'Do not take a hasty action against the youth. Then he turned to me and enquired, 'What do you say, young man?' I said, 'Allah has already taken a covenant from me in His Book, after which I shall never give a covenant to anyone.' Thereupon, every single man relinquished his previous acknowledgment of the covenant. I asked Mutarrif, 'How many of you were there?' He said, 'We were about 30 men.'":O54)

Now compare those truthful and sincere predecessors, who rejected any act of worship, regardless how good it sounded, once they realized it was not practiced by the Prophet or his companions, may Allah be pleased with them all, with the Sufi shaikhs and party leaders of today, who not only make imperative that their followers give bai'ah to them, but also consider bai'ah as an indispensable religious rite.

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Anonymous

Tuesday, February 13, 2001 - 09:00 am
Song and Dance in religion, by Sufi.

All you need is love.

In this circle of love I am lifted above
fear and pain, once again
In this circle of Light, in your loving sight
I see my friends, I'm home again


Lifted up into the Light
Sharing another healing night
Dancing in this circle of love
Dancing in this circle of love

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Anonymous

Tuesday, February 13, 2001 - 09:03 am
SEREN

Welcome to the Home Page for
Seventh Circle,
a Journal of Circle Dance in the U.S. and Canada
This page includes:
* extracts from recent issues of Seventh Circle, a quarterly journal about (sacred) Circle Dancing.

* Contacts for Circle Dancing in the U.S. and Canada

* Links to other Circle Dance sites you might like to visit on this page, too.
Articles, illustrations, letters, poems etc are welcome. Please submit any material for Seventh Circle and the web page to me, Julia Lynam, at



seren@together.net


If you'd like to dance in this stone circle at Swinside in the English Lake District in May 2001, follow the link for more information.

Circle Dancing is based on traditional dances from all over the world and throughout time - mixed in with some new choreographies. It's a very warm, friendly, inclusive sort of dancing, done in circles, holding hands, and it generates a very lovely energy and feeling of community. This is participatory dancing, with no performance aspect, and people from infancy to old age can join in.


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Seventh Circle, A Quarterly Journal of Circle Dance, February, 2001

Selected Highlights
Dancing with the Source - Freidel Kloke-Eibl
Nightwalking - A Dance
Book Review: Meandering with Lynn
Calendar of events 2001/2002
How to find Circle Dancing in your area
Paneurhythmy Listings
To subscribe to Seventh Circle
Links to other Circle Dance sites you might like to visit


A Circle Dance CD to Savor
Neskaya Favorites, an eclectic CD of 18 dances beloved by those who frequent the cosmic Circle Dance center in Franconia New Hampshire, is now available at a cost of (US) $20 + $2 p&p. Order it from:
Jenny Deupree, Neskaya,
PO Box 634, Franconia NH 03580, USA.
Proceeds will help pay for a new furnace!

The tracks include such delights as:

Kos Drum (Ena Mythos with the big drums!); New Moon Bride; Stivell An Dro;Snosti Vecer Jano Mori; Oy Komushki Golobushki (The Four Walls); Omal Mektup; Santiago (live); Sephardic Lament; Cantique de Jean Racine; Dar Gorani; Joc de Sinciene; Caravan and Midwives.


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Video Footage
Ashara Stansfield has five different Circle Dance teaching videos available at a cost of $10 each. These videos feature live teaching of many dances at Dance Camp New England 1997, 1998 and 1999.
For full details contact: Ashara Stansfield, 40 Parsonage Lane, Topsfield, MA, 01983 phone: 978 887 9708, email Ashara@aol.com



Dancing with the Source
by Jane Buchan
She stands erect, her face an aging version of Botticelli's Venus, her beautiful blue eyes carrying light and mischief, her body transmitting the Soul of the dance coupled with her own luminous Spirit. This was Friedel Kloke-Eibl poised on the edge of leading us in a grace-filled weekend of dance last September. It was her first trip to North America and she danced in Massachusetts, in Kitchener, Ontario and in Edmonton, Alberta. This small hymn to her virtues comes from Kitchener where in a few short hours she initiated us into The Dance as it was conceived by Sacred Circle Dance's creator, Bernard Wosien.


Friedel studied with Wosien before he took his folk dances to Findhorn in the mid '70s. She was with him when he described dance as prayer . . . "not only in the silent stepping of the andante, but also in the joyful leaps of the allegro vivo . . . an expression of worship through form and symbol." She became his partner in the dance and now, many years after his death, continues to exemplify his belief that "in the dances we walk a path which leads to experiences both of our own individual selves and also of the life of the group, the community . . . dances leading to healing and wholeness."

The dances themselves were wondrous (she shared mostly her own and Wosien's) . . . graceful choreographies to exquisite music, some classical, some Celtic, some contemporary . . . dances that deserve to be danced rather than described. Most remarkable was her teaching technique. She had us do a great deal of dancing but offered very little instruction . . . the directions she did give were more about listening to the music and finding that place from which the dance took root. In this way she led us to discover each dance . . . and a breathtaking deepening of the dancing circle.

Playful, generous with her knowledge, and very convinced of what dance is not . . . "following steps one, two, three, four, no no, no, no!" . . . she talked about watching arms instead of feet to determine a person's relationship to dance, and about having to overcome classical training and expertise in order to open trained dancers to the Spirit of the Dance. She was an inspiration to all of us who facilitate circles and provided a deeply moving dance experience for all participants. May she come back to us soon and often!

Back to Highlights


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Nightwalking
Marina Bear's story of the dance she choreographed to music by R.Carlos Nakai.
"Every step we take upon Mother Earth should be done in a sacred manner. Each step should be as a prayer. The power of the pure and good soul is planted as a seed and will grow in man¹s heart as he walks in a holy manner."
(From "The Sacred Pipe" by Black Elk)

Marina writes: We had been visiting cousins in Phoenix, Arizona. An older couple, they had retired to that city with so hopeful a name, but had brought with them a completely urban way of life so that in the days we spent with them we had seen the desert only through the windows of an air-conditioned car.

On our last day I suggested we go to the Heard Museum with its unique collection of Native American artifacts. They strolled through the exhibition rooms, talking of other things. Meanwhile, there was music. It drifted hauntingly from a central room over the tops of the walls and when I noticed a small sign by the cashier¹s desk offering the tape for sale I pounced on it. Next morning, driving alone through that vast and living desert from Phoenix to Tucson, I listened to it over and over again.


There was one piece that was different from the others. As I listened to it for the first time I thought: "There's a dance in there". And so I found myself drawn back to it, watching the rising heat shimmer at the edge of the hills where they become flat against the intense blue of the sky, feeling the stillness of the gesture, half prayer and half salutation, in the upraised arms of the giant saguaro cactus by the roadside.
I can honestly say that as I drove with the sound of the piece "Creativity", playing and replaying, the dance and its name simply came to me, whole and ready to be offered.

Of course there is more that can be said: I love the desert, especially in the night; I have seen tribal dances; I have studied Native American thought; years ago in Glastonbury David Ure, who was told by the Hopi Grandmothers to go out and bring what he could of their teaching to the white people, taught the Ghost Dance and took us on a trance journey that now, a thousand journeys later, remains the most vivid.

I have "made up" other dances, matching steps to counts and adding an "uplifting gesture" here or a turn there when the song suggested it. This was quite different. Perhaps the dance was waiting to be found, in the music or the stones and sagebrush. Perhaps it needed someone fleeing from the controlled atmosphere of retired civilization into the wild desert, the hot wind tearing through open car windows, heart open, mind blank. And now it belongs to all of us.


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The dance . . .
. . . is in two parts. It can be done all together, alternating parts one and two, or the circle can be divided into two groups by counting off one-two around the circle. Then, group one starts with Nightwalking and group two with Raising the Moon.
It doesn't matter if there's an odd number of people.

The introduction begins with the theme played on a Navajo flute, followed by four "Thump tap-tap" sets. The dance begins with the theme on the flute again.

Part One: Nightwalking


You are walking in the desert, at night, each alone (no hand hold). There is only starlight, the moon has not yet risen so you walk with your head down, helping your feet to see in the dark. You are facing to the Right around the circle and begin to move in the "Thump tap-tap" rhythm to the Right with the Left foot.

Step Left
Bring ball of Right foot alongside the Left
Shift weight onto and off it

Step Right
Bring ball of Left foot alongside the Right
Shift weight onto and off it
Continue Nightwalking for a total of eight steps forward (four on each foot); on the last step forward, turn to face the center and do the shift-shift facing center. The beat is very clear.

Part Two: Raising the Moon

Take eight small shuffling steps forward, starting on the Left, towards the center. As you move, your Right arm comes up with your palm facing the center. Your palm is the full moon rising. Come quite close together, almost shoulder to shoulder, so you can move as one body, one tribe.

Circling the Heavens:Using the Ghost Dance step, move to the Left. Beginning with feet together, gently tap the Left foot flat on the ground then step Left (that's "step one":O; tap the Right foot before you bring it to join the Left, then join Left (that's "step two":O. Continue for eight tap-steps. Right hands remain raised. With a small circle the hands almost meet - creating beautiful pattern like tipi poles on the ceiling if your darkened room is lit by a central candle.

The Moon Sets: Back out of the circle in eight small shuffling steps, beginning on the Left, slowly lowering your Right hand. On the eighth step, turn to the Right to be ready to begin Nightwalking.

(If we dance with half the circle going in while the other half goes round we ask those who are on Earth to take care and make a place for their siblings who are descending from the heavens.)


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The music for Nightwalking is "Creativity" from "Cycles" by R Carlos Nakai.
To learn more about the Ghost Dance movement in Native American history, please refer to the book Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown, 1970.

