The Scholars and Tasawwuf
The Salaf as-salih and the ‘ulama on
Tasawwuf
The best compilation to date of quotations from the GIANTS of our Deen and others on Tasawwuf/sufism
Compiled by brother Superfaa of Sweden
“He has succeeded who purifies himself” (Qur’an 87:14).
Let us first of all define what a sufi is:
Sufyan al-Thawri explained: One who follows the path of tasawwuf, “He who gazes at the Real in proportion to the state in which He maintains him” (Bundar). They wore wool (sûf): “I found the redress of my heart between Makka and Madina with a group of strangers people of wool and cloaks” (ashâb sûf wa `abâ’). [cited from Khalaf ibn Tamim by al-Dhahabi, Siyar A`lam al-Nubala' (Dar al-Fikr ed. 7:203)].
`Abd al-Qadir al-Baghdadi mentioned the two terms zahid and sufi interchangeably so the term “sufi” is a second-century name applied to a type of Muslim earlier known as “zahid.” (`Abd al-Qahir al-Baghdadi, al-Farq Bayn al-Firaq ( Beirut : Dar al-Kutub al-`Ilmiyya, n.d.) 242-243).
Abu `Ali al-Rudhabari said: “al-sufi man labisa al-sufa `ala al-safa- The Sufi is the one who wears wool on top of purity.” (Suyuti, Ta’yid al-Haqiqat al-`Aliyya (Cairo: al-matba`a al-islamiyya, 1352/1934) p. 15).
Hasan al-Basri :
Ibn al-Jawzi wrote in Adab al-Shaykh al-Hasan ibn Abi al-Hasan al-Basri that al-Hasan al-Basri left behind a white cloak (jubba) made of wool which he had worn exclusively of any other for the past twenty years, winter and summer, and that when he died it was in a state of immaculate beauty, cleanness, and quality. (Ibn al-Jawzi, Sifat al-safwa 2(4):10 (#570).
Ibn Qayyim relates a story about the qualities of Hassan al-Basri in his biographies of Sufis entitled Hilyat al-awliya’ (The adornment of the saints). (Ibn al-Qayyim, Rawdat al-muhibbin p. 225).
The muhadith Abu Nu`aym al-Isfanahi (d. 430) mentions in his biographies of Sufis entitled Hilyat al-awliya’ (The adornment of the saints) that it is Hasan al-Basris student `Abd al-Wahid ibn Zayd (d. 177) who was the first person to build a Sufi khaniqa or guest-house and school at Abadan. (Abu Nu`aym, Hilyat al-awliya’ 6:155).
Imam al-Ghazali relates al-Hasan’s words(that’s is narrated by Muslim, Ahmad, Tirmidhi, and Ibn Majah) on Jihad al-nafs in the section of his Ihya’ entitled Kitab riyadat al-nafs wa tahdhib al- akhlaq wa mu`alajat amrad al-qalb (Book of the training of the ego and the disciplining of manners and the healing of the heart’s diseases).
Sufyan al-Thawri :
Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya relates in Madarij al-salikin, and Ibn al-Jawzi in the chapter entitled “Abu Hashim al-Zahid” in his Sifat al-safwa after the early hadith master Abu Nu`aym in his Hilyat al-awliya’, that Sufyan al-Thawri said:
“If it were not for Abu Hashim al-Sufi I would have never perceived the presence of the subtlest forms of hypocrisy in the self… Among the best of people is the Sufi learned in jurisprudence.” (Ibn Qayyim, Madarij al-salikin; Ibn al-Jawzi, Sifat al-safwa ( Beirut : dar al-kutub al-`ilmiyya, 1403/1989).
Imam Malik :
و من تصوف و لم يتفقه فقد تزندق
من تفقه و لم يتصوف فقد تفسق
و من جمع بينهما فقد تخقق
“He who practices Tasawwuf without learning Sacred Law corrupts his faith, while he who learns Sacred Law without practicing Tasawwuf corrupts himself. Only he who combines the two proves true.”
It is related by the muhaddith Ahmad Zarruq (d. 899)[Ahmad Zarruq, Qawa`id al-tasawwuf (Cairo, 1310)], and the hafiz `Ali al-Qari al-Harawi (d. 1014)[ Ali al-Qari, Sharh `ayn al-`ilm wa-zayn al-hilm (Cairo: Maktabat al-Thaqafa al-Diniyya, 1989) 1:33], the muhaddiths `Ali ibn Ahmad al `Adawi (d. 1190)[ Ali al `Adawi, Hashiyat al `Adawi `ala sharh Abi al Hasan li risalat Ibn Abi Zayd al musammat kifayat al talib al rabbani li risalat Ibn Abi Zayd al Qayrawani fi madhhab Maalik (Beirut: Dar Ihya' al Kutub al `Arabiyah, <n.d.>) 2:195] and Ibn `Ajiba (d. 1224)[Ibn `Ajiba, Iqaz al himam fi sharh al hikam (Cairo: Halabi, 1392/1972) p. 5 6.].
Imam al-Shafi`i :
Imam Shafi’i said: “[Be both] a faqih and a sufi[sufiyyan ]: do not be only one of them, Verily, by Allah 
’s truth, I am advising you sincerely.” (al-Shafi`i in Diwan, p. 47 see also: Diwan p. 66 where Imam Shafi’i gives the advise to be both a faqih and sufi).
Imam Shafi`i said: “Three things in this world have been made lovely to me: avoiding affectation, treating people kindly, and following the way of tasawwuf.” (The muhaddith al-`Ajluni also relates that in Kashf al-khafa wa muzil al-albas (1:341 #1089).
Imam al-Shafi`i said: “I accompanied the Sufis and received from them but three words: their statement that time is a sword: if you do not cut it, it cuts you; their statement that if you do not keep your ego busy with truth it will keep you busy with falsehood; their statement that deprivation is immunity.” (Ibn al-Qayyim in his Madarij al-salikin (3:128) and al- Suyuti in his Ta’yid al-haqiqa al-`aliyya (p. 15)).
Imam abu Hanifa :
Ibn `Abidin relates in his al Durr al mukhtar that Imam Abu Hanifa said: “If it were not for two years, I would have perished.”
Ibn `Abidin comments: “For two years he accompanied Sayyidina Ja`far al-Sadiq and he acquired the spiritual knowledge that made him a gnostic in the Way… Abu `Ali Daqqaq (Imam Qushayri’s shaykh) received the path from Abu al-Qasim al-Nasirabadi, who received it from al Shibli, who received it from Sari al-Saqati who received it from al Ma`ruf al Karkhi, who received it from Dawud at Ta’i, who received the knowledge, both the external and the internal, from the Imam Abi Hanifa.” (Ibn `Abidin, Hashiyat radd al-muhtar `ala al-durr al-mukhtar 1:43).
Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal :
Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Saffarini al-Hanbali (d. 1188) relates in his Ghidha’ al-albab li-sharh manzumat al-adab from Ibrahim ibn `Abd Allah al-Qalanasi that Imam Ahmad said about the Sufis: “I don’t know people better than them.” (al-Saffarini, Ghidha’ al-albab li-sharh manzumat al-adab (Cairo: Matba`at al-Najah, 1324/1906) 1:120).
al-Harith al-Muhasibi :
The teacher of al-Junayd, al-Harith al-Muhasibi was a sufi. `Abd al-Qahir al-Baghdadi, Taj al-Din al-Subki, and Jamal al-Din al-Isnawi all reiterate the statement whereby “Upon the books of al-Harith ibn Asad al-Muhasibi on kalam, fiqh, and hadith rest those among us who are mutakallim (theologian), faqih (jurist), and sufi.” (’Abd al-Qahir al-Baghdadi, Kitab Usul al-Din p. 308-309; Taj al-Din Subki, Tabaqat al-shafi`iyya 2:275; Jamal al-Din al-Isnawi, Tabaqat al-Shafi`iyya 1:(#9)26-27).
al-Qasim ibn `Uthman al-Ju`i :
al-Qasim ibn `Uthman al-Ju`i took hadith from Sufyan ibn `Uyayna. Al-Dhahabi writes about him in Siyar a`lam al-nubala’: “al-`Abdi, known as Qasim al-Ju`i: The Imam, the exemplar, the saint, the Muhaddith… the Shaykh of the Sufis and the friend of Ahmad ibn al-Hawari.” [#506] (al-imam al-qudwa al-wali al-muhaddith Abu `Abd Al-Malik Al-Qasim ibn ‘Uthman al-`Abdi al-Dimashqi, Shaykh as-sufiyya wa rafiq Ahmad ibn al-Hawari,’urifa bi al-Ju’i).
Imam al-Junayd al-Baghdadi :
al-Junayd al-Baghdadi, said: ”The Sufi is the one who wears wool on top of purity, followed the path of the Prophet( ittaba`a tariq al-mustafawa), endured bodily strains dedicating his life to worship and reclining from pleasures, and left behind all that pertains to the world.” (In `Afif al-Din Abu Muhammad `Abd Allah Ibn As`ad al-Yafi`i (d. 768), Nashr al-mahasin al-ghaliya fi fadl mashayikh al-sufiyya ( Beirut : Dar Sadir, 1975).
Imam Abu Mansur `Abd al-Qahir al-Baghdadi :
Imam Abu Mansur `Abd al-Qahir al-Baghdadi said:
“Know that Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jama`a are divided in eight groups of people… the sixth group being the Sufi Ascetics ( al-zuhhad al-sufiyya), who have seen things for what they are and therefore have abstained, who have known by experience and therefore have taken heed truly, who have accepted Allah ’s allotment and contented themselves with what is within reach. Their religion is the declaration of singleness and the disavowal of similitude. Their school is the commital of matters to Allah , reliance upon Him, submission to His order, satisfaction with what they have received from Him, and shunning all objection to Him. “Such is the bounty from Allah , He bestoweth it upon whom He will, and Allah is of infinite bounty”. (`Abd al-Qahir al-Baghdadi, al-Farq bayn al-firaq ( Beirut : dar al-kutub al-`ilmiyya, n.d.) 242-243).
He also says the following: “The book Tarikh al-sufiyya [History of the Sufis, more commonly known as Tabaqat al-sufiyya or layers of the Sufis] by Abu `Abd al-Rahman Sulami comprises the biographies of nearly a thousand sheikhs of the Sufis, none of whom belonged to heretical sects and all of whom were of the Sunni community, with the exception of only three of them: Abu Hilman of Damascus, who pretended to be of the Sufis but actually believed in incarnationism ( hulul); Husayn ibn Mansur al-Hallaj, whose case remains problematic, though Ibn `Ata’ Allah , Ibn Khafif, and Abu al-Qasim al-Nasir Abadi approved of him [as did the Hanbalis Ibn `Aqil, Ibn Qudama, and al-Tufi]; and al-Qannad, whom the Sufis accused of being a Mu`tazili and rejected, for the good does not accept the wicked.” (`Abd al-Qahir al-Baghdadi, Usul al-din p. 315-16).
Imam al-Ghazali :
Imam Al-Gazali says: “The Sufi path consists in cleansing the heart from whatever is other than Allah … I concluded that the Sufis are the seekers in Allah ’s Way, and their conduct is the best conduct, and their way is the best way, and their manners are the most sanctified. They have cleaned their hearts from other than Allah and they have made them as pathways for rivers to run, carrying knowledge of Allah .” (al-Ghazali, al Munqidh min al dalal, p. 131).
Imam Fakhr al-Din Razi :
Imam Fakhr al-Din Razi wrote: “The summary of what the Sufis say is that the way to the knowledge of Allah is self-purification and renunciation of material attachments, and this is an excellent way… Sufis are a folk who work with reflection and the detaching of the self from materialistic trappings. They strive in order that their inner being be solely occupied with the remembrance of Allah in all of their occupations and their actions, and they are characterized by the perfection of their manners in dealing with Allah . Verily these are the best of all the sects of human beings.” (Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, I`tiqadat firaq al-muslimin p. 72-73).
Imam Nawawi :
Shaykh al-Islam Imam Muhyiddin Yahya ibn Sharaf al-Nawawi writes in his short treatise entitled al-Maqasid fi al tawhid wa al-`ibada wa usul al-tasawwuf (The purposes in oneness, worship, and the foundations of self-purification): The specifications of the Way of the Sufis are five:
“to keep the Presence of Allah in your heart in public and in private; to follow the Sunna of the Prophet by actions and speech; to keep away from people and from asking them; to be happy with what Allah gave you, even if it is less; to always refer your matters to Allah .” (Al-Maqasid: Imam Nawawi’s Manual of Islam(Evanston: Sunna Books, 1994) p. 85-86).
The Imam also started writing a book on Tasawwuf, but unfortunately died before he could complete it. The title of the book is: Bustan al-`arifin fi al-zuhd wa al-tasawwuf (The garden of the gnostics in asceticism and self-purification). (see al-Nawawi, Bustan al-`arifin (Beirut: dar al-kitab al-`arabi,1405/1985). see also: al-Majmu: sharh al-Muhadhdhab. 20 vols. Cairo n.d. Reprint. Medina: al-Maktaba al-Salafiyya, n.d., 1.1718.
Sultan al-`ulama’ al-`Izz ibn `Abd al-Salam al-Sulami:
al-Dhahabi calls him: “The shaykh, the imam, the scholar, the zahid, the knower, the Muhaddith, Shaykh al-Islam, the Peerless One of the Sufis…”( al-Dhahabi, Siyar a`lam al-nubala’ [#969]).
al-`Izz ibn `Abd al-Salam al-Sulami who’s nickname is “Sultan al-`ulama’”(”Sultan of the Scholars.”) mentions that the Sufis are those meant by Allah ’s saying:
“Allah ’s party” ( 5:56 , 58:22), and he defines tasawwuf as “the betterment of hearts, through whose health bodies are healthy, and through whose disease bodies are diseased.” He considers the knowledge of external legal rulings a knowledge of the Law in its generalities, while the knowledge of internal matters is a knowledge of the Law in its subtle details.” (al-`Izz ibn `Abd al-Salam, Qawa`id al-ahkam (Dar al-sharq li al-tiba`a, 1388/1968) 1:29, 2:212).
