Preface

In this age Islam has come to almost exactly the state that the Prophet ﷺ, the knower of the unseen, had foretold long ago. He said:

"A time will come upon the people when nothing will remain of Islam except its name, and nothing will remain of the Quran except its name. Their mosques will be flourishing, yet empty of guidance, and their scholars will be the worst of those under the canopy of the sky; from them tribulation will emerge and to them it will return." That is: a time will come upon the people when Islam will remain in name only and the Quran will be recited as a mere formality. Their mosques will be full, adorned and beautiful, yet in reality they will be empty and desolate of guidance. Their scholars will be the worst of all those who live beneath the sky; tribulations will emerge from these very scholars and return to them.

Every person of knowledge and sense can easily understand how closely this hadith applies to the scholars and shaykhs of today, and how, because of their tribulations, the unity of the community is being torn to pieces today. Collective life has come to an end, and people have become empty and bare of the qualities which the Prophet ﷺ, the possessor of sublime character, instilled in the noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them all). After that, among the scholars and shaykhs there continued to arise true heirs and deputies of the Prophet ﷺ who carried his character, deeds, qualities and virtues, and they kept working according to their capacity. Today the dominance of materialism has extinguished spirituality, and scholars and shaykhs possessing lofty qualities have almost disappeared. That is, those who once combined all these qualities are gone; now there are a few in whom some of these qualities are found here and there, but they have no concern for training others, nor do others have any desire to acquire from them.

Whatever peace and tranquillity, success and well-being humanity has, all of it comes from the existence of righteous servants of Allah, and until such worthy servants of lofty qualities and character are prepared, humanity cannot reach its

...................

Al-Firdaws by al-Daylami, 2:319, Beirut.

destination. The Prophet ﷺ, the leader of the worlds, [did this work of training] among his Companions, they among the Successors (Tabi'in), and later the scholars and shaykhs did so, each according to his strength. They followed the Quran and Sunnah completely and benefited from the company of such righteous people. It should also be kept in mind that the change in qualities that comes about through the effect of the company of the righteous and the shaykhs does not come about merely by reading the Book and the Sunnah. For this they devised a wise method, and to put it into practice they had khanqahs built and prepared individuals. Every person of knowledge knows that the Quran and Sunnah are still present today in their original form; there are many who translate and explain them, and their teachings are being spread widely, yet instead of becoming adorned with lofty character and qualities, people are becoming ill-mannered and beastly. The only reason for this is that such human beings who train others no longer remain.

To become adorned with good and lofty character and qualities, it is necessary that you know what praiseworthy qualities and good character are, what their blameworthy opposites are, how to become purified of blameworthy character, and how to become adorned with good character. It is for these purposes [that this writing is presented], with the hope that the people of knowledge and merit who are connected with us will read it carefully, adorn themselves, and then adorn others. Since, by the praise of Allah Most High, a group has become steadfast in remembrance (dhikr) and reflection (fikr) and has gained an affinity with the spiritual graces and blessings of these elders, it is further hoped that this writing will act as a spur for them. An effort has been made to make the discussion of these qualities more effective through the Quran and Sunnah and some anecdotes. Along with this, an effort has been made to show ordinary simple-hearted people, who are influenced by bad company, that the particular purpose of Sufism (tasawwuf) is a special service to the Quran and Sunnah, and by adorning himself with which qualities a person can become a true human being: which are the qualities that the Quran and Sunnah require?

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

All praise is for Allah who guided us to the straight path; we would never have been guided had Allah not guided us. And blessings and peace be upon our master Muhammad, and upon his family and his noble Companions.

Allah, the Lord of Honour, Exalted and Most High, says:

یٰۤاَیُّہَا الَّذِیۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡا اتَّقُوا اللہَ وَابْتَغُوۡۤا اِلَیۡہِ الْوَسِیۡلَۃَ وَجَاہِدُوۡا فِیۡ سَبِیۡلِہٖ لَعَلَّکُمْ تُفْلِحُوۡنَ؂

"O you who believe! Fear Allah, seek the means of approach to Him, and strive in His way, so that you may succeed."

"O you who believe! Fear Allah, seek a means of approach (wasila) towards Him, and strive (mujahada) in His way, so that you may attain success (falah)."