This article reprinted from Grapevine, Summer 1992


Back to Highlights


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Meandering with Lynn
A book review
by Jane Buchan
A Fool's Meander: A Labyrinthine Journey to the Throne of Elderhood is the title of Lynn Hartwood's* book. Like the labyrinth itself, this story takes you on a little wander . . . and when you wander with Lynn you can be sure of only one thing: surprises.

Initially, we're led to the heart of the labyrinth by chickadees who have a special relationship with the narrator because he has unintentionally killed one. In his remorse, he learns the responsiveness of a valued natural world, a responsiveness that changes his life and is the gateway through which he passes into elderhood.


He meets the personification of all Labyrinths - The Lady - who tells him how to experience the labyrinth's healing power. She also tells how Earth calls labyrinths to certain places and what happens when sacred place and healing tool come together. This section of the book contains a very lyrical story in which Earth speaks of watching humans evolve and of deepening Her relationship with us as we learn to heed Her call and make our response.
The narrator - now a man who knows he is called to create labyrinths - responds to the Lady's teaching with a story of his own. He offers Her a story which takes us from the bliss of symbiosis to the outer reaches of separation and on to the unity of all creation experienced by fully conscious beings. It¹s a creation myth unlike any ever written before.

A Fool's Meander is by turns funny, whimsical, moving, and hopeful. It offers the reader a very reverent and gentle way of being in the world and will change forever the way you relate to chickadees. It also expresses the deeply spiritual nature of dance.

The book will be available after March 1. Those who contributed to printing costs can expect their copies shortly thereafter. To order A Fool's Meander, send check or money order for $20 US or $30 Canadian to:
Blue Crow Books, PO Box 40091,
75 King Street South,
Waterloo, ON N2J 4V1, Canada

*Lynn used to be known as Lynn Shelton; in the process of disentangling himself from patriarchy, he's changed his name to Lynn Hartwood. He can be found dancing under the full moon at the Awakening Sanctuary in Monkton, Vermont, and dancing under other phases of the moon in Kitchener, Ontario. If you'd like to talk to him about A Fool's Meander (or anything else) you can email him at lynn@confluences.com Back to Highlights


Paneurhythmy Contacts
California
Palo Alto: Elizabeth Weiss egweiss@mtrinc.com
Massachusetts
Newburyport: Gwyn Peterdi, 978 499 1869 dance@greennet.net
New York
New York City and Long Island, call 516 379 9535
Tennessee
Nashville: Dancing Fox 615 292 4430


Back to Highlights



Dance, Dance, Dance, at these Events
(* recurring contacts listed at end )

This Year, 2001
February 23 to 25, Mystic CT: Join the Mystic Circle at the Dragon's Egg to celebrate the Spring with Circle Dances and live music from all over the world! $100 for the weekend. MoonRaven and Alder 860 536 7398 or SeaFire, cauldronsk@altavista.com
March 3 to 4, San Francisco: Stefan and Bethan Freedman lead a joyous weekend of dance. Howard Seigel 650 359 0207, hms50@sirius.com

March 10, Neskaya, Franconia NH: All-day dance 12 noon to 8 pm. Bring food for potluck supper. Donation $0-$10. Jenny*

March 16 to 17, (Friday evenng and Saturday)Neskaya, Franconia NH: Sacred Circle Dance and Shamanic Journeying with Jenny Deupree and Claire Von Karls. Deepen your connection with the soul of the dance and the dance of the soul. Jenny*

March 18, Neskaya, Franconia NH: Equinox celebration. Potluck supper 5 pm, dancing 6 to 8 pm. Donation $0-$5. Jenny*

March 24 to 26, Edmonton, Canada: A chance to dance with English dancers and musicians Judy King and Mandy deWinter. Mair*

March 31 to April 1, Antwerp, Belgium: Bethan and Stefan Freedman lead the dance - English French and Flemish spoken! Bethan and Stefan Freedman*

April 6,7,8, Dance, music and song at Neskaya, Franconia, NH with Judy King and Mandy de Winter. Optional workshop on Friday April 6, either Classical Circles with Judy, or Music Making with Mandy. Jenny*

April 14 to 21, Findhorn, Scotland: Visionary Voices, Easter conference on song, sound, healing and story with leading international teachers. Findhorn*

April 20 to 22, Kitchener, Ontario: The California Bears, John and Marina will lead the dance in the beautiful Victoria Park pavilion. The Bears are legendary among circle dancers and have facilitated the west coast circles in California since 1984. Catherine Maine, 102 Roxborough Ave, Kitchener ON N2M 1P7 Canada

April 21, Neskaya, Franconia NH: All-day dance 12 noon to 8 pm. Bring food for potluck supper. Donation $0-$10. Jenny*

May 5 to 6, Neskaya, Franconia NH: Dancing the Sacred Calendar. Celebrate Beltane by dancing through the festivals of the Sacred Year in the space of one 24-hour day. Jenny*

May 11 to 18, Cumbria: England, "Stone Circles II"- dance in ancient stone circles among beautiful English countryside. We¹ll stay in an old stone house and a converted barn and dance in an 18th century Quaker meeting house ($340 - $400) Julia*

May 19 to 26 and May 27 to June 2, Cortijo Romero, Spain: "Sunfeast" Glorious gardens, mountain views, fun, relaxation and lots of dance and music. Bethan and Stefan Freedman*

June 20 to 26 Kerry, Ireland"Harp of Gold" A week of dance and celebration in the warm heart of Ireland. Bethan and Stefan Freedman*

August 4 to 9, Bury St Edmunds, England: "Wings" spacious dance hall, gracious lawns and gardens! Camp or stay indoors. Bethan and Stefan Freedman*

August 18 to 25, Stonehenge (among other places) England. "Dancing with the Dragon" in stone circles, churches, moors and by sacred wells, with Lynn Hartwood. Glenn Broughton, 802 985 5666 enquiries@sacredbritain.com

August 31 to September 2, Edmonton, Canada, a weekend with Gabriele Wosien from Germany. She¹s the daughter of Bernhard Wosien who inspired the modern Circle Dance movement. Mair*

September 8 to 15, Montpellier, France: Cup of Bliss: A week of "living in soft time" - dancing, singing, swimming, eating, watching time unfold in charm and comfort. Bethan and Stefan Freedman*.


Next Year: 2002 (!)
April 27 to May 4, Bali, Indonesia "Firebird": Mandy de Winter and Judy King take their inimitable blend of Circle Dance, music and song to the most exotic place they can find! Judy*
,HR>

*Who to contact for dance events:
Bethan and Stefan Freedman: Contact Barbara-Ann Fields, 5 Yeoman Rd, Felixstowe, IP11 8PY England, Phone 011 44 1394 276422
Brigitte: Brigitte Evering 905 372-1834 email moonfire@eagle.ca

Findhorn: Accommodations, Findhorn Foundation, Cluny Hill College, Forres, IV36 2RD Scotland. Phone 011 44 1309 672288 http://www.findhorn.org/

Gwyn: Gwyn Peterdi, c/o 21 Marcelle Ave. South Portland, Maine, 04106, email dance@greennet.net

Jenny: Jenny Deupree 603 823 5828 email neskaya@earthlink.com

Judy: Judy King, 3 Brandywell Rd, Broseley, Shropshire TF12 5ST England. Phone 011 44 1952 883242 email mandyandjudy@easynet.co.uk

Julia: Julia Lynam 802 863 1008 email seren@together.net

Mair: Mair Smith 403 433 1661 email msmith@interbaun.com

Mara: Mara Morris 860 365 0465 email MaraCircle@aol.com

Mooneagle: Mooneagle Arndt 610 434 2236 email ARNDTCM@msn.com

Shaker: Shaker 413 527 8723 email shaker@sacredcircles.com.


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There are many, many Circle Dance events in Europe - too many for me to list. If you¹re interested, the place to find them is in Grapevine, the British Circle Dance magazine. Contact Sally Maxwell, 60 Bishop Road, Bristol BS7 8LT England. Phone 011 44 1179 232115, email Back to Highlights


Subscriptions
The current hard copy issue of Seventh Circleis dated Spring 2001. The next issue will be in May 2001 (ish).
If you'd like to subscribe and get your copy by mail four times a year, please send US$8 or Can$14 to me at:

Julia Lynam
412 North Street, Apt 1
Burlington, VT 05401


Back to Highlights


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Other Circle Dance sites, and associated sites, you might like to visit
. . . deeper into the Dance with Shaker

. . . Circle Dance history and details from New Haven CT

. . . Neskaya, New Hampshire, a sacred space for circle dance and other moving meditations

. . . The Findhorn Community

. . . Circle Dance in Virginia

. . . mysteries and magic with Jane and Lynn

. . . South American Circle Dance celebrations

. . . Great catalog of Circle Dance music, recordings and more

http://homepages.together.net/~seren/

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OK

Tuesday, February 13, 2001 - 03:32 pm
Do you still have more to say?

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Anonymous

Wednesday, February 14, 2001 - 08:23 pm
!ATTENTION! This is a public Health warning !

The following is a Warning do not buy or reading the books, or listen to their cassettes, as their DISINFORMATION will affect your hearts thus render them DEAD and useless. Every thing written by the following:-

Wahabhi/Deobandis= Salafi=Nadji=Shaytan as Ibn Abdul Wahab was called ‘Shaykh al-Najd Ibn Abdul Wahab" thus the name Wahabis comes from here. And as own Tradition tells us, own Noble Prophet Peace be upon him called Shaytan ‘Shaykh al-Najd’, the only person called that name is Ibn Abdul Wahab, so this is his real title, that of Shaytan. Which is Najdi, meaning he that came from Najdi. These are the same groups which have the same hated for the Majority of Sunni Muslims they claim to be Sunni but really are something else in disguise, they are nothing else but the army of Dajjal (Anti-Christ). Propagating anti-Islamic beliefs about Islam. They are tyrants and have label own Noble Classical Scholars as Kufar only say four things because the are square-headed and stupid they say ‘Bida, Shirk, Haram and Kufur’ some of these people I’ll mention below; try to avoid they CRAP if you can;

Most or all of Al-Hidaayah Publishing books

All of Bin Baz books

Dr Bilal Philips books

Shaykh al-Banni Books

More or less all of the above have had books published by al-Hidaayah

Ashraf Ali Thanwi he’s known to the sunnis by hes famous book Beshti Zaiver in Urdu this book is full of contradictions and must be avoided by all sister, its NOT a sunni book because Ashraf Ali Thanwi was a Founder Member of deobandi movement. He cleverly wrote it but too many Pakistanis are fooled by this book - get rid of it, is my advice.