Taj al-Din al-Subki :
He says the following in Mu`id al-ni`am under the chapter entitled Sufism: “May Allah give them life and greet them (Sufis), and may He place us with them in Paradise . Too many things have been said about them and too many ignorant people have said things which are not related to them… The truth is that those people left the world and were busy with worship. ” (al-Subki, Mu`id al-ni`am wa mubid al-niqam p. 190.)
Imam Abu Ishaq al-Shatibi al-Maliki :
He writes in his book al-I`tisam: “Many of the ignorant think that the Sufis are lax in conforming to Shari `a. Far be it from them to be attributed such a belief! The very first foundation of their path is the Sunna and the avoidance of what contravenes it! ” ( al-Shatibi, al-I`tisam min al-kutub, quoted in al-Muslim: majallat al-`ashira al-muhammadiyya (Dhu al-qi`da 1373).
Imam al-Shatibi also rejected the categorization of sufis and tasawwuf as an innovation in Islam according to his criteria. ( Al-Shatibi, al-I`tisam (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-`Ilmiyya, 1415/1995) p. 150-159).
Ibn Khaldun :
Ibn Khaldun said in his famous Muqaddima:
“Tasawwuf is one of the latter-day sciences of the Law in the Islamic Community. The foundation of tasawwuf, however, is (more ancient, as seen in the fact) that these folk and their way have always been present among the Salaf and among the most senior of the Companions and the Successors, and their way is the way of truth and guidance.” (Muqaddimat ibn Khaldun, p. 328.Reproduced with permission from Shaykh M. Hisham Kabbani’s).
Imam al-Sakhawi :
Imam Shams al-Din Muhammad ibn `Abd al-Rahman al-Sakhawiis the greatest student of Ibn Hajar al-`Asqalani and In the section of his al-Jawahir al-mukallala fi al-akhbar al-musalsala devoted to the transmission of hadith through chains formed exclusively of Sufi narrators, Sakhawi states that he himself had received the Sufi path from Zayn al-Din Ridwan al-Muqri’ in Cairo. (A.J. Arberry, Sakhawiana: A Study Based on the Chester Beatty Ms. Arab. 773 (London: Emery Walker Ltd., 1951) p. 35).
Zakariyya ibn Muhammad Ansari :
Zakariyya ibn Muhammad Ansari was Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Hajar al-Haytami’s teacher. In his commentary on Qusayri Ansari gives the following definitions for tasawwuf:
“Tasawwuf is the abandonment of deliberation. It is also said: It is the guarding of your senses and the mindfulness of your every breath; also: it is complete earnestness in the progression towards the King of all kings; also: it is the devotion to works of good and the avoidance of defects; and other explanations… The sufiyya or Sufis are called thus because the Truth — Allah — has made them pure (safahum) and has favored them unreservedly (akhlasa lahum al-ni`am) through what He has allowed them to look upon.” (Zakariyya al-Ansari, Sharh al-risala al-qushayriyya (Cairo: dar al-kutub al-`arabiyya al-kubra, 1330/1912) p. 126).
Ibn Hajar al-Haytami :
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Hajar al-Haytami was a student of Zakariyya al-Ansari. He was once asked about the legal status of those who criticizes Sufis: Is there an excuse for such critics? He replies in his Fatawa hadithiyya:
“It is incumbent upon every person endowed with mind and religion not to fall into the trap of criticizing these folk (Sufis), for it is a mortal poison, as has been witnessed of old and recently.” (Ibn Hajar al-Haytami, Fatawa hadithiyya (Cairo: al-Halabi, 1970) p. 331).
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Hajar al-Haytami answers those who slander sufis in his fatwa entitled: “Whoever denies, rejects, or disapproves of the Sufis, Allah will not make his knowledge beneficial.” (al-Haytami, Fatawa hadithiyya p. 52-54.)
Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani :
Ibn Hajar praises the Futuhat al-Makkiyya(Lisan al-Mizan (5:315)). He received from Abu Hurayra Ibn al-Dhahabi, from his father Imam al-Dhahabi, the Sufi cloak of Shaykh Muhyi al-Din Ibn `Arabi according to Abu al-Mahasin al-Qaraqji (d. 1205) in “Kitab Shawariq al-Anwar al-Jaliyya fi Asanid al-Sadat al-Shadhiliyya” (Damascus 1522 fol. 59b.).
Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti :
Shaykh al-Islam al-Suyuti, the Renewer of the Eighth Islamic century and Mujtahid Imam said in his book on tasawwuf entitled Ta’yid al-haqiqa al-`aliyya wa-tashyid al-tariqa al-shadhiliyya (The upholding of the lofty truth and the buttressing of the Shadhili path):
Tasawwuf in itself is a most honorable knowledge. It explains how to follow the Sunna of the Prophet and to leave innovation, how to purify the ego… and submit to Allah truly… I have looked at the matters which the Imams of Shari`a have criticized in Sufis, and I did not see a single true Sufi holding such positions. Rather, they are held by the people of innovation and the extremists who have claimed for themselves the title of Sufi while in reality they are not… ( al-Suyuti, Ta’yid al-haqiqa al-`aliyya wa-tashyid al-tariqa al-shadhiliyya, ed. `Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn al-Siddiq al-Ghumari al-Hasani. (Cairo: al-matba`a al-islamiyya, 1934), p. 56-57.Reproduced with permission from Shaykh M. Hisham Kabbani’s The Repudiation of “Salafi” Innovations (Kazi, 1996) p. 386).
Junayd ibn Muhammad Abu al-Qasim al-Khazzaz (d. 297 AH/ 909-910 CE) :
Sulami stated that Junayd used to say, “We did not learn (lit. take) Sufism by discourse, rather by hunger, abandoning the world, and severing [one's attachments to] familiar and pleasant things; since Sufism consists of purity of [one's] relationship with God. Its foundation is in turning away from the world, as Harith [al-Muhasibi] said, ‘My self (nafs) has turned away from the world; so I have spent my nights in wakefulness and my days in thirst.” (al-Sulami, Tabaqatal-Sufiyah, pp. 155-163).
Muhammad ibn Ali al-Qassab (d. 275 AH/ 888-89 CE):
“Sufism consists of noble behavior (akhlaq karima) that is made manifest at a noble time on the part of a noble person in the presence of a noble people.” (al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, Tarikh Baghdad, vol. 3, p. 62).
Ruwaym ibn Ahmad ibn Yazid, Abu Muhammad, al-Baghdadi (d. 303 AH/ 915-16 CE):
“It is safer for you to sit with all [other] classes of people than it is for you to sit with Sufis. All people sit in accordance with “customary forms” (rusum), while Sufis sit in accordance with the truths (haqa’iq). (Tabaqatal-Sufiyah, selected from pp. 180-82).
Ibn Taymiyya :
Ibn Taymiyya claimed to be a Qadiri Sufi in a direct line of succession to Shaykh `Abd al-Qadir al-Gilani. He had great admiration for `Abd al-Qadir Gilani (commentary on Futuh al-ghayb volume 10:455-548 of the first Riyadh editionof the Majmu` fatawa Ibn Taymiyya) and in a manuscript of the Yusuf ibn `Abd al Hadi al-Hanbali entitled Bad’ al ‘ilqa bi labs al khirqa (The beginning of the shield in the wearing of the Sufi cloak), Ibn Taymiyya is listed within a Sufi spiritual genealogy with other well known Hanbali scholars. The links in this genealogy are, in descending order: `Abd al-Qadir al-Gilani (d. 561) – Abu `Umar ibn Qudama (d. 607) – Muwaffaq al Din ibn Qudama (d. 620) – Ibn Abi `Umar ibn Qudama (d. 682) – Ibn Taymiyya (d. 728) – Ibn Qayyim al Jawziyya (d. 751) – Ibn Rajab (d. 795)(Both Abu `Umar ibn Qudama and his brother Muwaffaq al-Din received the khirqa directly from Abd al-Qadir himself.) And in Ibn Taymiyyas own words: “I have worn the Sufi cloak of a number of shaykhs belonging to various tariqas (labistu khirqata at tasawwuf min turuqi jama’atin min al shuyukhi), among them the Shaykh `Abd al-Qadir al Jili, whose tariqa is the greatest of the well known ones. Further on he says: The greatest Sufi Way (ajall al-turuq) is that of my master(sayyidi) `Abd al-Qadir al Jili, may Allah have mercy on him.” (Ibn `Abd al Hadi, Bad’ al ‘ilqa bi labs al khirqa, ms. al-Hadi, Princeton Library Arabic Collection, fols. 154a, 169b, 171b 172a; and Damascus University, copy of original Arabic manuscript, 985H.; also mentioned in at Talyani, manuscript Chester Beatty 3296 (8) in Dublin, fol. 67a). And in one of Ibn Taymiyyas own books he writes “I wore the blessed Sufi cloak of `Abd al-Qadir, there being between him and me two shaykhs.” (Manuscript Damascus, Zahiriyya #1186 H).
Another saying of Ibn Taymiyya: “As for the Sufis, they affirm the love (of Allah ), and this is more evident among them than all other issues. The basis of their Way is simply will and love. The affirmation of the love of Allah is well-known in the speech of their early and recent masters, just as it is affirmed in the Book and the Sunna and in the agreement of the Salaf.” (Ibn Taymiyya, al-Ihtijaj bi al-qadar (Cairo: al-matba`a al-salafiyya, 1394/1974) p. 38).
Another saying of Ibn Taymiyya: The lawful is that by which one approaches near to Allah . It is the way of Allah . It is righteousness, obedience, good deeds, charity, and fairness. It is the way of those on the Sufi path (al-salikin), and the method of those intending Allah and worshipping Him; it is that which is travelled by everyone who desires Allah and follows the way of self-denial (zuhd) and religious practice, and what is called poverty and tasawwuf and the like. (Ibn Taymiyya, Majmu`at al-rasa’il wa al-masa’il ( Beirut : lajnat al-turath al-`arabi) 5:83).
Another saying of Ibn Taymiyya: “The word sufi was not well-known in the first three centuries but its usage became well-known after that. More than a few Imams and shaykhs spoke about it, such as Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Abu Sulayman al Darani, and others. It has been related that Sufyan al-Thawri used it. Some have also mentioned that concerning Hasan al Basri.” (Ibn Taymiyya, Majmu`a al-fatawa al-kubra 11:5).
And: “If the Sufi wayfarer has creatively employed his efforts to the external shar`i indications and sees no clear probability concerning his preferable action, he may then feel inspired, along with his goodness of intention and reverent fear of Allah , to choose one of two actions as superior to the other. This kind of inspiration (ilham) is an indication concerning the truth. It may be even a stronger indication than weak analogies, weak hadiths, weak literalist arguments (zawahir), and weak istisHaab which are employed by many who delve into the principles, differences, and systematizing of fiqh. (Majmu` fatawa Ibn Taymiyya 10:473-474).
In his commentary Ibn Taymiyya stresses that the primacy of the Shari `a forms the soundest tradition in tasawwuf, and to argue this point he lists over a dozen early shuyukh. (Majmu` fatawa Ibn Taymiyya 10:516).
Elsewhere also, such as in his al-Risala al-safadiyya, Ibn Taymiyya defends the Sufis as those who belong to the path of the Sunna and represent it in their teachings and writings. (Ibn Taymiyya, al-Safadiyya (Riyad: matabi` hanifa, 1396/1976) 1:267).
Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya :
Ibn Qayyim said: “Religion consists entirely of good character (al-dinu kulluhu khuluq). Whoever surpasses you in good character surpasses you in religion, and the same is true of tasawwuf. Al-Kattani said: “Tasawwuf is good character (al-tasawwuf khuluq). Whoever surpasses you in good character surpasses you in tasawwuf.” (Madarij al-salikin (2:307)).
Maulana Abul ‘Ala Maudoodi :
“Sufism is a reality whose signs are the love of Allah and the love of the Prophet (s), where one absents oneself for their sake, and one is annihilated from anything other than them, and it is to know how to follow the footsteps of the Prophet (s). ..Tasawwuf searched for the sincerity in the heart and the purity in the intention and the trustworthiness in obedience in an individual’s actions.”
The Divine Law and Sufism: “Sufism and Shariah: what is the similitude of the two? They are like the body and the soul. The body is the external knowledge, the Divine Law, and the spirit is the internal knowledge.” (Mabadi’ al-Islam, p. 17).
Muhammad ‘Abduh :
“Tasawwuf appeared in the first century of Islam and it received a tremendous honor. It purified the self and straightened the conduct and gave knowledge to people from the Wisdom and Secrets of the Divine Presence.” (Majallat al-Muslim, 6th ed. 1378 H, p. 24).
Rashid Rida’ :
“Sufism was a unique pillar from the pillars of the religion. Its purpose was to purify the self and to take account of one’s daily behavior and to raise the people to a high station of spirituality.” [Majallat al-Manar, 1st year, p. 726].
Abul Hasan ‘Ali an-Nadawi :
“These Sufis were initiating people on Oneness and sincerity in following the Sunnah of the Prophet (s) and to repent from their sins and to be away from every disobedience of Allah ‘Azza wa Jall. Their guides were encouraging them to move in the way of perfect Love to Allah ‘Azza wa Jall.
