Sufism is to Follow the Sunnah and Leave Innovation
Ramadan Series 2014, Vol 15
Mawlana Shaykh Hisham Kabbani
13 July 2014 Fenton Zawiya, Michigan
Nawaytu 'l-arba`een, nawaytu 'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu 'l-khalwah, nawaytu 'l-`uzlah,
nawaytu 'r-riyaadah, nawaytu 's-sulook, lillahi ta`alaa fee haadha 'l-masjid.
A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytaani 'r-rajeem. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmaani 'r-Raheem. As-salaamu `alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh.
Alhamdulillah that Allah (swt) made it easy for Ummah Channel to broadcast this series of Halaqaat al-Ramadaniyya, Ramadan Circles, from the first of Ramadan up to today, the 15th of Ramadan, about the reality of Tasawwuf.
It is not as some people say, “There is no Tasawwuf in Islam.” We have proved through many sources that Tasawwuf is the main subject of Islam and is the Science of the Purification of the Self. We mentioned many scholars of Ahlu ’s-Sunnah wa ’l-Jama`ah and how they mentioned Tasawwuf as the highest level of `ibaadah, Ahl al-`Azaa'im, those who take the Shari`ah of Islam into deep consideration. And we mentioned the Four Imams, Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Malik, Imam Shafi`ee and Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, that they accepted the Science of Tasawwuf as it is the Science of Purification of the Heart. We also mentioned some other scholars in Islamic history, people who are the founders of the other schools in Islam, whose followers today oppose Tasawwuf and we spoke about their founding scholars, Ibn Taymiyya and his student Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, and what they said about Tasawwuf and how they accepted Tasawwuf. We also spoke about the Inheritors of the Prophet (s) and the qualifications they must have.
What Imam Jalaluddin as-Suyuti Said about Tasawwuf
Before we speak about the Inheritors of the Prophet (s), I would like to mention one of the scholars of the Eighth century who wrote a well-accepted and well-known tafseer which everyone around the world reads, Tafseer al-Jalalayn. It is a very small tafseer which is written in the margins of the Holy Qur’an and is given out everywhere in Mecca and Madinah for free. That is not the translation of the Holy Qur’an, for it cannot be translated as words cannot carry the weight of the spirituality and secrets, but rather that is an explanation. Allah’s Words cannot be compared to the words of human beings, because they are heavy and full of secrets.
Jalaluddin as-Suyuti, who died in the Nineth century, whom everyone and all scholars know about, is quoted by many scholars. He has a big tafseer, ad-Durr al-Manthour, and he has a Tafseer al-Qur’an, that is very small, what did he say?
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 Sunnah of the Prophet and to leave innovation, how to purify the ego...and submit to Allah truly….
If Imam Suyuti says this, it means he is a Sufi and admits that Tasawwuf `ilmu shareef is an honorable knowledge, and what is honorable you take it; you cannot drop it. So it means that he is telling us in a hidden way that, “I am accepting Tasawwuf which is an honorable knowledge that brings back and makes me to have good manners and good characters.” Wa inna madaraa’tibba sunnatee wa tarkil bida`. He said and confirmed that Tasawwuf is the means to follow the Sunnah of the Prophet (s) and to leave innovation. So for him, Tasawwuf makes you follow the way of Prophet (s)! For him, if you do not do Tasawwuf you are not following the way of the Prophet (s). Tasawwuf explains how to follow the Sunnah of the Prophet; it will teach you, it will make you to understand what is the value of Tasawwuf. So the tafseer is in ad-Durr al-Manthour and he wants to explain that Tasawwuf is the dress that you want, to be seen as a person who has good knowledge, good character and leaving innovation and following the Sunnah of Prophet (s), where Allah (swt) said in Holy Qur’an:
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Say (O Muhammad), "If you (really) love Allah, then follow me! Allah will love you and forgive your sins, and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (Surat Aali-`Imraan, 3:31)
Prophet (s) Advised about Husn al-Khuluq, the Best of Character for the Soul
Imam as-Suyuti is saying that Tasawwuf explains how to follow the way of the Prophet (s) and to get rid of innovations, so what do we have to do then? We have to learn Tasawwuf and be part of that knowledge: how to purify your ego, how to uplift your soul, how to get rid of innovations, how to apply the good manners to your self and how you build bridges between you and others. That is why Prophet (s) advised about Husn al-Khuluq, the best of character for the soul, what kind of behaviour when he said to Sayyidina Abu Hurayrah:
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The Prophet (s) advised Abu Hurayrah, “O Abaa Hurayrah! You must have good manners.” Abu Hurayrah asked, “What is good manners, O Rasoolullah (s)?” He (s) said, “Connect with the one who cut you off; forgive the one who oppressed you and give to the one who prevented you from reaching your desires.” (Al-Bayhaqi)
To connect with the one who cut you off and to forgive the one who oppressed. All of us, we are not oppressing the biggest enemy that comes to us! That is Shaytan, he is oppressing us.