These people have all a great love for Ibn Abdul Wahab a.k.a Mr Najdi. So you’ve been warned. Now tell others.

More to be added

If one has more information to be added to this Nadji list please forward and I’ll add them.

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Anonymous

Thursday, February 15, 2001 - 08:57 am
The last anonymous (kamal) have you ever been to these sufi song, dance, music and worship circles? http://homepages.together.net/~seren/

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Anonymous

Thursday, February 15, 2001 - 09:12 am
The word tareeqah means "way or method", while "ma'rifah" means "knowledge" and "haqeeqah" means "truth". Those who follow some sufi trends make much of these terms and try to establish a division between them and the ordinary acts of worship which are applicable to all of us. They claim that the ultimate goal is to arrive at the truth, through the proper knowledge of Allah, which is attainable only by following the correct method of worshipping Allah and remembering Him. While this is acceptable in absolute terms, it is certainly far from acceptable when taken within the framework of the practices of sufism. Let us examine what you have mentioned about "secret" teachings imparted by the Prophet to his cousin Ali. If this has been done by the Prophet on instructions from Allah, it means that Allah has selected a section of His servants for a special favor which He has chosen not to grant to others. Far be it from Allah, the Most Just, to make such an arbitrary distinction. The fact is that Allah has created us all with the same susceptibility to accepting the faith, regardless of our origin, race, or education. When the message of the truth, i.e. submission to Allah is put to us, we can all respond to it and accept it without hesitation, once we free ourselves of the shackles of our circumstances or position or desires or any other type of pressure. It is needless to say that an intellectual person who has received good education is able to understand the message of Islam much better than one who has not been so privileged. But the two may have an equal strength of faith. We should not forget that Allah puts all to account on the day of judgment and He gives us the same type of reward for our good deeds, while we may incur the same type of punishment for our sins. It follows, considering Allah's absolute justice, that we should have the same susceptibility to accepting the message of the truth if we have to face the same reckoning. In view of the foregoing, it simply does not fit with Allah's justice that he gives secret knowledge to a section of the people, no matter who may be in that section. Moreover the Prophet has been required to convey Allah's message to mankind. Allah describes the Prophet who has been "sent as a mercy to all worlds." The Prophet fulfilled his task in a most exemplary way, requesting his companions and all Muslims to impart the knowledge he has given them to the rest of mankind. Allah has guaranteed that the message of Islam will remain preserved for all time so that it remains accessible to people. To suggest that the Prophet advised or taught any particular knowledge to his cousin in a secret manner is most objectionable because it means that he has favored a certain group of people or a certain individual with important knowledge which he withheld from others. Far be it from the last messenger of Allah to do so. Why should he? And why should there be any group of people who is more favored than the rest of us? That certainly does not fit with the Divine Justice. The truth is that Allah has revealed Islam as a message to all mankind. It is addressed to every single one of us and Allah tells us in the Qur'an that implementing Islam is the sure and only way to get the maximum reward in the hereafter, namely, admission into heaven. Allah says in the Qur'an: "Whosoever obeys Allah and the messenger shall be those on whom Allah has bestowed His grace of Prophets, saints, martyrs and righteous people. Good company are these indeed," (4;69). As is clear from this verse, the highest company to which any person can aspire is to join prophets and righteous people in heaven. For this reason, every good believer prays Allah all the time to grant him the greatest privilege of all, namely admission into heaven. These people suggest that there are two grades of reward. The first is that of heaven and the other is something superior. They claim this to be communion or company with Allah and the Prophet. But when the Prophet speaks of the highest grade which may be achieved by anyone, he says "Whoever brings up well two girls until they have grown up shall be my companion in heaven." This Hadith tells us that the Prophet shall be in heaven. How will these people want to go any higher? What support do they have for their aspiration? Where do they get their information from? They claim to hear the answer to the greetings they offer to the Prophet. What nonsense. Where does it come from? How can they recognize whose voice it is? This is simply an exercise in self-delusion. The Prophet has not told us about anything like this. Therefore, we cannot accept it from anyone. What the Prophet has not told us about is simply untrue. Therefore, the claims of these people are certainly untrue. I realize that some people will tell me that there is a Hadith which says that the Prophet answers the greetings of all people. Yes, there is such a Hadith and this is a special privilege Allah has granted to the Prophet. But the Hadith does not tell us that we hear him answer these greetings, nor does the Hadith tell us how the answer is given. It is simply a matter of the spirit, the knowledge of which Allah has chosen to keep for Himself. Therefore, we do not try to determine how it is done, because we cannot have any certain knowledge about it. It is sufficient for us to know that the Prophet has been granted the privilege of answering our greetings.

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.

Thursday, February 15, 2001 - 03:09 pm
SUFISM
"Neophilia— the fetishization of the new— is the buried engine that drives consumer society... the warp speed of postmodern life [ results from] a world jammed on fast forward." "... they destroyed themselves with the guillotine of reason."





Now one of the cardinal principles of Islam is that these two tools must be used together, and in a balanced fashion. Ibn Arabi's selection from the Koran is an oft-quoted example: "Nothing is like Him; He is All-Hearing, All-Seeing" (42:11). The former part of this sacred verse displays incomparability, the latter part similarity. This combination of transcendence and immanence is unique to Islam. By this means, it avoids the pitfalls encountered when either approach is taken alone, exclusive of the other.








Let us now consider what happens when one goes to the other extreme, that of similarity (sufism). Three stages can be discerned here. The first step is that, due to analogies drawn between the Supreme Being and other beings, as well as the conception that God is "within" all things, Creation comes to be confused with the Creator. God is reduced to the observable universe, so that the result is pantheism.

As Murata and Chittick have also observed, however, the process does not stop at pantheism. Once the concept of God is absorbed into the universe, the human tendency to draw distinctions takes over. Theoretically, the universe should be "saturated" with God in a homogeneous manner, but in practice things work out differently. It is difficult to conceive of divinity as equally immanent in a piece of garbage and a valuable jewel, so the jewel has, as it were, a "higher coefficient of sacralization." The ground is thus laid for polytheism and idolatry.

Pantheism can also lead to atheism, since the existence of a God separate from the universe is denied. In fact, it appears to be a halfway house, or waystation, along the road from theism to atheism. Pantheists regard the universe and nature as divine. In their haste to distance themselves from the concept of a creator God, however, the pantheists of our day have drawn on the arguments of atheism to such an extent that they have undermined their own position and defeated their own purpose. However unintentionally on their part, these arguments do away with the concept of divinity so thoroughly that no basis is left for considering anything (including the universe) divine. Pantheism can thus slide into pan-atheism; "all is God" is a less defensible position than "all is not God." In misappropriating specific attributes of God— such as infinity and eternity— to the universe, pantheists are also making an unsubstantiated metaphysical claim from the scientific point of view, and a claim that is simply wrong from the mystical (empirical/experiential) viewpoint.

The ultimate outcome of similarity in an absence of the checks and balances of incomparability, however, is the deification of man. The reader will easily discern that this plays straight into the hands of the Base Self, which, as already noted, has a thirst for self-deification. In the second stage of our process, the tactic of the Base Self is to establish divinity closer to home. It does this, not by declaring itself God directly (which other human beings might dispute), but by declaring another human being divine.


Because a human being is the most advanced creature in the universe, it is easier to confuse man with God in drawing analogies than anything else. For instance, the attributes of Sight and Hearing belong to the higher animal species, but the attribute of Knowledge—comprehensive knowledge—belongs to man alone. But it is the spirit of man, above all, that is compared to God in all traditional cultures. Once this point is reached, therefore, the spirit and the life of the spirit become all-important.

The hazard of immanence or analogy, then, is that it results in anthropotheism. But immanence should not be confused with identity. "God is in man"—any man at all—does not mean "God is man," any more than "God is within all things" means that God is identical with the universe.

The Base Self, on the other hand, would like to fancy otherwise. By equating a human being—any human being—with God, it is establishing for itself an outpost, a base, from which it becomes easier to declare its own divinity. For if a human being can be God, members of the same species—other human beings—are that much closer to being God themselves. If one can claim to be closer, in some sense, to the deified human than other people, one is already a demigod. This is what is known as "covert associationism" in Islam—i.e., the Base Self's pretence to be an associate with God, if indeed not God Himself, which may go consciously unnoticed. The third stage, therefore, is this self-deification of the Base Self—an abomination if ever there was one. Because of the totalitarian tendencies of the unleashed ego, this also results in rigid hierarchical structures and inquisitions.

If, on the other hand, it appears preposterous to one's reason that a human being can be God, one is likely to again land in atheism. For while human beings are endowed with very special characteristics in some respects, they are also ailing, failing creatures in other respects, such that picturing a human being, no matter how wonderful, as God may indeed overtax the imagination.

It follows, then, that the extremes of incomparability and similarity, of dissociation and analogy, of transcendence and immanence—when taken alone, all of them lead to trouble. The only firm ground is the middle ground, balancing the two sides. At either extreme, the Base Self wins. This does not imply that God loses, since God is beyond loss or gain. It means that we lose, that humanity suffers.

At first, it may appear paradoxical that extreme spiritualism and extreme materialism should lead to similar results. It may be normal for atheists to engage in totalitarianism. But how can ostensibly God-fearing people show the same predilection?