“…In Calcutta India, everyday more than 1000 people were taking initiation into Sufism ...”by the influence of these Sufi people, thousands and thousands and hundreds of thousands in India found their Lord and reached a state of Perfection through the Islamic religion.” (Muslims in India, p. 140-146).
And even Ibn `Abd al-Wahhab said:
“The adherents of religion are as follows: among them are those who concern themselves with learning and fiqh, and discourse about it, such as the jurists; and among them are those who concern themselves with worship and the pursuit of the Hereafter, such as the Sufis. Allah has sent His Prophet with this religion which encompasses both kinds, that is: fiqh and tasawwuf.” (volume 3 of his complete works published by Ibn Sa`ud University, on page 31 of the Fatawa wa rasa’il, Fifth Question).
“My father Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab and I do not deny or criticize the science of Sufism, but on the contrary we support it, because it purifies the external and the internal of the hidden sins, which are related to the heart and to the outward form. Even though the individual might externally be on the right way, internally he might be on the wrong way. Sufism is necessary to correct it.” (ad-Dia’at mukathaffa did ash-shaykh ibn Abdul Wahhab, p. 85).
Here is a list of 13 of 35 Hanbali Scholars who were on the path of Tasawwuf
- Abdul Ghani ibn Abdil Wahid ibn Ali ibn Surur ibn Hasan ibn Ja’far al-Jama’ili al-Madisi
- Born 541 Hijri
- The Hafidh, the Muhaddith, jurist, ascetic.
- Ibn an-Najjar said of him: “He narrated form many and authored beautiful works in the field of Hadith, and he was strong in memory and from the people of mastery and Tajwid. He was well grounded in all of the sciences of Hadith, knowing its rules, its fundamentals, its hidden defects, its authentic and inauthentic, its abrogating and abrogated, its rare wordings and its proper pronouciation, its Fiqh and its meanings, and (he was well grounded) in precision with narrators and their conditions.
- Al-Imam al-’Ulaymi said in his work, al-Manhaj al-Ahmad (2/191): “al-Muwaffaq (Ibn Qudamah al-Maqdisi) said: ‘al-Hafidh Abdul Ghani and I both donned the Khirqah upon the hand of Shaykh ul Islam Abdul Qadir (al-Jilani), and the both of us obtained Fiqh from him and benefit from his companionship, even though we only saw him for fifty nights of his life.”
- Muwaffaq ad-Din Abdullah ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Qudamah ibn Miqdam ibn Nasr ibn Abdillah al-Maqdisi ad Dimashqi as-Salihi
- Born 541 Hijri
- Al-Imam al-Ulaymi said in al-Manhaj al-Ahmad (2/361): “The jurist, the ascetic, the Imam, the Rabbani, the Imam of Ahlus Sunnah, Mufti of the Ummah, Shaykh ul Islam, leader of the notable scholars, the notable of the devout worshippers and ascetics, the Imam of the Muhaddithun and the last of the Mujtahidun.”
- Shaykh ul Islam Ahmad ibn Taymiyah said: “No one after al-Awza’i has entered the Levant (Sham) possessing more fiqh than ash-Shaykh al-Muwaffaq.”
- Muhammad ibn AHmad ibn Abdillah ibn ‘Isa ibn Rijal Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Yunini al-Ba’li
- Born 572 Hijri
- Imam Ibn Kathir said in al-Bidayah wan Nihayah: “Taqqiyuddin, the jurist, the Hanbali, the Hafidh, the benefitial, the well versed, the pious worshipper. He heard from al-Khushu’i, Hanbal, Kindi, and al-Hafidh Abdul Ghani al-Maqdisi – who used to compliment him. He gained Fiqh from al-Muwaffaq (Ibn Qudamah), stuck with Shaykh Abdullah al-Yunini, bring him in the front (of the gatherings) and follow him in legal verdicts. He donned the Khirqah from the Shaykh of his Shaykh; Abdullah al-Bata’ihi, and became renowned in the science of Hadith…”
- Imam Ibn Muflih said in al-Maqsad al-Arshad (2/357): “And he donned the Khirqah of Tasawwuf from Shaykh Abdullah al-Bata’ihi – a companion of Shaykh Abdul Qadir (al-Jilani). He stuck closely with Shaykh Abdullah al-Yunini, the ascetic, the possessor of states (Ahwal) and miracles who was called the lion of Sham.”
- Yusuf ibn Abdir Rahman ibn Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Hammad ibn al-Jawzi al-Qurashi at-Tamimi al-Bakri al-Baghdadi
- The Jurist, the Scholar of Usul, the Exhorter, Born 580 Hijri
- Al-Ulaymi said: “He donned the Khirqah from Shaykh Diya’ ad-Din Abdul Wahab ibn Sakinah.”
- Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Abdillah ibn ‘Isa
- Burhanuddin said in al-Maqsad al-Arshad (2/356): “He was a possessor of states (Ahwal), miracles, litanies (Ar. Awrad), and acts of worship that he never left off or delayed past their time by anyones appearance-even if that person was from the kings. He did not believe in manifesting miracles. He used to say: ‘Just as Allah ordered the Prophets to manifest their miracles (Mu’jizat), he ordered the Awliya’ to conceal their Karamat.”
- Burhanuddin said in al-Maqsad al-Arshad (2/356): “He was a possessor of states (Ahwal), miracles, litanies (Ar. Awrad), and acts of worship that he never left off or delayed past their time by anyones appearance-even if that person was from the kings. He did not believe in manifesting miracles. He used to say: ‘Just as Allah
- Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Waddah ibn Abi Sa’d
- Ibn Muflih said in al-Maqsad al-Arshad (2/261): “The jurist, the Muhaddith, the grammarian, the ascetic, the writer and linguist…”
- Then he said: “…He heard from the Gnostic Shaykh Ali ibn Idris al-Ya’qubi, and donned the Khirqah from him.”
- al-Ulaymi said about him: “He accompanied the righteous and donned the Khirqah of Tasawwuf.”
- Muhammad ibn Abdillah ibn ‘Umar ibn Abil Qasim al-Baghdadi
- Born 623 Hijri
- Ibn Muflih said in al-Maqsad al-Arshad (2/424): “…and he donned the Khirqah of Tasawwuf.”
- Muhammad ibn Abdillah al-Ba’li
- Born 1104 Hijri
- In an-Na’t al-Akmal it states about him: “…the Shaykh, the righteous, the Sufi, Abus Sa’adat.”
- Ahmad ibn Ibrahim ibn Nasrillah ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Abdil Fattah ibn Hashim al-Qadi al-Kinani al-Asqalni
- Born 800 Hijri
- Ibn Humayd said in as-Suhab al-Wabilah (1/87): “And he donned the Khirqah of Tasawwuf with Talqin of Dhikr from az-Zain Abu Bakr al Khawwafi. He also accompanied al-Burhan al-Adkawi and donned it (the Khirqah) from his maternal uncle.”
- Abdul Rahman ibn Muhammad ibn Abdir Rahman ibn Yusuf ibn ‘Isa ibn Taqiyyuddin Abdul Wahid ibn Abdil Rahim ibn Hamad ibn Abdil Majid al-Qurashi al-’Umari al-’Ulaymi
- Born 860 Hijri
- The author of the book al-Manhaj al-Ahmad fi Tarjim Ashab al-Imam Ahmad
- Ash-Shaykh al-’Ulaymi said in his above-mentioned book that he donned the Khirqah with a high connected chain all the way to Shaykh Abdul Qadir al-Jilani. He said: “And I took the nobel Khirqah with a high and connected chain from as-Sayyid al-Jalil Muhyiuddin Abdul Qadir al-Jili (radiaAllahu ‘anhu) from our Shaykh- the Shaykh and Imam, the remnant of the notable scholars, the blessing of the era and worshippers, the Shaykh of the reciters in al-Quds ash-Sharif and in all of the other lands: Shamsuddin Abu Abdillah Muhammad ibn Musa ibn ‘Imran al-Muqri al-Hanfi – May Allah envelop him in His mercy and enter him into His spacious gardes. He clothed me with it (the Khirqah) with his own two blessed hands on Yawm al-Ahad (i.e. Sunday) after Dhuhr, the 16th of Sha’ban, in the year 871 in the noble Masjid al-Aqsa – may Allah honor it and magnify it – at the gate of al-Hadd from the western side…”
- Ahmad ibn ‘Abdil Aziz ibn Ali ibn Ibrahim ibn Rashid ash-Shihab al Qahiri
- Born 861 Hijri
- In ad-Daw’ al-Lami’ (1/349): “He was born approximately on one of the two Jumadas (Jumad al-Uwla or Jumad ath-Thaniyah) in the year 861. He grew up on the outskirts of Akka in Cairo. There, he grew up and memorized the Qur’an and other books suck as: al-’Umdah, al-Mughni, the Alifyah in grammar, the Mulhah, most of at-Tufi and the Shatibiyyah.”
- ash-Sha’rawi said, as quoted by Ibn Humayd in as-Suhab al-Wabilah (1/159): “In the beginning of his days, he used to censure the Sufis, but when he gathered with Sidi Ali al-Khawwas and others, he listened to them attentively and believed them. After that, he used to severely regret not formerly gathering with them in the beginning of his days. After this, the path was opened for him and he was given a mighty Kashf (unveiling-disclosure) before his death.”
- Ahmad ibn Abdillah ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Halabi al-Ba’li ad-Dimashqi
- Born 1108 Hijri
- Al-Imam al-Muradi said of him in Sulk ad-Durrar (1/131): “He is the Shaykh, the Imam, the ascetic, the abstemious, the jurist. He was a virtuous scholar acting according to his knowledge. He was a devout worshipper, humble, submissive, the remnant of practicing scholars, a scholar of inheritance and Usul. There was no one that we reached that was on his path despite the virtue which is undeniable…”
- Then he said: “He took the Khalwatiyyah path from the Ustadh, the Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Isa al-Kinani as-Salihi al-Hanbali and Shaykh Muhammad Aqilah al-Makki and Shaykh Abdullah al-Khalili…”
- Ahmad ibn Atiyyah ibn Abdil Hayy al-Qayyum ibn Abi Bakr ibn Dhahirah al-Makki
- Born 879 Hijri
- Shaykh Jarullah ibn Fahd said, as quoted by Ibn Humayd in as-Suhab al-Wabilah (1/187): “He took the path of Tasawwuf and for it, he travelled to the Mashayikh of Yemen, taking from Shaykh Isma’il al-Mushir’, and his brother Shaykh Junayd. He obtained Jadhab (divine pulling – a sufi term) and then he came to- and then his clothing became tattered. He stuck to the Mashayikh of Dhikr with seriousness and contentedness.”
“a day when wealth will not avail, nor sons, but only him who brings Allah a sound heart“
(Qur’an 26:88).
55 Responses to “The Scholars and Tasawwuf”
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As-salamu ‘alaykum,
Masha’Allah
. Excellent compilation. Would you grant me permission to post it on http://www.ahlussunna.org (as is and with a link back to this page)?
Assalamu’alaikum,
Jzk. Of course you may habibi. Permission granted.
Salaam
Nice.
GRATE INFORMATION
SubhanAllah! Allah
hu Akbar!
Imam Shafi’i
He is Muhammad ibn Idris ibn Abbas Al Shafi’i, the founder of the Shafi’i Madhab, the
blessed, the one with the eloquent tongue, who said:
’s truth I advise you sincerely.”
Hashimi, the peerless one, the Mujtahid Imam, the Faqih, the Wali, the Imam of Guidance, the one who Allah
“Be both a Faqih and a Sufi. Do not be one. Verily by Allah
(Diwan Imam Shafi’i. Dar Al Fikr ed. Pg: 47)
Imam Sufyan ath-Thawri
He is Sufyan ibn Sa’id ibn Masruq Abu Abdullah Ath-Thawri, the Mujtahid Imam,
Contemporary of Imam Abu Hanifa, the Shaikh Al Islam and the leader of the Ulema of his time according to Dhahabi. Many people praised him. Imam Shafi’i stated, “I never saw a man who follows the Sunnah so rigorously than Sufyan.” Imam Al Awzai said, “If I were to choose someone to lead this Ummah, it would be Sufyan.” Ibn Ayyash said, “If I see a man accompany Sufyan, he becomes great in my eyes.” Sufyan Thawri said regarding the Sufis:
خلف بن تميم سمعت سفيان يقول وجدت قلبي يصلح بين مكة والمدينة مع قوم غرباء أصحاب صوف وعباء
- I found the redress of my heart between Makka and Madina with a group of stranger’s,
people of wool and cloaks. (Siyar Al Ulum by Imam Dhahabi, Vol 7 #269)
He also said:
قال أبو نعيم الحافظ أبو هاشم من قدماء زهاد بغداد ومن أقران أبي عبد الله البراثي وبلغني أن سفيان الثوري جلس إليه
وقال ما زلت آرائي وأنا لا أشعر حتى جالست أبا هاشم فأخذت منه ترك الرثاء
- If it were not for Abu Hashim al-Sufi I would have never perceived the presence of the
subtlest forms of hypocrisy in the self.