In the verse quoted above we are informed of some of the fundamental principles of Sufism:

1. Faith (iman): this is a necessary condition for the acceptance of every deed, small or great.

2. God-consciousness (taqwa): this contains within it an immense comprehensiveness, which will be explained in some detail further on.

3. Adopting a means of approach (wasila): while the word wasila carries other possibilities, the strongest possibility is that it refers to the perfect spiritual guide (murshid). For faith includes all the true beliefs, and taqwa includes all righteous deeds, whether they relate to the body (the outward) or to the heart (the inward). It also includes the things prohibited and forbidden by the Shari'ah; an important branch of taqwa is to protect oneself from what the Shari'ah forbids. It is therefore evident that the third thing which is necessary and essential for attaining nearness to Allah is the perfect spiritual guide (after taking the pledge of allegiance (bay'a) with the guide).

4. The fourth thing is striving in the way of Allah. These are the four matters upon which success depends.

........................

Surah al-Ma'idah 5:35.

What Is Meant by Faith

Faith means affirming all those matters which make a person a believer. In summary, affirming the meaning of the blessed Kalima, La ilaha illallah Muhammadur Rasulullah (there is no deity but Allah, and Muhammad ﷺ is the Messenger of Allah), is sufficient. For the details, it is necessary that you know what is necessary for Allah, what is possible for Him, and what is impossible for Him, and likewise know these matters concerning the noble Prophets (upon them be blessings and peace). In the same way, the scholars of theology (kalam) have explained in detail what relates to the Hereafter. Whoever has known these beliefs and accepted them is a Sunni Muslim. True knowledge of Allah (ma'rifa) is granted only to those believers who hold to all the beliefs that make a Muslim a Sunni; denying or rejecting any one or some of them takes a person out of the Sunni fold. It is thus understood that true knowledge of Allah can be attained neither by a disbeliever nor by one who is astray and leads others astray, nor by an innovator. These are the matters upon which eternal salvation depends. That is why even those whom the scholars of Ahl al-Sunnah did not call disbelievers, but rather called misguided and innovators, will certainly go to Hell because of the corruption of their beliefs. While this corruption remains, they neither possess knowledge of Allah through proof nor can they attain knowledge of Allah through unveiling (kashf).

A Wise and Compassionate Method

The wise method which the Noble Messenger ﷺ, the honoured guide, adopted concerning faith was based entirely on mercy and compassion. Those people of knowledge who are familiar with the verses revealed specifically in the early Makkan period know well that emphasis was laid on three things: (1) faith in Allah alone, (2) faith in the Messenger, and (3) resurrection after death, that is, being brought back to life after dying. Later some detail was given, and the angels, all the Prophets and Messengers, the divine Books and the Last Day, that is, the Day of Resurrection, were included. The Prophet ﷺ of Madinah would mostly accept from those who came out of the darkness of disbelief and polytheism a summary faith, that is, the affirmation of Allah's divinity and of his messengership, and would take from them

the pledge to establish the prayer, to give zakat, and al-nush li-kulli muslim, that is, to wish well for every Muslim. Later, the details were revealed little by little.

The early generations and the pious predecessors (salaf) did not turn to any interpretation of certain ambiguous matters (mutashabihat) that occur in the Quran and Sunnah; they were content to say that whatever Allah and His Messenger intended, we believe in it. The noble Sufis adopted the same method with ordinary believers concerning repentance from sins at the time of taking the pledge from their disciples (murids), and were content with it in summary form. Then they gradually drew them towards righteous deeds, step by step informed them of the details of major and minor sins, and tried to purify them of each one.

Concerning those statements and acts about which the eminent scholars could not reach a definitive judgement of clear-cut disbelief, they simply said: we call him neither a Muslim nor a disbeliever. Examples are the position of the Hanafis concerning Yazid and the position of Imam Ahmad Raza (may his secret be sanctified) concerning Isma'il Dehlavi. Moreover, those upon whom the verdict of disbelief was given in Husam al-Haramayn were admonished for many years beforehand and made aware of the repugnance of their statements; only when they were in no way willing to acknowledge and admit it was the verdict of apostasy issued.