The secret lies in the Base Self. Since it has already deified itself, it appropriates the right to mete out "divine" punishment to those who oppose it. Furthermore, since the Base Self is cruel and unjust— it always commands, and compels to, evil— it will do this even to the innocent. Its alibi is that it is acting in the name of God, but its actions are diametrically opposite to God's desires. It is only when God is respected and loved— something a person in the grip of his Base Self is hardly capable of— that one is wary of encroaching on territory and authorization reserved for God alone. The totalitarian tendencies of the Base Self, then, will assert themselves regardless of whether the supremacy of the Base Self is approached from the spiritualistic or the materialistic extreme.

Let us now chart—very briefly, for this could be a life's work if elaborated in detail—the course of our civilization in the light of transcendence and immanence. We begin with Judaism, a this-worldly and legalistic, rationalistic religion. Two thousand years ago, Christ appeared in order to redress the balance, to remind humankind of its spiritual roots. But his teaching was interpreted from an exclusively other-worldly viewpoint, until the Renaissance came along. The reaction to a spiritually-oriented existence culminated with Protestantism and the Enlightenment. As a protest against Catholicism, Protestantism was marked by a resurgence of worldly activity, placing it closer to the original Judaism with its emphasis on transcendence. As sociologist Max Weber pointed out in The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1904), latter-day capitalism had its roots in worldly asceticism rather than other-worldly asceticism.

We have, then, an oscillation from transcendence (Judaism) to immanence (Catholic Christianity) back to transcendence (Protestantism); from materialism to spiritualism back to materialism. It is this latter materialism (in science, in economics, etc.), coupled with rationalism, that has acted for nearly four hundred years as the driving force behind modernity, which subsequently shed all its ties with religion. In the Faustian restlessness of modern man, in the relentless striving to conquer and subdue nature, in the drive to overpower and master entire planets, in the worship of ceaseless change to such an extent that continuity and stability are thrown to the winds, there is much for the Base Self to feed on.

We now stand, if the cycle is to continue, at the threshold of another swing of the pendulum, a swing back to spiritualism. But the shortcomings of either extreme have long been apparent. Do we have any alternative?

The alternative is to strike a harmonious balance between transcendence and immanence, between materialism and spiritualism. And this is the balance advocated by Islam—to accept both aspects of human existence, without going to extremes. Both aspects are represented in our culture, this-worldliness by Judaism, Protestantism and secularism, other-worldliness by Catholicism. But a synthesis of both is what is called for.


In a world in which— as Touraine points out— the distance between sign and meaning has collapsed, where Meaning has evaporated, where the human subject is repressed, what are the chances of self-actualization? Quite obviously, the self, too, becomes shorn of its higher potentials. Its further dimensions and possibilities are reduced to zero. The self is then placed in a rat maze; its freedom of movement is restricted to two dimensions and certain pathways, plus such goals as psychologists may be able to devise.

As Charles Taylor has pointed out, moral relativism in our age also leads to an emphasis on one's self-development and the exclusion of ethical considerations in relations with other human beings. The moral ideal behind self-realization is sincerity and authenticity, which means to be honest toward oneself. Anthony Giddens notes that authenticity has become the framework for self-actualization. When the moral dimension is lost, self-actualization can degenerate into narcissism and hedonism. Yet this should not blind us to the high ideals that the concept of self-realization embodies. It cannot be explained away simply as egoism, moral laxity or selfishness.

Everyone has the right to be, or to become, himself. Self-discovery and self-definition is closely linked with artistic creativity. Art as we understand it today came into existence in the 1800s, and since then there has been a tendency to view the artist as a culture hero, to respect him as the creator of cultural values.

Art in its modern conception differs from sacred art and from art as mimesis, as a simulation of nature or a representation of reality. Modern art came into being as a reaction against these forms. What counts now, according to Taylor's analysis, is not the copying of something that already exists, but the creation of something entirely new. We think of the imagination as creative.

This means, says Taylor, that the artist is discovering himself through the thing he creates. He produces a new artistic language, and only by this means does he become what he was supposed to be. Self-discovery is an act of building, of construction. In creating his art, the artist creates himself. And only authenticity, being sincere to oneself, can infuse self-discovery with value.

According to Taylor, self-realization, if it is to be authentic, must— far from excluding ethical principles and moral values— make them mandatory. If the art of the artist is his self-discovery and this self-discovery is also his self-realization, applying Taylor's idea to art yields a situation where ethics and aesthetics, goodness and beauty, are fused.

Many artists have rejected this possibility as impeding or cramping their art. And their view is right if we accept moral relativism, where up and down or right and wrong are the same. But if there are universally valid moral principles for humanity, we have to face the fact that a work of art can positively aid or negatively impede not only an artist's self-discovery, but also the self-actualization of others. (Banning freedom of artistic expression is not a solution here. What is required is the self-control and self-restraint of the artist.)



Among the various fields of artistic endeavor, the figurative arts (by which I primarily mean painting and sculpture, but also such fields as photography and cinematography) have provided the most impressive range of masterpieces. These are part of the cultural heritage of mankind, and their importance cannot be gainsaid.

In the visual field, Islamic patterns of endlessly-repeated exquisite geometrical figures have the most direct quality of sacred art. It is not so much the precise mathematical forms that define them, as the spaces between the forms. It is this seeming emptiness, which is not a vacuum but actually a plenum, that congeals into these forms; it is as if the forms themselves, representing the intricate mathematical and scientific laws of our observable universe, are what remains after the other levels of reality (of which we have spoken above) have been filtered out. These levels, too, possess form and meaning, and it is only by perceiving these levels, which appear to the physical senses as empty space, that one can complete the jigsaw puzzle. Even when the physical universe appears random, it is not, for it meshes precisely with the other, filtered levels.

An additional problem in contemporary art is that many of its forms have become emptied of meaning. If we believe that the world is meaningless, there is no reason to assume that art forms have to—indeed, can—be meaningful. The widespread feeling of cosmic and personal meaninglessness are inevitably reflected, through the artist's consciousness, onto works of art.

Traditionally, idol-worship was the greatest danger behind the production of images and forms (remember the Golden Calf). That we are not entirely free of this possibility even in our age is proved by an anecdote related of Rodin, who, after finishing his statue of Moses, stood back and contemplated his creation in wonder. It was so lifelike that he felt compelled to address it: "Speak, O Moses!"

Another great danger is that, because the artist is engaged in the act of creation, he begins to mistake himself for the Creator. It has already been remarked that the Base Self is always bent on self-apotheosis. Of course, this can happen in any field of art, but the tendency is more pronounced in the figurative arts. For example, the sublimity of Beethoven's music led him to see himself as a demigod, an intermediary between God and man. The same thing happened to Tolstoy, who at times saw himself as "God's elder brother."

It is the field of the visual arts, however, that is especially precarious in this respect. Picasso, in his old age, fancied himself as an art-god, a magician transmuting the base materials of his trade into high art. Historian Paul Johnson, after giving these examples, relates the following which should rank among the classics:



Matisse was a similar case. Having completed the chapel he had designed and decorated in the South of France, he showed and explained his work to two nuns, a prioress and a simple sister whom he had known for many years. The prioress thanked him for devoting so much time and genius to the glory of God. Matisse replied: "But I did it all for myself." The sister, shocked, said: "But Maìtre, when you were still at work, you told me you were doing it for Almighty God." Matisse replied calmly: "I am God."

These are the dangers of the creative act if it serves to feed one's ego. But there is more, much more, to art than this. In order to appreciate what is involved, let us consider the following story, taken from Okakuro Kakuzo's The Book of Tea.





Peiwoh and the Reluctant Harp



In the forest beside the river Lungmen, there was a tree with roots extending to the depths of the earth and branches high enough to speak with the stars. One day, a powerful sorcerer turned this tree into a harp; a harp of such savage spirit, however, that only a master musician could tame it. The harp, from which no musician was able to extract a pleasing note, remained for a long time in the treasury of the Chinese Emperor. Despite all the efforts of the musicians, the harp only emitted nasty and discordant sounds.

One day, Peiwoh, the greatest harpist in the world, chanced to come by and asked to try his hand at the harp, whose fame had reached him. When the Emperor gave permission, Peiwoh took his place at the harp, began to stroke and caress it kindly as if soothing a wild stallion, and, gently touching its strings, began to sing the songs of the seasons, lofty mountains, and rivers. Suddenly, the harp remembered that it had once been a tree, and all its forest memories were recalled to it.

Now, sweet spring breezes were playing on its branches; little waterfalls were dancing on the brooks and smiling at flowers and blossoms. Next, the dreamy sounds of summer with its thousands of insects, the gentle patter of rain, the plaintive cry of a cuckoo bird was heard. A tiger roared from afar, the brooks answered. Then came autumn and next, winter. After this, Peiwoh changed tunes and sang love songs, and then songs of war. With Peiwoh's every song, a thousand memories of the forest came to life in the wood from which the harp had been made, floating through and engulfing the Emperor's palace.

Enraptured, the Emperor asked Peiwoh the secret of his success. "Your Majesty," replied Peiwoh, "those before me failed because they all sang their own songs. As for me, I left the tune to the harp. Did the harp then become Peiwoh, or did Peiwoh become the harp? Even I do not know."

I want to suggest that there is more than one thing of crucial importance to art in this story. First, it suggests that in order to produce truly great art, the artist must become united—or even one—with his instrument or medium. This is sympathy or empathy, which lies at the root of aesthetic perception.

Second, when such a unity is achieved, the artist is indeed creating or discovering himself through his art; the modern conception of art is vindicated. Baudelaire conceived of the sort of modern person who "made himself into a work of art" by changing his external appearance; the artist enjoying some mode of unity with his creation is not only the subject but also the object of the artistic process (through his art he shapes himself), while the Sufi fashions himself as a work of art by working on his self and modifying his internal states.