It should be noted here that Abu Hashim was the same person who said:
محمد ين حسين قال حدثني بعض أصحابنا قال قال أبو هاشم الزاهد ان الله عز وجل وسم الدنيا بالوحشة ليكون انس
المريدين به دونها وليقبل المطيعون له بالاعراض عنها وأهل المعرفة بالله فيها مستوحشون والى الآخرة مشتاقون
- Allah
has stamped alienation upon the world in order that the friendly company of the
are strangers in the world and long for the hereafter.
muridin (seekers) consists solely in being with Him and not with the world, and in order that those who obey Him come to Him by means of avoiding the world. The People of Knowledge of Allah
(Sifat Al Safwa by Ibn Jawzi, under the title Abu Hashim al Zahid)
Imam Al Qasim Al Jui
He is Abu Abdul Malik Al Qasim ibn Uthman, the Imam, and the Sufi. Imam Dhahabi said
regarding him in his Siyar al Ulum:
القاسم بن عثمان العبدي الدمشقي شيخ الصوفية ورفيق أحمد بن أبي الحواري عرف الجوعي الإمام القدوة الولي
المحدث أبو عبدالملك
قلت كان زاهد الوقت هذا الجوعي بدمشق والسري السقطي ببغداد وأحمد بن حرب بنيسابور وذو النون بمصر ومحمد بن
أسلم بطوس وأين مثل هؤلاء السادة ما يملأ عيني إلا التراب أو من تحت التراب
The Imam, the exemplar, the saint, the Muhaddith… the Shaykh of the Sufis and the friend of hmad ibn al-Hawari…I (Imam Dhahabi) say: the ascetics of that time were al-Ju`i in Damascus, al Sari al Saqti in Baghdad, Ahmad ibn Harb in Naysabur, Dhul Nun in Egypt, and Muhammad ibn Aslam in Tus. Where are the likes of such masters? Only the dust will fill my eyes, or what is under the dust!
Imam Junayd Al Baghdadi
He is Junayd ibn ibn Muhammad al Junayd, The Shafi’i Imam, Leader of his time, and shaikh of the Sufis. Ibn Qayyim Al Jawziyyah narrates in his Madarij As Salikin, among his sayings, Imam Junayd’s saying:
سمعت الجنيد يقول : المريد الصادق غني من العلماء. وقال أيضا : سمعت الجنيد يقول : إذا أراد الله بالمريد خيرا :
أوقعه إلى الصوفيه ومنعه صحبة القراء
- When Allah
desires great goodness for the seeker, He makes him flock to the Sufis and
prevents him from accompanying those who read books.
Imam Ibn Qayyim Al Jawziyyah
Imam Ibn Qayyim, the student of shaikh Ibn Taymiyya said in his Madarij:
بها يدرك التصوف والتصوف : زاوية من زوايا السلوك الحقيقي وتزكية النفس وتهذيبها لتستعد لسيرها إلى صحبة الرفيق
الأعلى ومعية من تحبه فإن المرء مع من أحب كما قال سمنون : ذهب المحبون بشرف الدنيا والآخرة فإن المرء مع من أحب
والله أعلم
- Tasawwuf is one of the cornerstones of true wayfaring and the purification and disciplining of the self so that it may prepare itself for its journey to the company of the Highest Assembly and for being together with its beloved. For ‘One is with the one he loves’ as Samnoon stated:
have gained the honor of both the world and the hereafter, for ‘he is with he one he loves.’ And Allah 
knows best.
‘The lovers of Allah
Imam Ibn Khaldun
He is the author of the famous Muqaddima. He said in his Muqaddima:
للمتكلمين واصلها كتاب الإرشاد وما حذوه ومن أراد إدخال الرد على الفلاسفة في عقائد فعليه بكتب الغزالي والإمام ابن
الخطيب فإنها وإن وقع فيها مخالفة للإصلاح القديم فليس فيها من الاختلاط في المسائل والالتباس في الموضوع ما في
طريقة هؤلاء المتأخرين من بعدهم وعلى الجملة فينبغي أن يعلم أن هذا العلم الذي هو علم الكلام غير ضروري لهذا
العهد على طالب العلم إذ الملحدة والمبتدعة قد انقرضوا والأئمة من أهل السنة كفونا شأنهم فيما كتبوا ودونوا الأدلة إنما
احتاجوا حين دافعوا وانصرفوا وأما لأن فلم يبق منها إلا كلام تنزه البارئ عن كثير إيهامه وإطلاقه ولقد سئل الجنيد رحمه
االله عن قوم مر بهم بعض المتكلمين يفيضون فيه فقال ما هؤلاء فقيل قوم ينزهون الله بالأدلة عن صفات الحدوث وسمات
النقص فقال نفي العيب حيث يستحل العيب عيب لكن فائدته في آحاد الناس وطلبة العلم فائدة معتبرة إذ لا يحسن
بحامل السنة الجهل بالحجج النظرية على عقائدهم والله ولي المؤمنين الفصل الحادي عشر في علم التصوف هذا العلم من
العلوم الشرعية الحادثة في الملة وأصله أن طريقة هؤلاء القوم لم تزل عند سلف الأمة وكبارها من الصحابة والتابعين ومن
بعدهم طريقة الحق والهداية واصلها العكوف على العبادة والانقطاع إلى الله تعالى والإعراض عن زخرف الدنيا وزينتها
والزهد فيما يقبل عليه الجمهور من لذة ومال وجاه والانفراد عن الخلق للعبادة وكان ذلك عاما في الصحابة والسلف فلما
فشا الإقبال على الدنيا في القرن الثاني وما بعده وجنح الناس ف إلى مخالطة الدنيا اختص المقبلون على العبادة باسم
الصوفية والمتصوفية
- Tasawwuf is one of the latter-day sciences of the Law in the Islamic Community. The
; shunning of the adornment and beauty of the world; self- deprivation of pleasure, money, and title in the manner agreed upon by the vast majority of the scholars; and isolation from creatures in seclusion and devotion to worship. All these aspects were widespread among the Companions and the Salaf, but with the pervasiveness of worldliness in the second century and the next, and the general inclination of the people towards the world, those who remained attached to worship became know under the name of Sufis.
foundation of tasawwuf, however, is (more ancient, as seen in the fact) that these folk and
their way have always been present among the Salaf and among the most senior of the
Companions and the Successors, and their way is the way of truth and guidance. The
foundation of the way of the Sufis is self- restraint in the world and utter dependence on Allah
Imam Ash-Shatibi
He was Abu Ishaq al Shatibi Al Maliki, one of the well-known scholars in Usul Al Fiqh and
language. He said in his book Al I’tisam:
وإنما خصصنا هذا الموضع بالذكر وان كان فيما تقدم من النقل كفاية لان كثيرا من الجهال يعتقدون فيهم انهم
متساهلون في الاتباع وان اختراع العبادات والتزام ما لم يأت في الشرع التزامه مما يقولون به ويعملون عليه وحاشاهم من
ذلك ان يعتقدوه او يقولوا به فأول شيء بنوا عليه طريقتهم اتباع السنه واجتناب ما خالفها حتى زعم مذكرهم وحافظ
مأخذهم وعمود نحلتهم ابو القاسم القشيري انهم انما اختصوا باسم التصوف انفرادا به عن اهل البدع فذكر ان المسلمين
بعد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم
لم يتسم افاضلهم في عصرهم باسم علم سوى الصحبة اذ لا فضيلة فوقها ثم سمى من يليهم التابعين ورأوا هذا الاسم
أشرف الأسماء ثم قيل لمن بعدهم اتباع التابعين ثم اختلف الناس وتباينت المراتب فقيل لخواص الناس ممن له شدة عناية
في الدين الزهاد والعباد
قال ثم ظهرت البدع وادعى كل فريق ان فيهم زهادا وعبادا فانفرد خواص اهل السنة المراعون انفسهم مع الله الحافظون
قلوبهم عن الغفلة باسم التصوف
- Many of the ignorant think that the Sufis are lax in conforming to Sharia. Far be it from them to be attributed such a belief! The very first foundation of their path is the Sunnah and the avoidance of what contravenes it! Their chief spokesman and the master of their ways and pillar of their group, Abu al-Qasim al-Qushayri, declared that they acquired the name of tasawwuf in order to dissociate themselves from the People of Innovation. He mentioned that the most honorable of Muslims after the Prophet did not give themselves, in their time, any other title than Companions, as there is no merit above that of being a Companion — then those who followed them were called the Successors. After that the people differed and level of disparity among them became more apparent. The elite among whom prudence in belief was seen to be intense were then called zuhhad and `ubbad. Subsequently all kinds of innovations made their appearance, and the elite of Ahlus-Sunnah who observed their obligations with Allah
, and preserved their hearts from heedlessness became unique in their kind under the name of tasawwuf.
Imam an-Nawawi
He is Imam Yahya Ibn Sharaf An-Nawawi, the Sufi, The Wali of Allah
and the leading scholar in the Shafi’i Madhab. His tasawwuf is clear from his book Al-Bustan Al-`Arifin fiz-Zuhd wat-Tasawwuf, and also Imam Sakhawi’s labelling him as “The Pole of Noble Saints”. He says:
“The way of Tasawwuf is based on five principles: having godfearingness privately and publicly, living according to the Sunnah in word and deed, indifference to whether others accept or reject one, satisfaction with Allah
Most High in dearth and plenty, and returning to Allah 
in happiness or affliction. The principles of treating the illnesses of the soul are also five: lightening the stomach by diminishing one’s food and drink, taking refuge in Allah 
Most High from the unforeseen when it befalls, shunning situations that involve what one fears to fall victim to, continually asking for Allah 
’s forgiveness and His blessings upon the Prophet (Allah 
bless him and give him peace) night and day with full presence of mind, and keeping the company of him who guides one to Allah 
.”
asalamu alaikum
may I be of help as to clarify the classes of sufism.
Ibn Taymiyyah classifies tassawuf in three categories
In the first category of sufis whom he calls mashaikh al-Islam, mashaikh al-Kitab wa al-Sunnah and a’immat al-huda, [Majmu'at al-Rasa'il wa al-Masa'il, vol. 1, p. 179, and Majmu Fatawa Shaykh al-Islam, vol. 10, pp. 516-7 and vol. 11, p. 233] he mentions Fudayl b. Iyad, Ibrahim b. Adham, Shaqiq al-Balkhi, Abu Sulayman al-Darani, Maruf al-Karkhi, Bishr ëa-Hafi, Sari al-Saqati, al-Junayd b. Muhammad, Sahl b. Abd Allah
al-Tustari and Amr b. Uthman al-Makki.
Later sufis whom he places in this category are: Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani, Shaykh Hammad al-Dabbas, and Shaykh Abu al-Bayan. These sufis, Ibn Taymiyah says, were never intoxicated, did not lose their sense of discrimination, or said or did anything against the Quran and the Sunnah. Their lives and experiences conformed with the Shariah (mustaqim al-ahwal) [Majmu Fatawa Shaykh al-Islam, vol. 10, pp. 516-7].
The second category consists of those sufis whose experience of fana and intoxication (sukr) weakened their sense of discrimination, and made them utter words that they later realized to be erroneous when they became sober [Majmu Fatawa Shaykh ël-Islam, vol. 10, pp. 220-1]. Some of them also did things [Majmu Fatawa Shaykh ël-Islam, vol. 10, pp. 382, 557] under intoxication of which the Shariah does not approve, but sooner or later they became sober and lived well. In this category Ibn Taymiyah mentions the names of Abu Yazid al-Bostami, Abu al-Husayn al-Nuri and Abu Bakr al-Shibli. But he condemns what they said or did in that state and offers apology for them on the ground that they were intoxicated (sukran), and had lost control over reason. [Majmu'at ël-Rasa'il wa ël-Masa'il, vol. 1, p. 168; Majmu Fatawa Shaykh ël-Islam, vol. 10, pp. 382, 557].
His criticism is directed to the third category of sufis who have believed in ideas and expounded doctrines which contradict Islamic principles [ wihdatul woojood and Al-hulool {incarnation}, or who have indulged in practices which are condemned by the Shariah.
The first sufi in this group is al-Hallaj [ the aquidah of God incarnate similar to all mushriks] [Majmu'at ël-Rasa'il wa ël-Masa'il, vol. 1, pp. 81, 83; Majmu Fatawa Shaykh ël-Islam, vol. 11, p. 18]. . . . Next to al-Hallaj *censored*, the sufis who draw strong criticism from Ibn Taymiyah are the ones who expound the doctrine of One Being or unity with God (wahdat al-wujud), such as Ibn ël-Arabi, Sadr ël-Din ël-Qunawi, Ibn Sab’in and Tilimsani. . . . . *censored* Ibn ël-Arabi, who is the central figure in this context (of wahdat ël-wujud ), Ibn Taymiyah subjects him to detailed criticism.
Ibn Taymiyah does not object to intensification of some approved forms of dhikr, or reliance on some methods for purifying the soul, with the neglect of others, provided it is within the limits of the Shariah [Majmu'at ël-Rasa'il wa ël-Masa'il, vol. 4, pp. 86-87].
It is worthwhile to note that Al-Hallaj was executed in Baghdad in 922 for saying “Ana al-Haqq” (”I am the Truth,” i.e., God), and his former teacher, al-Junayd, was among those who gave the verdict that he should die. [See Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami, in Tabakat al-Sufiyya, Edited by Nur al-Din Shariba, Maktaba al-Khanji, Cairo, 1986, pp. 307-8, for details.]
The third category of Sufis which includes two sub-categories, regardless of their tareeqah, 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.
Also, they 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 [ Hinduism, pantheism, etc].
They unscrupulously 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).”
Similarly to Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn Al-jawzee (5 AH), Ibn Qayyim Jawziyyah refuted, on many occasions, the heresy of Al Fanaa (annihilation), which is a key element in the Sufi thought. Once the Sufi becomes constant in dhikr – remembrance of Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta’aala), they claim that he acquires sufficient tranquility of heart to experience a delusion that helps them 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.
This is clear disbelief since Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta’aala) says:
“There is none like unto Him; He is the All-Hearer, the All-Knower.” [42:11]
Like most Sufi tenets, fanaa, as understood by these extremists [the third category], is mentioned neither in the Qur’aan nor in the Sunnah. It is rather a Sufi gimmick, a way to fit in Hinduism and a satanic deception.