If our people of knowledge today act upon this method of the Quran and Sunnah, they will be saved from many complications and from great dangers in the Hereafter. The distance of ordinary people from the religious sciences, their deprivation of the company of scholars of truth, the distance of the general scholars themselves from inviting and preaching, the spread and prevalence of Wahhabism and Najdism, and likewise the spread of other false sects have created such conditions among the common people that a definitive judgement about whether they are Sunni or not is difficult. In this regard a few points should be kept in mind:

1. The Prophetic biography (sira): in this regard the life of the Prophet should be studied deeply and acted upon. One particular aspect of the blessed life of the Prophet ﷺ, the guide of the world, in this regard is what we have read: that he would accept a summary faith and then encourage and urge righteous deeds. In this way people

would gradually come to possess firm faith, would little by little become aware of the details, and through the grace of his company and sincerity and the performance of righteous deeds, the light of faith would permeate every vein. If the same is adopted today, and those simple-hearted reciters of the Kalima who know nothing of the corrupt beliefs of the false sects or of their blasphemous and vile writings are not provoked, and are not questioned too much about others, but rather one first enters their hearts and somehow attaches them to oneself, then gradually trains them and removes the filth of their hearts and selves, positive results can come about. In this regard some hadiths should also be kept in mind.

1. Sayyiduna Usama ibn Zayd (may Allah be pleased with them both), father and son, were both beloved of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Once Usama set out on an expedition with some fighters. They met a shepherd who, on seeing him, recited the Kalima. Sayyiduna Usama, thinking that he had recited it not from the heart but out of fear, killed him. When this incident was reported in the court of Prophethood, the Prophet ﷺ expressed such displeasure that Sayyiduna Usama says: I wished I had not accepted faith before that day! He said: O Messenger of Allah ﷺ, he recited the Kalima out of fear. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Hallā shaqaqta qalbahu?" Why did you not split open his heart?

2. A group of fighters set out under the command of Sayyiduna Khalid ibn al-Walid (may Allah be pleased with him) and reached a certain tribe. Those people began to say, "We have left our religion, we have left our religion." Sayyiduna Khalid began killing them and told his companions to kill their own captives. They refused. When this incident was mentioned in the court of the Messenger ﷺ, he expressed his displeasure and said:

..................

Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Iman, vol. 1, p. 96, Ihya' al-Turath al-'Arabi, Beirut.

"O Allah, I declare myself free of what Khalid has done."

3. Sayyiduna Hatib (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote a letter addressed to the chiefs of Makkah in which he informed them of the military intention of the Prophet ﷺ, and sent it off with a woman. The Prophet ﷺ, the knower of the unseen, came to know of it through knowledge of the unseen. He sent Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) along with someone else and said that in Rawdat Khakh they would find a woman who had Hatib's letter, and he informed them of the details of the letter. Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) caught her at Rawdat Khakh, and only after great difficulty and threats did she take the letter out of her braided hair and hand it over. Outwardly this was a grave crime and open treason. But the compassionate and generous Master called Sayyiduna Hatib and made him aware of the crime and treason. He said: O Messenger of Allah ﷺ, do not be hasty concerning me. I have neither rebelled against Islam nor become an apostate. The truth of the matter is that all the Emigrants (Muhajirun) who are with you have relatives in Makkah who protect and support their kin, but I have no one. I thought I would do them this favour so that they would treat my relatives gently and protect them. Sayyiduna Umar al-Faruq (may Allah be pleased with him) sought permission, saying: Give me permission so that I may strike off the neck of this hypocrite. The Prophet (peace be upon him) forbade it and, accepting his excuse, said: Leave him; he is a Companion who fought at Badr. Allah Most High knows them all, and He has announced the forgiveness of all those who took part in the Battle of Badr.

Many narrations on this subject could be gathered, but we suffice with these three narrations of Bukhari, from which the common people of the present situation, and indeed many educated people as well, can learn

...................

1. Bukhari, Kitab al-Maghazi, Bab Ba'th al-Nabi ﷺ Khalid ibn al-Walid ila Bani Jadhima, no. 4084.

2. Selected from Bukhari, Kitab al-Maghazi, no. 4025.

some lesson.

2. In this regard, along with the scholars, the way of the noble Sufis should also be especially kept in view. One should look at those elders whose sainthood and greatness are accepted by everyone, and see how they reformed the disbelievers, the polytheists and the Muslims of bad conduct, and what manner they adopted. After the scholars, it is almost an accepted matter that the realised Sufis and the noble friends of Allah (may Allah be pleased with them) have attained to Allah, have access to perceiving inner secrets through unveiling and inspiration (ilham), and put every matter into practice only after knowing the divine pleasure in it.