Third, such a degree of unity can only be obtained by love, and where love and unity are concerned, the Sufis have the last word: the artist's union with his medium and creation is a subset of the Sufi's love for God and the universe. And is not true love, indeed, the total concern for the other to the exclusion of one's own self-interest?—until one even ceases to have a separate existence (as in the Persian tale of Laila and Majnun, where Majnun finally says: "I am Laila":O, and if the love is mutual, both cease to exist separately, and only God is left. True love is the rarest and most delicate thing in the world, not reducible to sex or to anything else; it is, in Dante's words, "the power that moves the sun and other stars," a manifestation of the sacred. Love is the answer to all things, love is the balm of sore hearts, love is what—if deep enough—will lead us straight to God.

Fourth, great art reaches out and involves its audience, too, in the unity and ecstasy of the process that created it—it pulls them into the vortex of the artistic process. The spectators become actors or active participators. This happens on the subtler levels of consciousness, so that we are aware, perhaps, only of a general, diffuse feeling of elation, of being in the presence of grandeur. But sympathy is involved not only in the creation, but also in the perception of such a work. And this kind of sympathy is a spiritual thing—it cannot be understood in terms of the motions of matter, of waves or particles or wavicles. If we want to understand this phenomenon, the proper conceptual tool to invoke is consciousness.

Few people realize that in the appreciation of a work of art, we enter a semi- or quasi-meditative state. Receptivity, alertness, attention, concentration are all involved. Now as psychologists studying the psychology of meditation have noted, the concentration of attention on any object (not just objets d'art) yields interesting results. For instance, psychiatrist Arthur J. Deikman used an ordinary blue vase as an object on which to concentrate attention. To summarize only the most important results, the vase became vivid and "luminous"; it seemed to take on a life of its own, and there was a decrease in the subjects' sense of being separate from the vase (a sense of merging with it or that "the vase and I were one":O. Further, "when the vase changes shape, I feel this in my body"—which, when applied to a work of art, indicates that exactly as in the case of the artist, the alert and receptive audience, too, experiences a partial communion and becomes both object and subject in a limited sense, which is exactly what "sympathy" and "aesthetics" are all about. A better way of expressing this is that the distinction between subject and object is abolished, in however incomplete or temporary a degree. Now in Sufic terms, this is a partial experience of Unity, which can be far more encompassing and profound, so that Sufism represents the artist, his art, and its audience when such experiences are enhanced to an infinitely higher degree—that is, in this sense, Sufism is the highest goal of art.

Fifth, the creation of the artist is particular—bounded by space and time, by culture and geography, by the personal touch of the artist; yet it strikes a universal chord: in that presence breathe we all. Through the particular, there shines the light of the universal—which, ultimately, is the light of the Divine.

Art itself, then, is a sign of God—as are, indeed, all things in the universe. But because it involves itself directly with beauty and with a sensibility that can only be understood in terms of spirit, art—especially great art—is a more direct pointer than ordinary things. A saying of the Prophet goes: "God is Beautiful, He loves beauty." In a great work of art, therefore, not only are we admiring the Divine in its Immanent aspect, but God is both manifesting Himself under His aspect of Beauty, and appreciating through us the wonder of that manifestation. This means that great art is imbued with meaning to an extent not encountered in other works.

If we can read art correctly as a signpost, it can lead us to God. If we can read it correctly, anything can lead us to God, but art is a better guide. Yet we must remember that e

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Thursday, February 15, 2001 - 03:13 pm
Experiencing Sufism
by James Dillehay
The Sufi experience can be described as an evolutionary process happening within the person. It is said that when the student is ready, the teacher may physically appear and guide them in their transformation until the time when the teacher is seen everywhere.

As a result of working with a Sufi teacher, enhanced perceptions and awareness bring about deep understanding, inner contentment, healing and physical improvements, and intuitive knowing. The word "Sufi" has several meanings in its Arabic origins.

One of these is purity. The practices and techniques of the Sufis bring a state of purity to the body, thoughts, emotions, and psyche. To achieve higher states of consciousness, a Sufi teacher may use dancing, chanting, seclusion in nature, a dinner party, whirling or any number of avenues. The teacher sometimes creates a situation or environment to enhance the experience of the here and now as the fastest road to spirit is through the present moment.

One Sufi 'Master, Adnan Sarhan, has become internationally known for the "Shattari' or rapid method of spiritual development. Through the use of music, drumming, movement, breath, stillness, activity, meditation, and many other techniques, Adrian evokes deep awareness and healing on physical, mental, emotional and psychic levels within a few hours. Additional changes reported by participants include quitting smoking and alcohol effortlessly.

As self-defeating habits drop away, a feeling of purity replaces former tensions and confusion. Whatever activity the person is involved in becomes pure and in the moment. Often a person is in the moment, the time and the surrounding space become expansive and joyful. One's thoughts become serene and content.

In The Moment

The Sufi teacher can draw upon thousands of different techniques to get the student into the moment. However, it might be more Appropriate to say the real technique is the moment itself; and when you know it, when you are in it, you go beyond normal thoughts to extraordinary perceptions. From a book by Adrian, "The Enchanted Oasis of the Ringed Dove," comes the following perspective of how thoughts obscure the power of the present moment.

"Thoughts are the biggest obstacle for the worldly people. Thoughts keep them in the world and keep them at bay from knowing the reality. Thoughts keep them in sheer ignorance from knowing who they are. In this condition, the never know peace except as a word or a thought - no more, no less.

Time has value, importance and beauty. You only thrive in the time that is in your hand and the only time that you could hold on is the time that is in your hand. For how could you hold on to something that is not in your hand? It is the now. It is the present. The time in your hand says to you, 'I am here. I am with you. I am your contentment. I am your pleasure and joy giver. I am the life, the love. I make you tranquil and pleasant. I give you peace that is the gift of eternity. I soothe your mind. I put rhythm in your heart. And your heart beats to the moment. And the moment dances to your heart. And your heart dances with the moment. And life is a dance when you are living it.'

"You are only living when you are graced and blessed in the moment by the moment. The moment is the fountain of serenity. The moment says, 'I am a messenger to you. A messenger of eternity. I bring to you a message of eternal joy and I am joy and tranquility. I am peace and delight. I am faith and trust. I am truth and reality. I am in the moment because I am the moment. I am honor, respect and dignity. I am simple, tolerant and generous. I am the beautiful spring of essence and essence is me. I am the perfume of life and the fragrance of a smile. I am the living spark and spirit that shines in the eyes. I am the sweet taste of heaven and I am heaven in your heart. I am charm, beauty, delight, happiness, tranquility, serenity and the pleasure of life and the joy of love, peace, contentment, harmony, existence, intelligence and truth. I am in the present all the time. With you I am the moment that never fades, that never goes away.

Breathe Into It

Focusing on the breath 'is an excellent way to become more aware of the here and now. By putting the mind completely on one's inhaling and exhaling, one is drawn into the awareness of the present moment and the source of life. Practicing this for ten minutes everyday will bring about many positive changes including reduced tension, enhanced mental focus, and a diminishing of the normal sub-text that seems to run continuously through the mind entangled in the web of the intelligence of concerns.

The more one is in the moment, the clearer and sharper the intelligence becomes. In this state, any activity in the world can become a source of pleasure and enjoyment. When the mind is focused and tranquil, the intuition becomes more active. One hears a deep, still voice from within, the intelligence of the heart, which guides one to happiness and prosperity through spirit and understanding.

http://www.innerself.com/Meditation/Experiencing_Sufism.htm

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Thursday, February 15, 2001 - 09:17 pm
Shia Unvelied:
http://www.jamiat.org.za/isinfo/shia_fal.html

"WAHABISM EXPOSED!"
http://www.alharamain.org/english/index.htm

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE SHEE'AH AND
MUSLIMS WHO FOLLOW THE SUNNAH:
http://www.alharamain.org/english/index.htm

SUFISM UNVELIED:
http://www.alharamain.org/english/index.htm

In Defense of Sunnah:
http://www.shariah.net/in-defense-of-sunnah/default.htm

About Shi'a Sect:
http://www.alsalafyoon.com/EnglishPosts/shclarsonshia.htm

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Thursday, February 15, 2001 - 09:20 pm
In the first half of the twelfth century (Hijra) the Islamic World had reached its extreme decline, degradation and utter fall. The atmosphere was very gloomy and darkness had covered all its regions. Moral degradation and corruption was rampant everywhere. As for religion it was decadent as everything else. The pure and austere monotheism (TAWHEED) of the Prophet (sal) had become corrupted with the burgeoning growth of superstition and mysticism. The mosques stood empty, unfrequented and even deserted. The ignorant multitude decked out in amulets, charms and rosaries listened to and blindly followed squalid faqeers and ecstatic dervishes. These men urged them to perform pilgrimages to the tombs of Saints and seek their intercession with Allah. As for the moral precepts ordained by the Qur’an they too were ignored as well as defied. Even the consumption of intoxicants and opium were well nigh universal. In all certainty the life had been bulldozed out of Islam, leaving behind naught but a dry husk of meaningless ritual and degrading superstition.

The period of the Pious Predecessors being already passed, innovations and superstitions cropped up and vastly mushroomed. The people went back to their old practices of idolatry. They started paying homage to shrines and graves, so much so that they even directed their devotional prayers and supplications towards the graves to the exclusion of Allah. They gave precedence to the philosophical views and taqleed (blind following) over the Sunnah. They divested Allah of His essential attributes by making false interpretations on the Qur’anic texts.