__________________________________________
the point of this is, basically of these aimah as is udnerstood from their bio’s that they fall under the first class with the exception of a few of them. There iso nly one problem. the various turuqaat worldwide, have converted tassawuf to a Futuhaat al-Makiyyan style tassawuf, much like Abu M’ali mutazilified al-Ash’ari’s madhab, and from that point on the entire world of sufism enters into this more second and third classes of tassawuf as explaiend by the sufi, al-Harrani Shaykhul-Islaam. Raqaa’iq is not what defines sufism now as does the practice of waseela to other than Allah
, and mystical corruptions of hulooliyyah as expounded by modern day mutasawwifa along with dancing and music and extacy filled environments where jinn enter the possessed, and the possessed calling it f’ana.
I beleive that if one is going to expound on something, they clarify its matter and not leav the matter vague, as he reader is left to assume that the mere name or title “sufi” and the practices that we have now are in fayt equal as those sufis who came before like al-Harawee al-hanbali, as the average commoner will not udnerstand the differece and judge an entirely different faction of people based on the mere attribution of a label that resembles another label of another group of people.
asalamu alaikum
In short I am a takfiri pseudo-salafi
Does it really matter what Ibn Taymiyyah thinks of tasawwuf and its people? Of course it doesn’t. He was a mubtadi’, one who innovated innovations that had never been seen before, as stated by As-Subki.
It is also my opinion that we should not even be quoting from his student ibn al qayyim, another heretic who was refuted by his generation and those after him.
As for your claim of “multazifying” Asha’rism, could you bring us an established Asha’ri who states such?
Jazakumullahu khayran for your contribution, brother boriqee.
But the following is utter nonsense, among other incorrect notions:
“Also, they 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 [ Hinduism, pantheism, etc].”
Someone who has sat with a shaykh a single day will tell you that is rubbish.
ws
One more thing that I have to get off my chest:
Some people have a tendency to differentiate between the good ‘early’ Sufis and the bad ‘later’ Sufis.
Subhanallah. They have only to open the early books to see that there is no difference, and the differentiation is based on their own misunderstanding.
See books by Imam Al-Sulami, Abu Nu’aym and others.
The thing is that tasawwuf is dhawqi – the realities have to be experienced. A bystander is merely interpreting according to his own limited (and often biased) [mis]understanding.
And alot of expressions are symbolic in the writings of the Sufi mashaikh – something the Salafis have a hard time understanding.
Let us not forget their general incapability at understanding symbolism, as in the case of the Quran.
‘Afallahu ‘anhum wa ‘anna.
Assalamu’alaikum,
I’ve edited parts of al-boriqees post. Parts edited are replaced with *censored*…those were such places where takfir was made on Sheikh Ibn ‘Arabi. I will not have him or any of the great scholars of Ahl Sunnah Wal Jama’ah berated here. These fools have no fear of Allah
or a mustard seed of shame in their hearts.
For detailed information on Ibn arabi proceed to
http://www.livingislam.org/n/iarabi_e.html#up-n2-5
And for a detailed analyses of the deviant Ibn Taimiyya proceed to
http://www.livingislam.org/n/itay_e.html
And the following a debate between the innovator Ibn Taimiyya and Sheikh Ibn ‘Ata Illah
ON TASAWWUF
al-Iskandari(d. 709)
Ibn `Ata’ Allah
The Debate with Ibn Taymiyya
One of the great sufi imams who was also known as a muhaddith, preacher, and Maliki jurist, Abu al-Fadl Ibn `Ata Allah
al-Iskandari (d. 709) is the author of al-Hikam (Aphorisms), Miftah al-falah (The key to success), al-Qasd al-mujarrad fi ma`rifat al-ism al-mufrad (The pure goal concerning knowledge of the Unique Name), Taj al-`arus al-hawi li tadhhib al-nufus (The bride’s crown containing the discipline of souls), `Unwan al-tawfiq fi adab al-tariq (The sign of success concerning the discipline of the path), the biographical al-Lata’if fi manaqib Abi al-`Abbas al-Mursi wa shaykhihi Abi al-Hasan (The subtle blessings in the saintly lives of Abu al-`Abbas al-Mursi and his master Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili), and others. He was Abu al-`Abbas al-Mursi’s (d. 686) student and the second successor of the Sufi founder, Imam Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili.
Ibn `Ata’ Allah
was one of those who confronted Ibn Taymiyya for his excesses in attacking those of the Sufis with whom he disagreed. He never refers to Ibn Taymiyya by name in his works, but it is clearly of him that he speaks when he says, in his Lata’if, that Allah 
has put the Sufis to the test through what he terms “the scholars of external learning.”1 In the pages below are the first English translation of a historical account which took place between the two.
Text of the Debate
From Usul al-Wusulby Muhammad Zaki Ibrahim Ibn Kathir, Ibn al-Athir, and other authors of biographical dictionaries and biographies have transmitted to us this authentic historical debate.2 It gives an idea of the ethics of debate among the people of learning. It documents the controversy between a pivotal personality in tasawwuf, Shaykh Ahmad Ibn Ata’ Allah
al-Iskandari, and an equally important person of the so-called “Salafi” movement, Shaykh Ahmad Ibn `Abd al-Halim Ibn Taymiyya during the Mamluke era in Egypt under the reign of the Sultan Muhammad Ibn Qalawun (al-Malik al-Nasir).
The Testimony of Ibn Taymiyya to Ibn `Ata’ Allah: Shaykh Ibn Taymiyya had been imprisoned in Alexandria. When the Sultan pardoned him, he came back to Cairo. At the time of the evening prayer he went to al-Azhar mosque where salat al-maghrib was being led by Shaykh Ahmad Ibn `Ata Allah
al-Iskandari. Following the prayer, Ibn `Ata’ Allah 
was surprised to discover that Ibn Taymiyya had been praying behind him. Greeting him with a smile, the Sufi shaykh cordially welcomed Ibn Taymiyya’s arrival to Cairo, saying: “as-Salamu alaykum”. Then Ibn `Ata’ Allah 
started to talk with the learned visitor.
Ibn `Ata’ Allah: “Ordinarily, I pray the evening prayer in the Mosque of Imam Husayn and the night prayer here. But look how the Divine plan works itself out! Allah
has ordained that I should be the first one to greet you (after your return to Cairo). Tell me, O faqih, do you blame me for what happened?
Ibn Taymiyya: “I know you intended me no harm, but our differences of opinion still stand. In any case, whoever has harmed me in any way, from this day on I hereby exonerate and free him from any blame in the matter.”
Ibn `Ata’ Allah: “What is it you know about me, Shaykh Ibn Taymiyya?”
Ibn Taymiyya: “I know you to be a man of scrupulous piety, abundant learning, integrity and truthfulness in speech. I bear witness that I have seen no one like you either in Egypt or Syria who loves Allah
more nor who is more self-effacing in Him nor who is more obedient in carrying out what He has commanded and in refraining from what He has forbidden. Nevertheless, we have our differences. What do you know about me? Are you claiming that I am misguided when I deny the validity of calling on anyone save Allah 
for aid (istighatha)?”
Ibn `Ata’ Allah: “Surely, my dear colleague, you know that istighatha or calling for help is the same as tawassul or seeking a means and asking for intercession (shafa`a); and that the Messenger, on him be peace, is the one whose help is sought since he is our means and he the one whose intercession we seek.”
Ibn Taymiyya: “In this matter, I follow what the Prophet’s Sunna has laid down in the Shari`a. For it has been transmitted in a sound hadith: “I have been granted the power of intercession.”3 I have also collected the sayings on the Qur’anic verse: “It may be that thy Lord will raise thee (O Prophet) to a praised estate” (17:79) to the effect that the “praised estate” is intercession. Moreover, when the mother of the Commander of the Faithful `Ali died, the Prophet prayed to Allah
at her grave and said:O Allah 
who lives and never dies, who quickens and puts to death, forgive the sins of my mother Fatima bint Asad, make wide the place wherein she enters through the intercession of me, Thy Prophet, and the Prophets who came before me. For Thou art the most merciful of those capable of having mercy.4
This is the intercession that belongs to the Prophet, on him be peace. As for seeking the help of someone other than Allah
, it smacks of idolatry; for the Prophet commanded his cousin `Abd Allah 
ibn `Abbas not to ask of anyone to help him other than Allah 
.”5
Ibn `Ata’ Allah: May Allah
cause you to prosper, O faqih! As for the advice which the Prophet — on him be peace — gave to his cousin Ibn Abbas, he wanted him to draw near to Allah 
not through his familial relationship to the Prophet but through his knowledge. With regard to your understanding of istighatha as being seeking the aid of someone other than Allah 
which is idolatry, I ask you: Is there any Muslim possessed of real faith and believing in Allah 
and His Prophet who thinks there is someone other than Allah 
who has autonomous power over events and who is able to carry out what He has willed with regard to them? Is there any true believer who believes that there is someone who can reward him for his good deeds and punish him for his bad ones other than Allah 
?
Besides this, we must consider that there are expressions which should not be taken just in their literal sense. This is not because of fear of associating a partner with Allah
and in order to block the means to idolatry. For whoever seeks help from the Prophet only seeks his power of intercession with Allah 
as when you yourself say: “This food satisfies my appetite.” Does the food itself satisfy your appetite? Or is it the case that it is Allah 
who satisfies your appetite through the food?
As for your statement that Allah
has forbidden Muslims to call upon anyone other than Himself in seeking help, have you actually seen any Muslim calling on someone other than Allah 
? The verse you cite from the Qur’an was revealed concerning the idolaters and those who used to call on their false gods and ignore Allah 
. Whereas, the only way Muslims seek the help of the Prophet is in the sense of tawassul or seeking a means, by virtue of the privilege he has received from Allah 
(bi haqqihi `inda Allah 
), and tashaffu` or seeking intercession, by virtue of the power of intercession which Allah 
has bestowed on him.
As for your pronouncement that istighatha or seeking help is forbidden in the Shari`a because it can lead to idolatry, if this is the case, then we ought also to prohibit grapes because they are means to making wine, and to castrate unmarried men because not to do so leaves in the world a means to commit fornication and adultery.”
At the latter comment both the shaykhs laughed. Ibn `Ata Allah
continued: “I am acquainted with the all-inclusiveness and foresight of the legal school founded by your Shaykh, Imam Ahmad, and know the comprehensiveness of your own legal theory and about its principle of blocking the means to evil (sadd al-dhara’i`) as well as the sense of moral obligation a man of your proficiency in Islamic jurisprudence and integrity must feel. But I realize also that your knowledge of language demands that you search out the hidden meanings of words which are often shrouded behind their obvious senses. As for the Sufis, meaning for them is like a spirit, and the words themselves are like its body. You must penetrate deeply into what is behind the verbal body in order to seize the deeper reality of the word’s spirit.
Now you have found a basis in your ruling against Ibn `Arabi in the Fusus al-hikam, the text of which has been tampered with by his opponents not only with things he did not say, but with statements he could not even have intended saying (given the character of his Islam). When Shaykh al-Islam al-`Izz ibn `Abd al-Salam understood what Shaykh Ibn `Arabi had actually said and analyzed, grasped and comprehended the real meaning of his symbolic utterances, he asked Allah
’s pardon for his former opinion about the Shaykh and acknowledged that Muhyiddin ibn `Arabi was an Imam of Islam.6
As for the statement of al-Shadhili against Ibn Arabi, you should know that Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili is not the person who said it but one of the students of the Shadhiliyya. Furthermore, in making this statement that student was talking about some of the followers of Shadhili. Thus, his words were taken in a fashion he himself never intended.
“What do you think about the Commander of the Faithful, Sayyidina `Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah
be pleased with him?”
Ibn Taymiyya: In the hadith the Prophet, on him be peace, said: “I am the city of knowledge and `Ali is its door.”7 Sayyidina `Ali is the one mujahid who never went out to battle except to return victoriously. What scholar or jurist who came after him struggled for the sake of Allah
using tongue, pen and sword at the same time? He was a most accomplished Companion of the Prophet — may Allah 
honor his countenance. His words are a radiant lamp which have illumined me during the entire course of my life after the Qur’an and Sunna. Ah! one who is ever short of provision and long in his journeying.
Ibn `Ata’ Allah: Now, did Imam `Ali ask anyone to take his side in a faction? For this faction has claimed that the Angel Gabriel made a mistake and delivered the revelation to Muhammad — on him be peace instead of `Ali! Or did he ask them to claim that Allah
had become incarnate in his body and the Imam had become divine? Or did he not fight and slay them and give a fatwa (legal opinion) that they should be killed wherever they were found?
Ibn Taymiyya: “On the basis of this very fatwa, I went out to fight them in the mountains of Syria for more than ten years.
Ibn `Ata’ Allah: And Imam Ahmad — may Allah
be pleased with him — questioned the actions of some of his followers who were in the habit of going on patrols, breaking open casks of wine (in the shops of their Christian vendors or wherever they find them), spilling their contents on the floor, beating up singing girls, and confronting people in the street. All of this they did in the name of enjoining good and prohibiting what is forbidden. However, the Imam had not given any fatwa that they should censure or rebuke all those people. Consequently, these followers of his were flogged, thrown into jail, and paraded mounted on assback facing the tail.
Now, is Imam Ahmad himself responsible for the bad behavior which the worst and most vicious Hanbalis continue to perpetrate right down to our own day, in the name of enjoining good and prohibiting what is forbidden?
All this is to say that Shaykh Muhyiddin Ibn `Arabi is innocent with respect to what those of his followers do who absolve people of legal and moral obligations set down by the religion and from committing deeds that are prohibited. Do you not see this?