3. The individuals of the false sects differ in their degree of innovation and misguidance. Some are deeply entrenched, have complete certainty that their false beliefs are true, and also invite others to them; the ill omen on their faces betrays their inner state. Effort on such people is fruitless, and keeping away from them is what is proper. The matter concerns only those who cannot distinguish between truth and falsehood, whose beliefs are those generally held by Ahl al-Sunnah, that is, the matters that are necessary for being Sunni and are termed the essentials of Ahl al-Sunnah. They are with the others only because those others teach them something of religion, and because of that bad company they do not practise the customary practices of Ahl al-Sunnah. Besides them there are some, indeed very many, who are very close to the people of truth and also practise those customary practices, but they mix freely with the others.

4. To bring such misguided people onto the right path, our present-day speeches and gatherings are not sufficient. Rather, the speeches of professional orators and the talks of ignorant people are deadly poison for this class of people; they do not hold up those who are falling, but make them fall further. For this it is proper, indeed necessary, that we become acquainted in detail with the methods of invitation (da'wa) of our opponents, prepare a better plan than theirs to counter them, enter the field of action, unite ourselves, and

select capable workers, assign each one to the front on which he can work, support them fully and free them from economic needs. This matter requires considerable detail; we have already written on it elsewhere, so we stop here. Intelligent people of knowledge and those acquainted with the principles of da'wa can understand the methods of work to a large extent even from this; indeed some people are writing about it in great detail, but along with writing there is a need to enter the field of action.

5. Knowledge that relates to action can only be realised through action. For useful work in this regard there is an urgent need for Sufism and spirituality, and there is a need to reform hearts and selves on a large scale. Secondly, there is a need to develop great skill in inviting and preaching. Such a vast population, the fact that opponents have been working in this field for many years, their spread and their conspiracies, all demand that, according to minds, temperaments and abilities, different preachers are needed for different fronts; we have already written a good deal about this in other writings. It should be borne in mind that the true reform of hearts and selves can be carried out only by those who have traversed the stages of the spiritual path (suluk) and possess the ability to guide and reform. Today such servants of Allah are, if not non-existent, then certainly rare. Here we set down in writing a few particular counsels of the elders which, once known and acted upon, can make a person righteous to a considerable degree. Let it be known that in this age, when perfect shaykhs have all but vanished, if one cannot find a perfect shaykh, how one may obtain the spiritual graces and blessings of the elders, and what the way is to attain purification of the heart (tasfiya) and purification of the self (tazkiya), we have written a separate treatise on that. Most of what we mention here will serve as the foundation for attaining spirituality.

Taqwa

Linguistically, taqwa is the verbal noun of waqa, yaqi, and it means to forbid and restrain. A taqi, that is, a person of taqwa, is one who restrains himself from the desires of the self; that is why he is called taqi and muttaqi. Some scholars

say that linguistically taqwa is the name for protecting oneself from everything that is harmful and damaging for one's religion and worldly life. In the terminology of the Shari'ah, carrying out what has been commanded and keeping away from what has been prohibited is called taqwa.

Some have added the condition of the outward and the inward, that is, carrying out what is commanded and abandoning what is prohibited, both outwardly and inwardly. The summary of this is that, of the commands and prohibitions, first there are those which relate to the body, that is, the outward. Outward commands are, for example, prayer, fasting and other acts of obedience and worship; they relate to being performed through the body. Outward prohibitions are such things as lying, backbiting, tale-bearing, fornication, sodomy and so on.

Hazrat Qadi Baydawi (may Allah have mercy on him) says: in the Shari'ah, taqwa is protecting oneself from everything that will be harmful in the Hereafter.

Second, there are those which relate to the heart, that is, the inward. Inward commands are such things as love of Allah, love of the Messenger ﷺ, good and righteous intentions and so on; all of these are to be carried out with awareness of the greatness, awe and fear of Allah Most High, and while fearing Him. Inward prohibitions are such things as envy, malice, love of the world and so on.

The benefits and advantages of taqwa are not limited to the Hereafter; countless benefits are obtained in this world as well. If a servant attains the highest degree of taqwa, no one can estimate the blessings it brings him in the Hereafter.