But, all praises to Allah, no generation, persistently beset with innovations and abominable Shirk was ever devoid of sincere reformers who revived the faith to its pristine purity. In such darkest hour, a voice came crying out of the vast Arabian desert, the cradle of Islam, calling the faithful back to the true path, the one and only way - the Qur’an and the Sunnah. That was the great Mujaddid and puritan reformer, the celebrated Sheikh Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, who kindled a fire, which spread and engulfed the remotest corners of the Muslim World, purging Islam of its decadence and reviving the fervor of days gone by. The morning of reformation had dawned and the great re-awakening of the Islamic world had begun.

This peaceful, religious, revivalist movement of the Sheikh was obnoxious to the Turks and others for more reasons than one. They tried to crush this movement by force. They even killed some of the leaders, but could not destroy the movement outright. The movement lived on and is now growing all over the world. Everywhere in the Muslim world we are witnessing, the raising of the banner of Tawheed and the revival of the Call to the Qur’an and Sunnah.

All around the Muslim world, we see some Muslims, individually and collectively proclaiming the Call to Tawheed and the return to the Qur’an and Sunnah in the face of opposition by the ‘Saint-worshippers’, `Grave-worshippers`, `the Sufis’ and the ‘Tariqat followers’. These deviant groups all purport or make the false claim to be Ahl us Sunnah wal Jam’aah and label the true callers to The Sunnah as `Wahhabis’

In view of the ignoble and false propaganda mounted against the reformatory movement of Sheikh Muhammad ibn Abd al Wahhab and the derogatory use of the word `Wahhabi’ for the movement ant its followers, we will Insha Allah in the course of this booklet, give a short account of the important events of his life and salient features of his creed and of his works.


HIS LIFE STORY
Sheikh Muhammad ibn Abd al Wahhab ibn Sulaiman ibn Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Rashid al Tamimi was born in the year 1155 A.H.(1703 C.E.) in ‘Ayina to the north of Riyadh, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during the reign of Abdulla ibn Muhammad ibn Hamd ibn Muammar. He excelled over his contemporaries in intelligence and physique and was able to commit the Quran to memory by the time he was ten years old. His father found him capable of leading the congregational prayers and decided to get him married that year.

He studied the Hanbali Jurisprudence, Tafsir and Hadith from his learned father. During his childhood itself, he directed his full attention to the books on Tafsir, Hadith and Aqidah and particularly to the writings of Sheik al Islam Ibn Taimiya and Ibn al Qayyim and made a deep study of them.

He left his native town to perform the Hajj and then proceeded to Madinah. At that time Sheikh Abdullah bin Ibrahim ibn Saif belonging to the progeny of Saif Najdi was chief of the scholars of Madinah. Sheikh Muhammad acquired a good deal of knowledge from him and came to be loved and held in high esteem by his teacher. His strong stand on Thawheed and his deep concern over false beliefs and evil deeds brought about a strong bond between the Sheikh and his teacher. He was so impressed by his student that Sheikh Abdullah granted him permission of narrating well-known hadiths of two of the authorities. Firstly on the authority of Ibn Muflih reporting from Sheikh Ibn Taiymiyyah and reaching up to Imam Ahmad. Secondly on the authority of Abd al Rahman bin Rajab, reporting from Ibn al Qayyim who narrated it from his teacher Sheikh ibn Taiymiyya reaching up to Imam Ahmad. Sheikh Abdullah also authorized him to narrate all the traditions reported by Sheikh Abd al Baqi Hanbali, the chief among the great teachers of his time. He also authorised him to narrate the traditions of the Sahih of Bukhari and the traditions of the Sahih of Muslim and commentaries of both, the Sunan of Tirmidhi, Nasa’ai, Abu Dawud, Ibn Maajah, the Muwatta of Imam Malik and the Musnad of Imam Ahmad.

During this time he came to know and benefited from the knowledge of other scholars such as Ali Afendi Daghastanee, Ismaeel Ajluni and others. Then he moved on to Nejd, Basra and Syria for the purpose of acquiring further knowledge. He stayed for a long time in Basra, where he pursued his studies under a number of renowned scholars, among whom Sheikh Muhammad Majmui was most prominent. During this time he compiled and published many valuable books on the topic of innovations, superstitions and the supplication to the dead ones in the graves. He supported his treatises with manifest evidence from the Quran.

The adherents of falsehood defamed, tortured and turned him out of Basra. They also persecuted his teacher Sheikh Majmui. He left for the town of Zubair in the scorching heat of the summer and was almost dying of thirst, when Allah sent to him a man called Abu Hamidan. He found the Sheikh to be a man of learning and righteousness. So he mounted him on his animal and took him to Zubair. Sheikh Muhammad thought of going to Syria to quench his thirst for more knowledge, but soon fell short of provision and was compelled to return to Nejd. He arrived at Ahsa and stayed with the Sheikh Abdullah ibn Abd al Latiff Shafi’i and studied under him.


UN-ISLAMIC PRACTICES OF THAT TIME.
Sheikh Muhammad then went to Harimala, a village of Nejd because his father had transferred there and stayed with him. He devoted himself fully to the learning of Tafsir and Hadith, particularly the works of Skeikh ibn Taiymiyyah and Sheikh ibn Qayyim. This immensely increased his knowledge and insight and infused in his heart a spirit of determination and steadfastness. With his deep insight he could visualize all the un-Islamic notions and corrupt practices prevailing in Nejd and the countries he had visited. Even in Madinah, he saw people invoking the Prophet (sal) and making supplication to him. He decided to disseminate the True message of Islam throughout the Arabian Peninsula.

The Sheikh found that Nejd was infested with corrupt beliefs and religious practices repugnant to the fundamentals of the True Religion. There were a number of graves in the Nejd area which were attributed to some of the Companions of the Prophet (sal). People visited these graves and invoked them for help in their hour of need. In Jubila they visited the grave of Zaid ibn Khattab and seeking relief for their needs. In Manfuha, people sought mediatiothrouga male palm-tree believing that a spinster, who pays a visit to it, soon gets married.

In Dariya there was a cave which people frequented. Similarly there was grave of Dirar ibn al Azwar in the valley of Ghabira. It was the same story as in Basra and Zubair where people worship idols of the pre-Islamic period. A similar sad state of affairs prevailed in Iraq, Syria Egypt and Yemen.

He compared all these practices in the light of the Quran and the practices of the Prophet (sal) and his Companions and found them far removed from and inconsistent with the religion and spirit of Islam. This was the sorry state of affairs not only with the people of Nejd but of other places as well, in the Muslim world.


CALL FOR REVIVAL OF PURE MONOTHEISM
The Sheikh found that the people had abandoned their faith, and the more he studied their deviations, the firmer he grew in his conviction and determination that Muslims should inevitably change themselves and tread the path of the Pious Predecessors. The hadiths of Prophet (Sal) say as follows:

`You must necessarily tread the path of those who lived before you’.
`The last hour shall not come, until some of the people of my Ummah begin to worship idols.’
`Islam was born a stranger and shall return as a stranger in similar manner.’
Sheikh Muhammad had by now resolved to publicly declare unto his people that they had gone astray from the right path.

He started with his call to the people in the town of Harimala, and made it clear to them, that he called them only unto Allah. He reminded the people that everything should be for Allah alone and that they should give up their wrong beliefs and practices. This naturally led to a dispute and struggle with the people and even with his father, who had been led away by the false sayings of the deviated followers.

The Sheikh continued to pursue his cause undeterred by making speeches, writing as well as practically guiding the people. Eventually a good majority of his people accepted his views. His father and brother Sulaiman too were convinced after prolonged discussions. In the year 1153 A.H. his father Abd al Wahhab passed away.

After the death of his father the people openly accepted the call of the Sheikh and forsook their false notions. They responded to the call for a return to the Sunnah of the Prophet (sal) both in words and deeds.

During this time his town was dominated by two tribes both claiming leadership but none able to take full control and maintain justice. These tribes were in the practice of keeping slaves and indulged in every mischief and sin. When the Sheikh thought of admonishing them, they got wind of it and set upon him but were prevented by the timely action of some good people.

The Sheikh left Harimala for his native town Aiyna, where his forefathers once lived and ruled. Here he met one Uthman bin Hamd bin Muammar, to whom he explained his reformist movement based on the Quran and Sunnah. He explained the significance of Thawheed and how much the beliefs and actions of the people differed from the true path. He told Uthman that if he would uphold the cause of Allah and his word, he would soon come to the leadership in Nejd and crowned with eternal bliss.

Uthman responded readily to the Sheikh’s call. Here again the Sheikh urged the people to return to the worship of Allah only (Thawheed) and a strict adherence to the Sunnah of the Prophet (sal). The Sheikh managed to cut down trees that were being worshipped in the area. He succeeded with the help of Uthman, in bringing down the dome over the grave of Zaid ibn al Khattab. He also carried out the prescribed punishment for adultery on a woman who had confessed to it.

The Sheikh and his message came to be widely known, and his reputation spread far and wide and it also reached Sulaiman bin Muhammad bin Urai’ir, the Governor of Ahsa and the children of Khalid. This impudent and ignorant man sent a letter to Uthman bin Muammir saying, “this man who is with you is saying this and did that, and when you receive this letter slay him, if not we shall withhold your kharaj (revenue} which is with us in Ahsa.” This was a tricky situation for Uthman. To oppose Urair was too much for him. Fearing this threat and weak in his faith ibn Muammar ordered the Sheikh to be banished from his town.

The Sheikh left the town on foot escorted by a horseman through the desert in the scorching sun, with only the thought of Allah, until he reached Dariya as the guest of Abd al rahman bin Suwailim. Through ibn Suwailim most of the prominent people of Dariya came to know of the Sheikh. They visited him in secret and he explained to them the real meaning and the significance of Thawheed. Among those who visited the Sheikh were the two brothers of Prince Muhammad bin Saud. These two brothers after much discussion and tutoring by the Sheikh were enlightened. They explained to their brother prince Muhammad that Sheikh Muhammad was staying with Ibn Suwailim and that he was a blessing from Allah sent to them. They urged the prince to meet the Sheikh.


