     Anonymous | Monday, March 05, 2001 - 10:14 pm
Statements by the Scholars, past and present,
concerning the Sufiyyah
Imaam Ash-Shaa'fee on Sufism:
"If a person excercized Sufism (Tasawaf) at the beginning of the day, he does
not come to Dhuhur except an idiot."
[Tablees Iblees]
"Nobody accompanied the Sufis forty days and had his brain return (ever)."
[Tablees 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)."
[Tablees 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'een 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 is more beloved
to us, and the Prophet 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 practice 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."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 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 he said:
"What is wrong with a people who say such and such. But
rather I fast 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. Allaah (SWT) said:
"...the Monasticism which they invented for themselves..."
[Surah al-Hadid 57:27]
However, when the Prophet 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.
1.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.
2.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]
Further, 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 have 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).
May Allaah(swt) guide us all to the path that leads to jannah and away from all those
paths that lead to the hell-fire. May Allaah(swt) help us prepare our selves for 'the day
on which there will be no doubt'...
Aameen |