Do not Claim to be Sultan al-Awliya!
So `Ilm at-Tasawwuf brings you through the sincerity of the teacher, the murshid, who is the Warith al-Muhammadi and there is a difference between a murshid and the Inheritor of Prophet (s). The Inheritor of Prophet (s) is one, he is Sultan al-Awliya. So you cannot call people “Sultan al-Awliya” haphazardly, you will be committing a mistake. Those who call someone Sultan al-Awliya are committing a great mistake if they call one falsely and also, if that person is accepting being called Sultan al-Awliya without being Sultan al-Awliya.
There is only one Sultan among 124,000 awliya. While there are many who are pious and sincere, with the highest level of good manners, 124,000 of them, only one of them is Sultan al-Awliya. So you cannot claim and you must not let anyone claim on you that you are Sultan al-Awliya, Inheritor of the Prophet (s) in the highest level of the pyramid. Under him are many other Inheritors, but they are not Sultan al-Awliya, they are Inheritors from the Prophet (s), Inheritors from their shuyookh who are murshids. If we don't know that and throw titles haphazardly, like many mureeds in many different tariqahs around the world call their shaykh ‘Sultan al-Awliya,’ since there are so many Sultan al-Awliya how do you know which one is the real Sultan? Why do they call him Sultan al-Awliya? Really they may be excused, because they are ignorant and they see him as so sincere in his teaching. But the duty of the shaykh is to stop the mureed if he transgresses the line, as the mureed can call him anything. It is the responsibility of the shaykh, who cannot transgress the lines as there are limits. If you go beyond the limit he is responsible, the mureed is not responsible and if he made a mistake that is up to the shaykh to say something if he crosses the line. He who does not say anything when the mureed makes a mistake is not a shaykh; a shaykh is the one who lights the way for you. It cannot be darkness with no light, you must have lights! So the murshid can understand the intention and he can correct you.
How Tasawwuf was Spread
Jalaluddin as-Suyuti wants to say here, “I am accepting Tasawwuf, but the real one….” In the time after the Prophet (s), there were too many people who came into Islam with the Futoohaat, the Islamic conquest, too many different races came into Islam and brought with them some of their cultures and the study of Tasawwuf, so Tasawwuf increased and then it became a science and then the shuyookh put a structure to regulate Tasawwuf so that no one would deviate. That is why Shaykh Jalaluddin as-Suyuti is considered the Renewer, Mujaddid of the 8th-9th century, Mushtahid al-Kamil. In his book Ta'yid al-Haqiqa al-`Aliyya wa-Tashyid al-Tariqa al-Shadhiliyya, he wrote that he was a Shadhili shaykh and was purifying the Tariqahs of anything external to Islam, all the innovations. He said:
Disown the ego completely and not to follow it and what it asks you to do. Always the ego is the biggest fitna for us because it gives you the bad desires, and to leave good desires it always wants to take you to bad desires. Surrender solely to Allah and be content with His Will and be satisfied. Ask His Love and dislike anyone else, only have love to Allah (swt). Too many intruders came from their countries inside Tasawwuf and put in it innovations in Maqaam al-Ihsaan.