PRINCE MUHAMMED BIN SAUD ACCEPTS THE SHEIKH
Prince Muhammad accepted the suggestion and met the Sheikh. He invited the Prince to Thawheed saying that it was the message, with which all the Messengers were sent by Allah. He also drew the attention of the Prince to the polytheistic practices and notions prevalent among the people of the Nejd. He wished that the Prince should assume leadership of the Muslims. The prince acceded to the wish of the Sheikh and offered him all help and assistance to carry out his task. He also promised to adhere to the Sunnah of the Prophet (sal) to command the good and to prohibit the evil.

After the Sheikh had settled at Dariya, people began to throng to him from all sides even claiming kinship and accepting his Call. In the meantime Uthman ibn Muammar who exiled the Sheikh from his town came to know of Prince Muhammad’s acceptance of Sheikh Muhammad and his message. Now Uthman very much regretted what he had done to the Sheikh.

Uthman ibn Muammar, accompanied by a large delegation came to Dariya and called on the Sheikh to tender their apologies. They requested the Sheikh to come back with them. He replied that it depended entirely on the wish of Prince Muhammad. Prince Muhammad refused to accede to their request and Uthman and his followers went back disappointed.


SHEIKH GAINS A FOLLOWING
Now people came in large numbers to the Sheikh, seeking pure knowledge without the adulteration of fables and falsehood. He explained to them the real meaning of “La ilaaha illallah” and its significance. He stressed the importance of the negation of all false deities and the affirmation of Allah and his attributes.

The Sheikh communicated with people of other cities and invited them to accept his call and join his movement in order to eradicate Shirk and all its abominable practices.

Some accepted while others rejected and some even ridiculed him and accused him of sorcery. He continued with his mission undeterred. The opponents exerted their utmost to rally their forces to destroy this nascent movement by any or all means. Sheikh Muhammad and the Prince had no alternative but to resort to the sword to defend this movement. This war went on for many years and village after village fell to the new alliance. Some opponents voluntarily began to accept them when they realized the true nature of the movement.

All the efforts by the misguided group to rally their forces to destroy this nascent movement by any means miserably failed. After the conquest of Riyadh in 1187 A.H. the Sheikh entrusted the governing of the people to Prince Abdul Aziz bin Muhammad bin Saud and devoted his time to worship, learning and teaching. Prince Muhammad and his son Abd al Aziz always consulted him before they undertook anything and he gave his ruling. After an arduous struggle and having reached his goal he passed away in Dhul Qa’dah of 1206.


BOOKS WRITTEN BY SHEIKH MUHAMMAD
The Sheikh was the author of a number of books, prominent among them being the celebrated KITAB AL TAWHID, which needs no introduction. The other books are Kash al Shubuhat, Thalabat al Usul, theMukhtasar al-Sal-Nabawiyyah, the Mukhthasar al-Insaaf, the Sharh al-Kabir fi’l Fiqh, the Nasihat al-Muslimin bi-ahadite Khatam al-Nabiyyin, the Kitab al-Kabair, the Ahadith al-Fitn and several other treatises and most of them were pertaining to the topic of Tawheed.

It is mentioned in the work Unwan al-Majid that the Sheikh had many pupils amongst whom were his sons who later became eminent scholars. His four sons Hussain, Abdullah, Ali and Ibrahim established schools close to their homes and taught the young students from Dariya and other places. The fifth son had not studied under him and had died in his youth.

Some for the students who benefited from his knowledge and rose to the position of Qadis and Muftis are as follows:

Sheikh Abd al Aziz bin Abdullah al Hussein al Nasim who was a Judge in the territory of Al Washm.

Sheikh Said bin Hijji who became Judge of Hauta of Bani Tamim,

Sheikh abd al Rahman bin Nami, who became Judge of Aiyna

Ahsa, Shaikh Ahmad bin Rashid al-Uraini the Qadi of Sudair.

The most notable student was Sheikh Muhammad bin Ibrahim bin Abdul Latiff bin Abdul Rahman bin Hassan who was the grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia.


A SUMMARY OF THE STRUGGLE OF SHEIKH MUHAMMED
Due to the Sheikh’s strong views on Tawhid he was a controversial figure throughout his life and after his death to this day. We will reproduce here some of his communications and excerpts of treatises he had written for the benefit of the readers. Here is what he wrote to al-Suwaidi one of the scholars of Iraq in reply to his letter:

“From Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab to his brother in faith Abd al-Rahman ibn Abdalla- Peace be upon you and also the Mercy and the Blessings of Allah. To continue: I am pleased to receive your letter. May Allah make you one of the leaders of the pious people and also one of the missionaries calling people to the Religion of the Chief of the Messengers. I would like to inform you that I am by the Grace of Allah a follower of the Pure Religion and not a Mubtadi(Innovator). My Creed and Religion with which I obey Allah is the same Madhab as that of the Ahl al-Sunnah wal Jama’ah and as that held by the leaders of the Muslims such as the four celebrated leaders of law and their followers till the day of resurrection.

However, I have laid emphasis on faithfulness and sincerity in following the Religion of Allah. I have asked the people not to invoke the living and the dead from among the saintly and pious people seeking help. I have also advised them to avoid committing acts of SHIRK (associating other objects in the worship of Allah) while offering devotion to Allah in such matters like slaughtering for sacrifice, making vows, trusting in anyone or in Sujood (Prostration) and such other matters which are exclusively reserved for Allah alone. None is to be taken as a partner unto Allah may he be an angel or a prophet commissioned by him. It is he alone that all the messengers from the first to the last were ordered to obey and worship. This is the Madhab followed by the Ahl al Sunnah wal Jama’ah.

I have also told the people in clear words that the first and the earliest of people who introduced acts of SHIRK were the Rafidah (Shia extremists) who invoked Ali and others, seeking help for their needs and to rid them of their afflictions.

I hold an office in my town where people listen to me and obey me. This was disliked by some of the chief magnates of the town as what I said was against their traditions. I lead the people in the stipulated prayers and induce them to pay their Zakat and to perform other acts of devotion to Allah. I forbade them to indulge in RIBA, in drinking wine and all other intoxicants. The people opposed these corrupt leaders and rose against them. This is the Thawheed I have been commanded to preach. These mischievous magnates of the town began to ascribe different kinds of fabrications to me. The mischief flared up and they attacked us with all the armies of Satan, the cavalry and the infantry. They allege that I branded all the people as `Kaafirs’ except those who follow me and that I have solemnized their marriages in a wrong and illegal manner. I wonder how a sane man can think of and say such silly things. I however, declare myself free from such calumnies in the presence of Allah. Such talks can only emanate from the mentally deranged. In short whatsoever is mentioned about me- except that I invite them to Thawheed and prohibit them from committing acts of Shirk, is absolutely false.”

MATTERS TO WHICH THE SHEIKH INVITED THE PUBLIC AND WHICH GOT HIM INTO DISPUTE WITH SOME OF THE ULEMAS:

1.Tawhid al-Ubudiya-
He explained to the people that Ibadah is nothing but exclusive obedience to Allah and compliance with His commands. This is a comprehensive term for everything that Allah loves and such words and deeds He is pleased with. The forms of Ibadah (Worship) which are to be offered to Allah alone are many, such as Salat (Prayers), Saum (Fasting), Zakat and Sadaqah, slaughtering of sacrificial animals, tawaf and invocation. He said that anyone who happens to direct any of these acts to anyone other than Allah becomes a Mushriq as Allah the Exalted says:

“ And whoever invokes (or worships) besides Allah any other ilah (god) of whom he has no proof, then his reckoning is only with his Lord. Surely Al-Kafirun (the disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah polytheists, pagans idolaters etc.) will not be successful.” Al Quran 23:117

2. Tawassul –
This means a fervent plea and is of two types: the permitted and the prohibited. The permitted one is by means of faith and righteous deeds and the Glorious Names of Allah and his attributes. The prohibited one is entreaty using the name of the Messenger, pious people and saints. Here is what Allah the Exalted says:

“O you who believe! Be mindful of your duty towards Allah and seek the means of approach and strive in His cause as much as you can so that you may be successful.” Al Quran5:35

3. Journeying to Mosques on Pilgrimage -
He asked the people not to undertake any pilgrimages to mosques other then the three mosques as given in an authentic hadith.

“Do not undertake a journey but to the three mosques - the Sacred Mosque Makkah) my mosque (Madinah) and the further Mosque (Al Aqsa).”

4. Construction over graves, covering and decorating them etc. -
The Sheikh openly declared that to construct buildings over the graves is unlawful. So is to shroud the graves with beautiful coverings and decorating them. It is prohibited to burn candles over the graves or to set up stone inscriptions. He also declared that it is illegal to have custodians and caretakers of shrines. Visiting such places tantamount to idol worship and can lead to other prohibited actions such as kissing them and going round them. He supported his statements with numerous hadiths prohibiting such constructions, visiting them and praying in them. The Shaikh quoted the hadith of Abu ‘l-Hayyaj al-Asadi whom Ali ibn Abi Talib asked:

“Should I not commission you with a duty with which the Messenger of Allah had commissioned me-to leave no statue but to crush it, and no grave raised above the surface of the ground but to level it down?”

5. Unity with respect of the Holy Names and Attributes of Allah-
On this the Sheikh held the views of the Pious Predecessors and the four celebrated teachers of law and others who held the same view, namely the affirmation and recognition of the Names and Attributes of Allah without employing Tamtheel (finding similarity with Allah’s attributes) or Takeef. (e.g. To explain how Allah does some thing).