Ibn Taymiyya: “But where do they stand with respect to Allah
? Among you Sufis are those who assert that when the Prophet — on him be peace — gave glad tidings to the poor and said that they would enter paradise before the rich, the poor fell into ecstasy and began to tear their garments into pieces; that at that moment the Angel Gabriel descended from heaven and said to the Prophet that Allah 
had sought his rightful portion from among these torn garments; and that the Angel Jibril carried one of them and hung it on Allah 
’s throne. For this reason, they claim, Sufis wear patchworked garments and call themselves fuqara’ or the “poor”!
Ibn `Ata’ Allah: “Not all Sufis wear patchworked vests and clothing. Here I am before you: what do you disapprove of in my appearance?”
Ibn Taymiyya: “You are from the men of Shari`a and teach in al-Azhar.”
Ibn `Ata’ Allah: “al-Ghazali was equally an Imam both in Shari`a and tasawwuf. He treated legal rulings, the Sunna, and the Shari’a with the spirit of the Sufi. And by applying this method he was able to revive the religious sciences. We know that tasawwuf recognizes that what is sullied has no part in religion and that cleanliness has the character of faith. The true and sincere sufi must cultivate in his heart the faith recognized by the Ahl al-Sunna.
Two centuries ago the very phenomena of pseudo-Sufis appeared which you yourself criticize and reject. There were persons who sought to diminish the performance of worship and religious obligations, lighten fasting and belittle the five daily prayers. They ran wild into the vast arenas of sloth and heedlessness, claiming that they had been liberated from the shackles of the slavery of divine worship. Not satisfied with their own vile deeds until they have claimed intimations of the most extravagent realities and mystical states just as Imam al-Qushayri himself described in his well-known Risala, which he directed against them. He also set down in detail what constituted the true path to Allah
, which consists in taking a firm hold upon the Qur’an and the Sunna. The Imams of tasawwuf desire to arrive at the true reality not only by means of rational evidences thought up by the human mind which are capable of being false as well as true, but by means of purifying the heart and purging the ego through a course of spiritual exercises. They cast aside concerns for the life of this world inasmuch as the true servant of Allah 
does not busy himself with anything else except love of Allah 
and His Prophet. This is a high order of business and one which makes a servant pious and healthy and prosperous. It is an occupation that reforms those things that corrupt the human creature, such as love of money and ambition for personal standing in society. However, it is an order of business which is constituted by nothing less than spiritual warfare for the sake of Allah 
.
My learned friend, interpreting texts according to their literal meanings can sometimes land a person in error. Literalism is what has caused your judgments about Ibn `Arabi who is one of the Imams of our faith known for his scrupulous piety. You have understood what he wrote in a superficial fashion; whereas sufis are masters of literary figures which intimate much deeper meanings, hyperbolic language that indicates heightened spiritual awareness and words which convey secrets concerning the realm of the unseen.”
Ibn Taymiyya: “This argument is against you, not in your favor. For when Imam al-Qushayri saw his followers deviating from the path to Allah
he took steps to improve them. What do the sufi shaykhs in our day do? I only ask that Sufis follow the path of the Sunna of these great and pious ancestors of our faith (Salaf): the ascetics (zuhhad) among the Companions, the generation which suceeded them, and the generation that followed in their footsteps to their best! Whoever acts in this way I esteem him highly and consider him to be an Imam of the religion. As for unwarranted innovation and the insertion of the ideas of idolaters such as the Greek philosophers and the Indian Buddhists, or like the idea that man can incarnate Allah 
(hulul) or attain unity with Him (ittihad), or the theory that all existence is one in being (wahdat al-wujud) and other such things to which your Shaykh summons people: this is clearly godlessness and unbelief.”
Ibn `Ata’ Allah: “Ibn `Arabi was one of the greatest of the jurists who followed the school of Dawud al-Zahiri after Ibn Hazm al-Andalusi, who is close to your methodology in Islamic law, O Hanbalis! But although Ibn `Arabi was a Zahiri (i.e. a literalist in matters of Islamic law), the method he applied to understand ultimate reality (al-haqiqa) was to search out the hidden, spiritual meaning (tariq al-batin), that is, to purify the inward self (tathir al-batin).8 However, not all followers of the hidden are alike. In order that you not err or forget, repeat your reading of Ibn `Arabi with fresh understanding of his symbols and inspirations. You will find him to be very much like al-Qushayri. He has taken his path in tasawwuf under the umbrella of the Qur’an and Sunna just like the Proof of Islam, Shaykh al-Ghazali, who carried on debates about doctrinal differences in matters of creed and issues of worship but considered them occupations lacking in real value and benefit. He invited people to see that the love of Allah
is the way of a proper servant of Allah 
with respect to faith.
Do you have anything to object to in this, O faqih? Or do you love the disputations of Islamic jurists? Imam Malik, may Allah
be pleased with him, exercised extreme caution about such wrangling in matters of creed and used to say: “Whenever a man enters into arguing about issues of creed it diminishes his faith.” Similarly al-Ghazali said: The quickest means of drawing near to Allah 
is through the heart, not the body. I do not mean by heart this fleshy thing palpable to seeing, hearing, sight and touch. Rather, I have in mind the inner most secret of Allah 
himself the Exalted and Great which is imperceptible to sight or touch. Indeed, the Ahl al-Sunna are the very ones who named the Sufi shaykh al-Ghazali: “the Proof of Islam,”9 and there is no-one to gainsay his opinions even if one of the scholars has been excessive in praising his book when he said: “The Ihya’ `ulum al-din was almost a Qur’an.”10
The carrying out of religious obligation (taklif) in the view of Ibn `Arabi and Ibn al-Farid is a worship whose mihrab, or prayer-niche indicating the orientation of prayer, is its inward aspect, not merely its external ritual. For what is the good of you standing and sitting in prayer if your heart is preoccupied with something other than Allah
. Allah 
praises people when He says in the Qur’an: “Those who are humble in their prayer” (23:2) and He blames peoples when He says: “Those who are heedless in their prayer” (107:5). This is what Ibn `Arabi means when he says: “Worship is the mihrab of the heart, that is, the inward aspect of prayer not the outward.”
The Muslim is unable to arrive at the knowledge of certitude (`ilm al-yaqin) nor at certitude itself (`ayn al-yaqin) of which the Qur’an speaks unless he evacuates his heart from whatever distracts it in the way of wordly cravings and center himself on inward contemplation. Then the outpourings of Divine reality will fill his heart, and from there will spring his sustenance. The real sufi is not the one who derives his sustenace from asking and begging people for alms. The only one who is sincere is he who rouses his heart and spirit to self-obliteration in Allah
by obedience to Allah 
. Perhaps Ibn `Arabi caused the jurists to rise up against him because of his contempt of their preoccupation with arguing and wrangling about credal matters, actual legal cases, and hypothetical legal situations, since he saw how much it distracted them from purifying the heart. He named them “the jurists of women’s menses.” May Allah 
grant you refuge from being among them! Have you read Ibn `Arabi’s statement that: “Whoever builds his faith exclusively on demonstrative proofs and deductive arguments, builds a faith on which it is impossible to rely. For he is affected by the negativities of constant objections. Certainty (al-yaqin) does not derive from the evidences of the mind but pours out from the depths of the heart.” Have you ever read talk as pure and sweet as this?”
Ibn Taymiyya: “You have spoken well if only your master were as you say, for he would then be as far as possible from unbelief. But what he has said cannot sustain the meanings that you have given in my view.”11
1 Ibn `Ata Allah
, Lata’if al-minan fi manaqib Abi al-`Abbas.on the margins of Sha`rani’s Lata’if al-minan wa al-akhlaq (Cairo, 1357) 2:17-18.
. If you must seek help, seek help from Allah 
…” (ya ghulam ala u`allimuka…): Tirmidhi (#2516 hasan sahih); Bayhaqi in Asma’ wa al-sifat p. 75-76 and Shu`ab al-iman 2:27-28 (#1074-1075) and 7:203 (#10000); Ahmad 1:307; Tabarani; Ibn Hibban; Abu Dawud; al-Hakim; Nawawi included it in his 40 Hadiths (#19) but Ibn al-Jawzi placed it among the forgeries.
2 See Ibn al-`Imad, Shadharat al-dhahab (1350/1931) 6:20f.; al- Zirikly, al-A`lam (1405/1984) 1:221; Ibn Hajar, al-Durar al-kamina (1348/1929) 1:148-273; Al-Maqrizi, Kitab al-suluk (1934-1958) 2:40-94; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa al-nihaya (1351/1932) 14:45; Subki, Tabaqat al-shafi`iyya (1324/1906) 5:177f. and 9:23f.; Suyuti, Husn al-muhadara fi akhbar misr wa al-qahira (1299/) 1:301; al-Dawadari, al-Durr al-fakhir fi sirat al-malik al-Nasir (1960) p. 200f.; al-Yafi`i, Mir’at al-janan (1337/1918) 4:246; Sha`rani, al-Tabaqat al-kubra (1355/1936) 2:19f.; al-Nabahani, Jami` karamat al-awliya’ (1381/1962) 2:25f.
3 Bukhari and Muslim, hadith of Jabir: “I have been given five things which no prophet was given before me…”
4 al-Tabarani relates it in al-Kabir. Ibn Hibban and al-Hakim declare it sound. Ibn Abi Shayba on the authority of Jabir relates a similar narrative. Similar also is what Ibn `Abd Al-Barr on the authority of Ibn `Abbas and Abu Nu`aym in his Hilya on the authority of Anas Ibn Malik relate, as al-Hafiz al-Suyuti mentioned in the Jami` al-Kabir. Haythami says in Majma` al-zawa’id: “Tabarani’s chain contains Rawh ibn Salah who has some weakness but Ibn Hibban and al-Hakim declared him trustworthy. The rest of its sub-narrators are the men of sound hadith.” This Fatima is `Ali’s mother, who raised the Prophet.
5 Hadith: “O young man… if you have need to ask, ask of Allah
6 See al-`Izz ibn `Abd al-Salam al-Maqdisi’s Zabad khulasat al-tasawwuf (The quintessence of self-purification) (Tanta: al-matba`a al-yusufiyya). Published under the title Hall al-rumuz wa-mafatih al-kunuz (The explanation of symbols and the keys to treasures) (Cairo: al-maktab al-fanni li al-nashr, 1961). Note that this is a different author than Shaykh al-Islam al-`Izz ibn `Abd al-Salam al-Sulami.
7 From the Reliance of the Traveller p. 954-957: “(`Ali Qari:) The Hadith “I am the city of knowledge and `Ali is its gate” was mentioned by Tirmidhi… [who] said it was unacknowledgeable. Bukhari also said this, and said that it was without legitimate claim to authenticity. Ibn Ma`in said that it was a baseless lie, as did Abu Hatim and Yahya ibn Sa`id. Ibn Jawzi recorded it in his book of Hadith forgeries, and was confirmed by Dhahabi, and others in this. Ibn Daqiq al-`Eid said, “This Hadith is not confirmed by scholars, and is held by some to be spurious.” Daraqutni stated that it was uncorroborated. Ibn Hajar `Asqalani was asked about it and answered that it was well authenticated (hasan), not rigorously authenticated (sahih), as Hakim had said, but not a forgery (mawdu`), as Ibn Jawzi had said. This was mentioned by Suyuti. The Hadith master (hafiz) Abu Sa`id `Ala’i said, “The truth is that the Hadith is well authenticated (hasan), in view of its multiple means of transmission, being neither rigorously authenticated (sahih) nor weak (da`if), much less a forgery” (Risala al-mawdu`at, 26).”
8 This is a key equivalence in Ibn `Ata Allah
’s Hikam, for example #205: “Sometimes lights come upon you and find the heart stuffed with forms of created things, so they go back from whence they descended.” Ibn `Ata’ Allah 
, Sufi Aphorisms (Kitab al-hikam), trans. Victor Danner (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1984) p. 53.
’s own book al-Hikam is related on the authority of the great shaykh Mawlay al-`Arabi al-Darqawi by Ibn `Ajiba in Iqaz al-himam (p. 3-4): “I heard the jurist al-Bannani say: “The Hikam of Ibn `Ata’ is almost a revelation (wahy). Were it permitted to recite the daily prayer without the Qur’an, the words of the Hikam would be allowed.” He meant by this that there is nothing in the Hikam except what proceeds from the Qur’an and points back to it again, and Allah 
knows best.
9 As illustrated by Salah al-Din al-Safadi for Ghazali’s entry in his biographical dictionary: “Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad, the Proof of Islam, the Ornament of the Faith, Abu Hamid al-Tusi…” al-Safadi, al-Wafi bi al-wafayat 1:274.
10 Ironically, a similar kind of praise on Ibn `Ata’ Allah
11 In Muhammad Zaki Ibrahim, Usul al-wusul (Cairo: 1404/ 1984) 299-310.
“Reproduced with permission from Shaykh M. Hisham Kabbani’s
The Repudiation of “Salafi” Innovations (Kazi, 1996) p. 367-379.
Blessings and Peace on the Prophet, his Family, and his Companions
WOW, you should have a post of this debate by itself, Sidi Ibn Anwar.
as salaamu alaykum,
Ya ikhwan the Salafis now accept the narrations but they say ‘the sufis mentioned were not those who took tariqas (which they claim were innovated later) rather they were just people of zuhd’
So ya ikhwan how do we show them that taking bayah with a spiritual shaykh is permissible in the din?
by the way i enjoyed the discussion of Ibn `Ata’ Allah
al-Iskandari and ibn taymiyah, Is this source authentic?
It’s proven that the Sufis of the salaf also had turuq.
The tariqa leading upto Ma’ruf Al-Karkhi, for example, is a well-known fact.