Imam Jalaluddin as-Suyuti is considered one of those who cleaned it, as is Imam Ahmad Farooq al-Sirhindi, Mujaddid alf-Thani (q), the Renewer of the 2nd Millennium. Imam Suyuti was, therefore, considered the Renewer of the 8th century. He said:
I have looked at what the Sufis were doing and their beliefs, and I found them following the Sunnah of Prophet (s) and they complete their Shari`ah. I never saw something wrong from them and anyone who says they did something wrong, I say no, they are not the people of innovations.
What Muhammad Ibn `Abdul-Wahhab Said about Tasawwuf
That is from Imam Suyuti, who is from Ahlu ‘-Sunnah wa ‘l-Jama`ah. On the opposite side, we take the opposite of Ahlu ’s-Sunnah wa ’l-Jama`ah, those who call themselves ‘Salafis.’ Who is the head of the Salafis, and from where do they get their knowledge? It is not Ibn Taymiyya, as he is far? They get their knowledge from Shaykh Muhammad Ibn `Abdul-Wahhab, who died in the year 1201 Hijri. The following is the opinion of Muhammad Ibn `Abdul-Wahhab from the Salafi School. They tell you, “O no, Salafi schools follow the straight Sunnah and the Sufi’s are Ahlu ‘l-Bida`.” What does he say about the Sufi’s? In his book Fatawa wa Rasa’il he gives judgements and verdicts when people ask him questions. What we are quoting here is al-mas`alal khamisa, the fifth example or question. He was asked on many issues that are good for the Muslims and he was praising them (Sufis) according to Section 3 of the book, page 31. Muhammad Ibn `Abdul-Wahhab said:
May Allah guide you. You have to know that Allah sent the Prophet (s) with guidance, which is the real knowledge, the beneficial knowledge with Deen al-Haqq, the Religion of Truth from Allah (swt) which is `amal as-saalih, the good actions, good manners and behaviors, and everything that comes under goodness. If we are going to speak about those who follow religion, some of them look after Fiqh and knowledge and speak like scholars after studying that. One group studies only Shari`ah and not Maqaam al-Ihsaan and the other group is the one who worships Allah (swt) and looks after Akhirah; these are the Sufis. [This is important:] Allah has sent His Messenger to combine Fiqh and Tasawwuf.
This means they accumulated these two knowledges and added to each other and to that `ilm, Fiqh and whatever you need to know Shari`ah-wise, and Tasawwuf, whatever you need to know to increase your good manners. He said:
That is why, because Allah has sent knowledge and to combine Fiqh and Tasawwuf means all the Sufis, what they lean on and take from, is directly from the Prophet (s).
Furthermore, Imam Jalaluddin as-Suyuti said:
Their connection, sanad, of the Sufis is to the Prophet (s), his Family (r) and to his Family which is known to their shuyookh. (page 124 of his Musannafaat,) Because of what we have explained already (and what he answered in his fatwa,) mashaa’ikh of Tasawwuf, al-`Arifoon, those who have reached the level of Ma`rifah, advised their students to study the Knowledge of Fiqh. Some of them said, “No one disregarded the Sunnah of the Prophet (s) except due to arrogance in himself,” then they did not accept what came with the Sunnah as the knowledge of Tasawwuf, which is the knowledge of Fiqh.
In the fifth volume of the collection of letters by Muhammad ibn `Abdul-Wahhab entitled Ar-Rasa’il ash-Shakhsiyya, page 11, and again on pages 12, 61, and 64, he states:
I never accused Ibn `Arabi or Ibn al-Farid of unbelief for their Sufi interpretations.
People had declared Ibn `Arabi kaafir because of his shatahaat, ecstatic statements. Muhammad ibn `Abdul-Wahhab said that he did not accuse Ibn `Arabi or Ibn al-Faarid for their Sufi interpretations. So he is from the other school of thought, which is the one that makes everyone kaafir, because either you are with them or you are kaafir, and this is what they openly say, they are not hiding it.
Prophet (s) said, “Who