6. Innovations-
The Sheikh very much disliked and spoke out against innovations (Bida’) especially:

1. The celebration and holding of gatherings on the Prophet’s Birthday.

2. Making Dhikr and salawath before pronouncing the Adhan.

3. Verbally pronouncing the Niyyah (intention) particularly before Takbir Tahrim.

4. Recital of a hadith of Abu Huraira before the Khatib ascends the Minbar. (Pulpit)

The Sheikh also abhorred and condemned the innovated practices of Tariqas (Orders), Tawassuf (Mysticism) and other practices which have no authority or sanction eitfrom the Messenger (sal) or from the Companion(R.A). Several Ulema had compiled works on this subject even before Sheikh Muhammad such as Ibn-Waddah, al-Turthushi and al-Shatibi on these abominable innovated practices and heretical actions.

This is a short biography of the best of reformers and the greatest of Mujahids and a renowned scholar of Islam, whom Allah blessed with deep insight. This reform movement was initiated by Sheikh Muhammad and not by Sheikh Abdul Wahhab. The correct name for this movement should have been “al-Muhammadiya” and not “al Wahhabiya”. In the light of the above facts it is left to the reader to judge whether the Sheikh initiated a new madhab or was reviving the deen of the Prophet (sal), his noble companions and their successors.

Indeed all Praise and thanks be to Allah the Exalted, who has graced us with the favor of preparing this life sketch of the Sheikh Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. May Allah be merciful to him and Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon Muhammad (sal) upon his family, all his noble companions and their successors until the last day.

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Sufism Unveiled

Thursday, February 15, 2001 - 09:22 pm
Sufism Unveiled
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 little booklet is a modest attempt to analyse and expose the teachings and practices of the Tariqat ul Naqshbandi in the light of the Glorious Qur’aan 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’aan:

"That is because Allaah - He is the Truth and it is He who gives life to dead."
(Qur’aan, 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’aan,

"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’aan, Allaah says;

"They have no protector other than Him (Allaah); nor does He share His command with any person whatsoever."
(Chapter 18, Verse 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’aan,

"Do you feel secure, that He (Allaah), who is above the heavens, will not cause the earth to sink with you." (Qur’aan, 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’aan,

"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’aan,

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


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

Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta`aalaa) says in the Qur’aan,

"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’aan, 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’aan,

"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’aan, 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 Seyyidina 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 Mowlana 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 intermeidary 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 Mowlana, Mowlana will be with that person. Even until he reaches in front of Allaah Almighty will Mowlana be with him, when Allaah Almighty questions this person Mowlana 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’aan,

"And Allaah is a Wakil (Guardian) over all things."
(Qur’aan, 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’aan, 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’aan,

"And if Allaah touches you with harm, none can remove it but He…"
(Qur’aan, 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’aan,

"Say the Angel of death, who is set over you, will take your souls, then you shall be brought to your Lord."
(Qur’aan, 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 Mowlana 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 Mowlana 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’aan 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)

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 Mowlana 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 Mowlana Sheikh Nazim experience that Mowlana 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.."

15a 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’aan,

"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)


15b 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’aan 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’aan 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’aan 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 towfeeq to recognize the truth, to understand it, to implement it and to call to it.

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Ahulhadith

Friday, February 16, 2001 - 07:35 am
Friday, February 16, 2001 - 12:07 am
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This is is one of their posts, I put here so every one could
see them.

And abdul kadir jelani is free of them.
He was great imam... Many Sufi Scholar the early one were known for following th Sunnah,
it does not mean that all Sufi are Same,
but those groups who made Tariqa and followers many of them are not on the way of their Imam,

Many sufi Tariqa belive calling upon unseen like Angles, Jinn etc dead people for HELP!,


thats why many scholars have talked about them and warned about Sufi orders,
we will continues to warn them.

As brother FGI who said groups like salafi etc are 73 sects..mislead....

this is far the most incorrect statement
Salafi means following the way of Salaf, if you follow Quran and Sunnah by the understanding of the Salaf then you are Salafi...
like Shafi is follower of madahab shafi.

NO one saying to it's obligatory or must to call your self by that name, but to say the are astray or consider misgudied group is not statement of truth.
Sh.Binbaz was salafi and Albani and many other scholars.


Lets get back to the post ...these Sufi who posted this in one of their forums..and it's found in their books...

Subhan Allah, they saying he orderd them to do that.!!


The one who put statement of Imam AHmed bring us your proves...that Imam Ahmed said that..

if he said it(I don't think), then he meant the early Sufi .......not those who say call upon angles and dead for help and health!!


I wonder if Imam Ahmed saw this people what he would say!!

When Basher al-hafee(A great zahid praised by Imam ahmed)

he was used to say duaa when he was visited by people
so when AHmed was told by his student the Basher says that.

He said ask him where did he get it?(akee this is only duaa)
then Basher may Allah mercy on him... gave him the isnaad
up to one of the salaf and ahmed accepted it.

one ime a man came to Imam Ahmed and started making tabrauk..(touching him for blessing)
..
Imam Ahemd got ungry and said where did you get it from?(if you want more read the book by ibn Rajab Al-hakemu jadera sharh hadith ba'ethtu ba'yen sa'a"


The person who post this is Nashaqabndi...
many the so called sufi tariqa belive this and worse....


Nashaqabanid have many thing which dangrous to the Ageeda of musliim...

so you ignorants make Toba to Allah and come to the right way...

before on the qiyama the messenger of Allah refuse to give you the cup of kother...

think about it, does not Muhammed bin Abdul wahab had reason to get upset?!!!


Here the post below:


Posted By: Asif J Naqshbandi-Jama'ati (pc5.meng.ucl.ac.uk)

Date: 3/9/99

Assalamu alaykum.
This is a posting originally made by Brother Ruslan in 1998 regarding tawassul or asking the Awliya of Allah for help. I hope brother Ruslan doesn't mind. It is
quotes from His Excellency, the Sultan of the Saints, Our Master and Lord [sayyedna wa mawlana] Shaikh Sayyid Abd ul Qadir al Jilani radhi Allah anhu:
********************

Description of the plea for help[istighatha] related to the noble presence [hadra] of our master and our pillar of support, the Supreme Helper [al-Ghawth al
A’œam] (may Allah the Exalted sanctify his splendid and most glorious innermost being).

The proper time for its performance is on a Tuesday night* either at midnight or at the time shortly preceding the break of day [waqt as-sahar]. It reads as
follows:

In the Name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the All-Compassionate

If you are troubled by some worrisome concern, and you wish that Allah would dispel it from you, you should perform two [voluntary] cycles of ritual prayer
[rak’atain] after the late evening prayer [salat al-’isha’], or at the time shortly preceding break of day [waqt as-sahar].

In each cycle [rak’a], you should recite, after the Opening Sura, the Sura (Q 112) of Sincere Devotion, eleven times.

Then you should pronounce the salutation [taslima], and bow down in prostration [sujud] to Allah after the greeting of peace [salam].

[While in prostration] you should ask Allah for whatever you need, then raise your head and invoke blessings on the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him
peace), eleven times.

Then you should stand upright, and take eleven steps in the direction of ‘Iraq, to the right of the Qibla, saying:

1st Step: “O Shaikh Muhyi’d-Din!”

2nd Step: “O Chieftain Muhyi’d-Din!”

3rd Step: “O our Patron Muhyi’d-Din!”

4th Step: “O Master Muhyi’d-Din!”

5th Step: “O Dervish Muhyi’d-Din!”

6th Step: “O Professor Muhyi’d-Din!”

7th Step: “O Sultan Muhyi’d-Din!”

8th Step: “O Shah Muhyi’d-Din!”

9th Step: “O Ghawth Muhyi’d-Din!”

10th Step: “O Qutb Muhyi’d-Din!”

11th Step: “O Chieftain of chieftains Muhyi’d-Din!”

Then you should say” O ‘Ubaida’llah [Dear Servant of Allah], help me, by Allah’s leave! O Shaikh of men and jinn, help me and support me in the satisfaction
of my needs!

Then you should recite the following supplication [du’a’] three times:

“O Allah, all belongs to You, all is because of You, all if from You, and all is returning to You. You are the All and the All of All.

Of Your Mercy, O Most Merciful of the Merciful [I beg You to grant my plea].

And may Allah bless our Chieftain Muhammad, and his family and his Companions, and may He grant them peace!”

Amin!

* Remember that the night of Tuesday is Monday night Gregorian.

******************

Shaikh ‘Abd al-Qadir’s advice to the supplicant in need of help.

Shaikh ‘Ali al-Khabbaz [the Baker] (may Allah be well pleased with him) once said: “I heard Shaikh Abu ‘l-Qasim ‘Umar say: ‘I heard my master, Shaikh
‘Abd al-Qadir (may Allah be well pleased with him), say:

“‘“If someone in distress appeals to me for help [istaghatha bi], he will be relieved of his distress. If someone in hardship invokes my name, his hardship will be
dispelled. If someone beseeches Allah, through me, to satisfy a need, his need will be satisfied.

“‘“If someone is experiencing a pressing need, he should perform two cycles of ritual prayer [rak’atain] in the following manner:

•In each cycle [rak’a], after reciting the Opening Sura [al-Fatiha], he should recite the Sura of Sincere Devotion [Surat al-Ikhlas] eleven times.

•After the salutation [salam] following the testimony [tashahhud], he should invoke blessings upon Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him
peace)—eleven times.

•He should then salute me with the greeting of peace, referring to me by my name.

•Finally, he should mention his need, for it will be satisfied, if Allah (Exalted is He) so wills.”’”

According to one version [riwaya] of this report, the Shaikh also said: “The supplicant should take eleven steps toward the East, in the direction of my tomb.
He should mention me, and he should mention his need, for it will be satisfied.” (According to some, the Shaikh spoke of seven steps, rather than eleven.)

According to yet another version, the Shaikh also advised the supplicant to recite the following poetic verses:

What hardship can overtake me, when You are my treasury? How can I be wronged in this world, when You are my support?

Shame on the guardian of the pasture, when he is my helper, if the cord that should hobble my camel strays off into the desert!


*******

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