Some people doubt the chain from him > Al-bin Abi Talib through Dawood Al-Ta’i. However, even if people doubt this chain, there’s another chain to Imam Ali Al-Rida. And the chain leading upto Ali bin Abi Talib from him is a known historical fact.
Here’s what Imam Al-Dhahabi states:
We also know they had the murid-murshid link – can anyone, for example, deny this about Al-Shibli, Al-Junayd, etc..?
The words of the early Sufis are preserved, and we find statements like ’our tariqa…’.
So is ’our tariqa…’ simply referring to zuhd? Nope – there’s more than that. The zuhhad were known, and the ‘arifeen were distinct from them.
Their speaking of higher realities like uns, subtleties of the ruh, ma’rifa etc are proof of that.
salamu alaykum
Jazakallah khayr!
May Allah
ta ala make us sufis! And may he rise us up with the most righteous of this ummah
w’salam,
Wa iyyakum khayran.
By the way, the chain of Imam Ali Al-Rida that I speak of is the father-to-son chain leading upto his grandfathers the Prophet [s] and Imam Ali [r].
.
The shias claim they were infallible imams.
We say that they were just super righteous awliya of Allah
The chain is as follows: Ali Al-Rida > Musa Al-Kadhim > Ja’far Al-Sadiq > Muhammad al-Baqir > Ali Al-Sajjad > Husayn al-Shahid > Ali Al-Mujtaba > Muhammad Al-Mustafa [s].
Anyone who doubts this unique father-to-son chain should pick up a book of tabaqat, rijal or tarikh and see for himself.
This is the same Ali Al-Rida, by the way, at whose grave the ‘qubooree’ imams Ibn Khuzayma and Ibn Hibban performed tawassul.
Assalaam Alaikum br.Ibn Umer,
How does a sufi chain back to the Prophet(s)differ to a chain in hadith back to the Prophet(s)? I haven’t read anything on this when comparing the two. When I think of a narration I think of a statement that is preserved. So I’m not sure what you mean by chain for sufis. Is it similar to say an ijaza system?
Jazak’Allah
khair for your comments to follow.
Well, let us consider a chain in fiqh first.
It is a well-known fact that Imam Abu Hanifa took his fiqh from his teacher Hammad, who took it from Ibrahim Al-Nakha’i who took it from Alqama and Al-Aswad who took it form Ibn Mas’ud, who was a faqih from the companions of the Prophet [s].
This well-known chain of fiqh is not like a chain of hadith, because it is not words that are taken, but understanding (literally: fiqh). I’m not denying that Abu Hanifa reported ahadith from Hammad, but what I am trying to get at is that fiqh is an overall understanding, a methodology, a noor, that is passed from the teacher to the student.
Likewise, the Sufi tariqas are not ‘words’. Again, this is not entirely true because the shuyukh’s wirds and words are preserved as well.
However, when one talks about the chains of the Sufi tariqas, what one is referring to is the ma’rifa that is transferred from the shaykh’s breast from his shaykh’s breast… from the Prophet’s [s] breast.
In short: just like the chains of fiqh, in Sufi chains it’s not the actual words that are the main substance of what is carried down.
Understanding this fact should, I hope, clarify some stuff.
I hope that helps.
Wallahu a’lam.
I’d suggest this brief talk for a good intro to authentic traditional tasawwuf: http://suhba.org/public/pub_lessons_sufipath.html
Listen with an open heart and a pure intention to learn something beneficial. Then, if you find your heart yearning for the things mentioned by the shaykh, do what you must do.
Wassalam.
By the way, a lot of stuff might sound too ‘airy fairy’ to us because of our ignorance of the science of tasawwuf, thanks to those groups who have tried to suck Islam dry of its spiritual tradition.
hears words like ‘reaching, disconnection, night conversations [with Allah 
], directly speaking [to Allah 
], and that there is no existence in reality except Allah 
, and that the existence of the universe is imaginary and a delusion, and that it is of the same nature as the shadow that exists because of other than it, etc… then he would hear of it what fills the ears of [notions of] indwelling, physical union and exaggerations.
] from the folk set forth these terms and those like them, and intended by them true meanings in themselves. But those who were mistaken erred in understanding what they meant, and thus assigned to them apostacy and unbelief.
For this, I would like to present what Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya said:
..So be cautious, and [I repeat] be cautious of the compendious and ambiguous statements that are the basis of the terminology of the folk (i.e. Sufis). For it is the root of tribulation, and the resource of [both] the Siddiq and [also] the heretic.
So if one who is weak in the ma’rifa and knowledge of Allah
And the knowers [of Allah
I wish salafis would read these words of their imam, then read them again, and one more time.
.
They do not understand the subtleties of higher spiritual realities, and their lack of grasping the terminology of the Sufis has led them to label kafir many a close friend of Allah
Jazak’Allah
khairan br. Ibn Umer for those beautiful and enlightening words. I will make an effort to listen to the lecture.
قال المصنف رحمه الله قلت وقد كان ابن مسعود من أجود الناس ثوبا وأطيبهم ريحا وكان الحسن البصري يلبس الثياب الجياد قال كلثوم بن جوشن خرج الحسن وعليه جبة يمنية ورداء يمني فنظر إليه فرْقَد فقال يا أستاذ لا ينبغي لمثلك أن يكون هكذا فقال الحسن يا ابن أم فَرْقَد أما علمت أن أكثر أصحاب النار أصحاب الأكسية وكان مالك بن أنس يلبس الثياب العدنية الجياد
وكان ثوب أحمد بن حنبل يشتري بنحو الدينار وقد كانوا يؤثرون البذاذة إلى حد وربما لبسوا خلقان الثياب في بيوتهم فإذا خرجوا تجملوا ولبسوا مالا يشتهرون به من الدون ولا من الأعلى أخبرنا أحمد بن منصور الهمداني نا أبو علي أحمد بن سعد علي العجلي ثنا أبو ثابت هجير بن منصور بن علي الصوفي إجازة نا أبو محمد جعفر بن محمد بن الحسين الصوفي ثنا ابن روزبه ثنا أبو سليمان محمد بن الحسين بن علي بن ابراهيم الحراني ثنا محمد بن الحسن بن قتيبة ثنا محمد بن خلف ثنا عيسى بن حازم قال كان لباس إبراهيم بن أدهم كتانا قطنا فروة لم أر عليه ثياب صوف ولا ثياب شهرة
أخبرنا محمد بن أبي القاسم نا حمد بن أحمد نا أبو نعيم أحمد بن عبد الله قال سمعت محمد بن إبراهيم يقول سمعت محمد بن ريان يقول رأى علي ذو النون خفا أحمر فقال انزع هذا يا بني فانه شهرة ما لبسه رسول الله «صلى الله عليه وسلم» إنما لبس النبي «صلى الله عليه وسلم» خفين أسودين ساذجين أخبرنا محمد بن ناصر نا محمد بن علي بن ميمون نا عبد الكريم بن محمد المحاملي نا علي بن عمر الدارقطني نا أبو الحسن أحمد بن محمد بن سالم نا أبو سعيد عبد الله بن شبيب المدني ثني الزبير
عن أبي عرنة الأنصاري عن فليح بن سليمان عن الربيع بن يونس قال قال أبو جعفر المنصور العري الفادح خير من الزي الفاضح اللباس الذي يظهر الزهد
قال المصنف واعلم أن اللباس الذي يزري بصاحبه يتضمن إظهار الزهد وإظهار الفقر وكأنه لسان شكوى من الله عز وجل ويوجب احتقار اللابس وكل ذلك مكروه ومنهي عنه
أخبرنا محمد بن ناصر نا علي بن الحصين بن أيوب نا أبو علي بن شاذان ثنا أبو بكر بن سليمان النجاد ثنا أبو بكر بن عبد الله بن محمد القرشي ثنا عبد الله بن عمر القواريري ثنا هشام بن عبد الملك ثنا شعبة عن ابن اسحاق عن الأحوص عن أبيه قال أتيت رسول الله «صلى الله عليه وسلم» وأنا قشف الهيئة فقال هل لك مال قلت نعم قال من أي المال قلت من كل المال قد آتاني الله عز وجل من الإبل والخيل والرقيق والغنم قال فإذا آتاك الله عز وجل مالا فلير عليك
أخبرنا ابن الحصين نا ابن المذهب نا أحمد بن جعفر ثنا عبد الله بن أحمد ثني أبي ثنا مسكين بن بكير ثني الأوزاعي عن حسان بن عطية عن محمد بن المنكدر عن جابر قال أتانا رسول الله «صلى الله عليه وسلم» زائرا في منزلي فرأى رجلا شعثا فقال أما كان يجد هذا ما يسكن به رأسه ورأى رجلا عليه ثياب وسخة فقال أما كان يجد هذا ما يغسل به ثيابه.
تلبيس إبليس لإبن الجوزي
يا أخ عبد الله، لا أفهم الربط بين ما تكتبه و ما هو مكتوب في هذه رسالة. ليست المسألة مسألة اللباس، بل هي مسألة الذكر وأهله. قال الله تعالى في كتابه، {لا تطع من أغفلنا عن ذكرنا} ولهذا السبب العلماء المقدمون بدأ علما الذي يتخصص في ذكر الله وتزكية النفس. هذا هو العصل للتصوف، ليس عصله شأن لباس
أنا مأخوذ أنك مخالف على التصوف بالرغم من أقوال علماء الإسلام الكبرى. بالرغم ذلك، لا أزال سعيد أن تعطينا رأيك. جزاك الله خيرا
إبن أحمد
العصل = أصل؟
لست أنا المخالف بل جيمع العلماء الراسخون في العلم مخالفون أو بمعنى أصح (ينكرون) مسألة البدع في التصوف.
ولا ينكر عاقل هذا الأمر وقارن بين بداية المتصوفين وبين متصوفون الوقت الحالي ولا يعني قولي هذا هو تأييدي لهم بأي شكل لأن من إتبع كتاب الله وسنة رسوله صلى الله عليه وسلم وفهمها سيجد الطريق الصحيح بلا بدعة ولا إبتداع.
والله أعلم
الحق مع “أهل الحقائق” أي الصوفية
فهم أهل الأحوال والمقامات والقربة والأنس بالله
لا يحتاجون إلى مجادلات
بل حالهم يشهد لهم
وكفى بالله شهيدا
السلام عليكم يا سيد عبد الله
إن شاء الله لقد كتبت هذه الرسالة لأريد وجه ربي
في قولك، قلت شيئا ولم تقول شيئا. هو معلوم أن في أي جماعة يُجِدُ جمع اصغر الذي على الصلالة حتى في جماعتك. ولكن هذا لا يعني أن كل الأفراد في ذلك الجماعة على ضلالة بعضهم. هذا واضح من المنطق.
وقلت أن جميع العلماء ينكرون مسألة البدع في التصوف. هذا لعب بالكلام. في الحقيقة ينكر العلماء أي موضوع الذي على إبتداع، تعني ينكرون البدعة التي يعملها بعض الجاهلين من الصوفية أو بعض الجاهلين من الوهابية. ليست هذه المسألة مسألة لأهل التصوف فقط، هي مسألة لكل قوم الإسلام عاما.
في رأيي، يا أخ عبد الله، ليس الأكثر من العلماء اليوم علماءا حقيقةً. في الحقيقة هم طلاب فقط بالنسبة لالعلماء الماضيين، بالأخص علماء السلفية. وليس عندهم سلسلات إلى المتقدمين. وعلمهم من كتب فقط. هناك مشكلة بهذا. هولاء العلماء لا تكملون إختياز نصف الشوط أو ثلثه أو ربعه إلى مرحلة الإجتهاد، و ما يدرسونه في كتب لم يشيد لزرع روح الإجتهاد في نفسهم، ولا يكادون يفهمون الألفاظ المطلسمة في كتب المسليمين السابقين. ويبقون سنوات بيدا عن المقصود الأساسي، مهما كرروا تلك الكتب أو أمثالها. وتبقى الطلاسم عائقا عن توضيع حجر الأساس ليكون محورا للدراسات وتبقى عائقا عن تلقي الفكرة السالمة.
وعلماء الصوفية من اين اتو بالعلم؟
من الأحلام والمنامات أوالرؤى في الأحلام؟
أم يتنزل على أحدهم الوحي؟ مع العلم أنه قد انقطع بعد وفاة الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم؟ وإن كان ينزل على أحدهم وحي في هذا الزمان فإنه وحي الشيطان.
أخي يافهمان هل تعرف ماهو منهج محمد بن عبدالوهاب؟
وهل تعرف ماهو التوحيد؟ وماهي العبادة؟
وأين تلك الطلاسم التي تقول ولم يستطيعون فهمها رجاءاً لا تتحدث بشيء إلا بدليل من القرآن حتى يتضح البيان ويكفي أنكم فسرتم آية في القرآن بشعر أحد النصران
وعلماء الصوفية من اين اتو بالعلم؟
من الأحلام والمنامات أوالرؤى في الأحلام؟
أم يتنزل على أحدهم الوحي؟ مع العلم أنه قد انقطع بعد وفاة الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم؟ وإن كان ينزل على أحدهم وحي في هذا الزمان فإنه وحي الشيطان.
أخي يافهمان هل تعرف ماهو منهج محمد بن عبدالوهاب؟
وهل تعرف ماهو التوحيد؟ وماهي العبادة؟
وأين تلك الطلاسم التي تقول ولم يستطيعون فهمها رجاءاً لا تتحدث بشيء إلا بدليل حتى يتضح البيان ويكفي أنكم فسرتم آية في القرآن بشعر أحد النصران
Abdullah, the answer to your questions are found in the post above. Stop wasting our time with your stupidity. The only wahy from shayton came from your satanic Imam Ibn Baaz who promoted the creed of Muqatil ibn Sulayman, innovated the innovations of Ibn Taymiyyah – for which ‘Alaa’ud’deen Al Bukhaari pronounced takfeer upon him – who allowed the Mushrikeen into the pure land of Islaam in order to massacre Muslims globally, who help cement a regime that abandoned the shari’ah for the whims of the mushrikeen.
لَكُمْ دِينُكُمْ وَلِيَ دِين
أنا لم أطلب منك تكفير للشيخ أو توضح لي منهجه أو التكلم في عرضه رحمه الله ونزهه عن ماقلت هذا أولاً.
وثانياً لماذا كل ماسألتك عن شيء أريد إجابة عليه تقوم وترد بنفس الرد في كل مره؟ فسري لي هذا الأمر أو “إذا لم تستحي فاصنع ماشئت” وفي حالتك “إذا لم تستطيع الجواب على أي سؤال فتفوه بالكلام التافه ماشئت”.
ودعني أرى أي من الصوفيين الحاليين او في العهد السابق قامو بالحرب على الكفار والملحدين أعطني أي غزوه أو معركة أو حرب شارك فيها صوفيين ضد الكفار.
وإذا لم تكن تعرف الشيء لا تتحدث عنه إذا لم تراه بعينك وتسمعه بأذنك.
هناك فرق كبير بين أحلام عامة الناس والمكاشفات والإلهامات التي تقع في صدور العارفين – في اليقظة, والمنام أيضا.
وحتى أئمتكم كالحراني وابن القيم يثبتون ذلك ولا ينكرونه أبدا.
شوف حلية الأولياء لأبي نعيم, ستجد فيه أخبار عديدة تدل على حقيقة المكاشفات واإلهامات والمشاهدات…
ولا تنسى قول النبي: “من عمل بما علم ورثه الله علم ما لم يعلم”
والصوفية هم أهل العمل والأحوال والعلوم اللدني
Sheikh Uthman Dan Fodio, Sheikh Shamil Daghistani, Sheikh Abdul Qadir Al-Jaza’iri, and others from the people of tasawwuf.
وماذا فعلا أبو بكر الجزائري وابن باز, شيخان كبيران عندكم, لما واجها المصائب?
غفر الله لنا ولهم.
يا أخ عبـــــد الله!
أرجوا أن لا تأخذ البحث خارج المنتدى مرة أخرى. شكرًا
ياسلام عليك ياابن عمر
تستدل بحديث موضوع عن الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم
“من عمل بما علم أورثه الله علم ما لم يعلم”
أعوذ بالله من القول على رسول الله بالباطل وكذباً وافتراءاً عليه هل هذا هو علمكم الذي سبقتمونا به كما تزعمون أن بتأليف وإخراج أحاديث عن الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم وقال صلى الله عليه وسلم:
“بلغوا عني ولو آية ، وحدثوا عن بني إسرائيل ولا حرج ، ومن كذب علي متعمدا فليتبوأ مقعده من النار “. الراوي: عبدالله بن عمرو بن العاص
وقال الله تعالى: وَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّنِ افْتَرَى عَلَى اللّهِ كَذِبًا أَوْ قَالَ أُوْحِيَ إِلَيَّ وَلَمْ يُوحَ إِلَيْهِ شَيْءٌ وَمَن قَالَ سَأُنزِلُ مِثْلَ مَا أَنَزلَ اللّهُ وَلَوْ تَرَى إِذِ الظَّالِمُونَ فِي غَمَرَاتِ الْمَوْتِ وَالْمَلآئِكَةُ بَاسِطُواْ أَيْدِيهِمْ أَخْرِجُواْ أَنفُسَكُمُ الْيَوْمَ تُجْزَوْنَ عَذَابَ الْهُونِ بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَقُولُونَ عَلَى اللّهِ غَيْرَ الْحَقِّ وَكُنتُمْ عَنْ آيَاتِهِ تَسْتَكْبِرُونَ ﴿الأنعام: 93﴾
لاحول ولا قوة الا بالله وإنا لله وإنا إليه راجعون
ألا تستطيعون أن تقولون لا نعلم!!!
Akhi Abdullah, sorry for responding in english. I don’t have an arabic keyboard – and it’s a long process for me to type in arabic.
Thank you for the reminder from the Quran and sunnah.
Jazakumullahu khayr for that.
As for my usage of the ‘fabricated hadith’, then many ‘ulema (including Sheikh Bin Bayyah) have used it without weakening it. And it is mentioned in various Sunni as well as wahhabi websites.
forgive me if I have put words into the mouth of the Prophet [s].
As for me – a ‘ammi jahil – I did not embark upon the mission of authenticating the report. May Allah
3ala kulli 7aal…
Don’t get too happy with your ‘victory’ of pointing out this mistake.
Look at the other points (including the quote from Al-Harrani) that I mentioned.
Don’t get distracted from the actual point, and merely argue for the sake of arguing.
What do you say about Al-Harrani’s usage of the words “وحيا وإلهاما أو انزال علم ضروري أو فراسة صادقة ويسمى كشفا ومشاهدات ومكاشفات ومخاطبات فالسماع مخاطبات والرؤية مشاهدات والعلم مكاشفة ويسمى ذلك كله كشفا و مكاشفة… “
لا يترتب على هذه المنامات أيةُ أحكام شرعية دينية أو اعتقادات لأن العلم و القول والاعتقاد مبني على الوحي الشريف من كلام الله تعالى القرآن وسنة نبيه صلى الله عليه وسلم الصحيحة فقط، ولا ينبني من الرؤى من الأحكام والاعتقادات والأحوال شيء، وإنما الذي يبني على هذه المنامات الأحكام والاعتقادات هم “الصوفية وأهل البدعة والخرافة والشعوذة وبعض الطوائف والفرق وأهل الهوى على الرؤى المنامية يعولون أحكاما شرعية واعتقادات دينية وتأملات وتصورات ورجما بالغيب وكل ذلك ليس بصحيح، بل هو دائر أن يكون من الهوى أو من الشيطان، ولهذا هؤلاء يعتبرون المنامة مصدرا من مصادرِ الديانة بالإلهام وهذا أمر خطير جدا على العقيدة قبل أن يكون خطيراً على السلوك والعمل” .
سبحان الله……..
إن صوفية الحقائق لا يعتقدون أن الرؤيات حجة لإثبات أي شيء في الشريعة – وهذا شيئ معروف وواضح لكل واحد، إلا لمن جزم ببطلان التصوف بلا نظر إلى ما يقول المتصوفون في كتبهم
فأين الإنصاف؟؟؟
كلامك يدل على جهلك في هذا الموضوع
أنصحك أن تقرأ الكتب الأساسي في علم التصوف.
وبعد ذلك لن تخطئ – إن شاء الله – فيما تنسب إلى اهل التصوف.
ونحن لا ننكر وجود مبتدعين ـ بل زنادقة !!!- في اللذين ينتسبون انفسهم إلى التصوف.
والتصوف برئ منهم، كما يكون علم التفسير برئ من الإسرائيليات وعلم الحديث من الموضوعات
ونحن لا نقول أن كل فراسة وإلهام صادق. بل يكون تارة من الله وتارة من النفس.
وقد كتب الإمام المحاسبي عن هذا الموضوع، وذكر أن هناك ٤ أقسام: رباني، روحاني، نفساني وشيطاني.
ولهذا لا يعتمد على كل إلهام، والشريعة هي المقياس. وهذا شيئ واضح لا ينكره إلى من ابتدع من ‘المستصوفين’.
ولاكن شوف كيف **يعتمد** إمامك ابن القيم على تنبؤ إمامه وإمامك الحراني رحمهما الله (مدارج السالكين):
فهذا إمامكم ****يعتمد**** على تنبؤ الحراني!!
وقال:
سبحان الله!! علم اللوح؟؟
ويخبر بأمور مستقبليه ويقسم عليها اكثر من سبعين يمينا ؟؟؟
فما رأيك في إمامك الآن، وما رأيك في الفراسات والإلهامات الصادقة؟ صحيح لإمامك فقط؟؟!
لا حول ولا قوة إلا بالله.
لقد كتبت لك رداً وقمتم بحذفه!
هل هذه من آداب المجادلة!
أو إذا عجزتم عن الرد قمتم بحذف ماقلت لكم؟
على كل حال من أراد أن يجادلني فليأتي وليجادلني ولكن مجادلة لا فيها غش ولا حذف لأي شي كان.
وأنتظر إجابتكم
Ya ‘Abdullah’, if you are addressing me, I will tell you straight up that I don’t have time for an all-out mujadala/muharaba, as it is frankly a waste of time.
Imam Malik said something beautiful with regard to jidal.
I don’t have an arabic keyboard, and it takes me a very very long time to type up even those short responses above^.
Get your priorities right. Go outside and take a deep breath.
And think outside this jidal-based Islam that so many people are regrettably getting into.
Finally, read some books on tasawwuf by the *imams* of tasawwuf before you start putting words in their mouths and display to everyone your ignorance.
Wassalam.
Akhuk fil-deen.
إذا كنت على حق وتظن ان تصوفكم هذا الذي تدعون به هو الصواب فلتأتي بحججك ومن ناحية تضييع الوقت فأنتم الذين تضيعون وقتكم وعبادتكم.
أسئل الله العافية.
هذا إيميلي إذا كانت لك الجرءة
abdullah1819@hotmail.com
لا حول ولا قوة إلا بالله.
هذه ليست مسابقة.
أول شيئ: صحح نيتك.
أقول لك بالصراحة: أنا لا أحب الجدال الذي سببه الجدال وليس متابعة الحق (كما هو واضح من كلامك).
ذكر عن مالك أنه قيل له: “يا أبا عبد الله الرجل يكون عالماً بالسنة أيجادل عنها؟ قال: لا ولكن يخبر بالسنة فإن قبلت وإلا سكت”.
لا أظن أنك تسمع للأدلة التي نأتي بها… then why waste my time???
لو تريد أن تعلم أدلتنا فاقرآ هذا الكتاب: “حقائق عن التصوف”
هنا: http://www.shazly.com/books/index.php?book=haqaeq/index.htm
والســـلام.
salaams,
Any chance you bros can summarize (in english)what is being said between you two.
jk
هي ليست مسابقة ولكن هي دعوة مني لك ما أدري كيف تريد مني أن أطلب منك هذا الأمر هل أضع لك باقة ورد وفيها بطاقة دعوة؟ أما ماذا تريدني أن أفعل؟
بالمختصر أي شخص صوفي ويحس أنه على حق فليأتي بأدلته وكيده ويكون لنا موعد في مكان ما إن شاء الله.
هذا إيميلي:
abdullah1819@hotmail.com
http://www.shazly.com/books/index.php?book=haqaeq/index.htm
والســـلام
إسمعني يا أبن عمر
إذا كنت تريد الجدال سنختار لنا موقعاً محايداً لا يكون فيه أي حذف للردود كما هو الحاصل هنا أو تعديل.
ومن كانت له حجتاً أو دليلاً من القران أو السنة فليأتي به وهذا هو الحكم بيننا.
أنتظر ردك!
لو أردت أدلتنا لقرأت الكتاب المذكور:
http://www.shazly.com/books/index.php?book=haqaeq/index.htm
لو تريد مجادلة عن هذا الموضوع, روح إلى http://www.aslein.net –
وأما أنا فأكره الجدال
And if you still want to discuss with me, it has to be in english. I do not have an Arabic keyboard and it takes me a lot of time to type even something as small as this post.
والســـلام.
لا مانع لدي بالمجادلة معك بالإنجليزية
وان شاء الله بأي لغة تريد
ولكن أريد أن نكون في منتدى يقدر هذا الشيء ولا يعمل مثلما عمل هاهنا للأسف.
أنتظر ردك
May I ask why you don’t want to discuss with the members of http://www.aslein.net ?
I’ll remind you that I strongly dislike arguing/debating – particularly when the other person is merely doing it for the purpose of debating, and not to seek the truth.
The fact that you are not keen on taking the suggestion of going to http://www.aslein.net makes me wonder what exactly you are seeking from having the discussion.
My Theory: For the same reason the Lion doesn’t swim in the Alligator’s pond.
Ibn Ahmad, I nearly fell out of my chair when I read that! Shukran for the laugh!
أريد مجادلتك أنت بالذات اباعمر!
ومن ناحية أنني لا اريد الحقيقة بالعكس أنا تواق لمعرفة الحقيقة وأبحث عنها.
وعندي أيضاً إرتباط مع أكثر من منتدى لمجادلة الصوفية فيه.
فقط قل لي متى تستعد أنت وغيرك في هذا المنتدى ولو كان كلير حاظراً هنا سأجادله أيضاً ولا مانع لدي أيضاً ولكن أين الجميع!!!!
Wow, a full out war, eh?
Tayyib – I’m going to be done exams in around a month. I’m not quite sure what exactly you want to go over; did you go over the “حقائق عن التصوف” book?
If you did and you found something objectionable please point it out so that any possible further discussion isn’t about anything and everything under the blue sky.
Wassalam.
[Edited]
Note from moderator: we will not bear this kind of nonsense.
Your shameless post has been deleted. Call it fascism if you want, but I won’t have such nonsense being uttered.
Had you wanted a sincere discussion on the subject, you would have waited for just that.
The nonsense you posted only indicates your true motives.
There’s a certain type of discussion which is ‘ilmi.
Then there is another kind that is simply for the sake of arguing.
This kind has been condemned by our ‘ulema.
I am taking back my offer to discuss the matter with you. I suggest you go camping for a week, clear your mind up, and realize the fact that this is not a ‘one-up’ game. This is deen.
If someone wants to translate this for Abdullah, go ahead. I’m through with him.
Wassalam.