Innovation (bid'ah)

In the words of Hazrat Mujaddid Alf-e-Sani (may his secret be sanctified) you will find a forceful command to follow the Sunnah and avoid innovation (bid'ah). Innovation, it is evident, is an extremely ugly and evil thing, which the Master of the world ﷺ thoroughly refuted. Generally the elders have divided innovation into good (hasana) and bad (sayyi'a). In the blessed era of Hazrat Mujaddid (may his secret be sanctified), immature Sufis, taking cover behind the “good” category, had invented many grossly wrong things which were having a bad effect on beliefs and practices. The mature insight of Hazrat Mujaddid (may his secret be sanctified) perceived this, and he shut this back door altogether; in some places he refuted the division itself. In one place he says:

The scholars have said that innovation is of two kinds, good and bad. Good is that righteous deed which arose after the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and the Rightly Guided Caliphs (may Allah be pleased with them) and does not displace a Sunnah; and bad is that which displaces a Sunnah. This faqir does not witness beauty and radiance in any of these innovations, and perceives nothing in them but darkness and turbidity. (Maktub 186, Volume One)

In the margin of the Maktubat Sharif, at this very place, a very fine discussion on this subject

is recorded, from which it becomes clear what Hazrat Mujaddid (may his secret be sanctified) truly meant by innovation. The annotator says: Hazrat Imam Rabbani (may his secret be sanctified) was very severe regarding innovation — in so many places in the Maktubat (he did so) — and he had the right to be; had it not been so, the darknesses of innovation would have engulfed all the lands of India and Transoxiana (Mawara' an-Nahr). Hazrat Mujaddid's statement on this matter does not contradict the earlier scholars who divided innovation into good and bad. By “good” they meant that which has a basis in the first era, even if only by allusion — such as building minarets, madrasas and khanqahs, compiling books, arranging proofs and the like — and by “bad” that which has no basis at all in the first era. So the Imam (may his secret be sanctified) does not apply the term innovation to the first kind, because its basis exists in the first era, and so it is not something newly invented (mubtada' or muhdath); rather he restricts the term innovation to the second kind alone, since that alone is in reality newly invented, and because the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Every innovation is misguidance. So the dispute is merely verbal, that is, over whether or not to apply the term innovation to the first kind. My master Muhammad Mazhar (may his secret be sanctified) said in Maqamat-e-Sa'idiyya: My father (Khwaja Ahmad Sa'id) (may Allah be pleased with him) used to say that good innovation, according to Imam Rabbani (may his secret be sanctified), falls within the Sunnah; in his view it is not innovation at all.

The people of falsehood, namely the Wahhabi sect and others, saw that Hazrat Mujaddid is a fierce opponent of innovation, and from this they took the impression that Hazrat Mujaddid agrees with them in beliefs and practices, since these people regard anyone who opposes their particular views — which are entirely contrary to the Qur'an and hadith — as an innovator. To this day I have not been able to understand on what basis these people of corrupt creed consider the people of truth to be innovators. If by innovation

they mean every new thing that was invented after the Prophet (peace be upon him), then in this sense they themselves are very great innovators; in this sense the majority of the Ummah would be deemed innovators.

Great friends of Allah (awliya) and eminent scholars would also be deemed confirmed innovators. Even Hazrat Mujaddid Alf-e-Sani (may his secret be sanctified) himself, who is a great opponent of innovation, would not remain free of innovation. You have read in earlier pages that Hazrat Mujaddid (may his secret be sanctified) used to observe Fatiha, 'Urs and the like, and he built a dome over the holy tomb of his eldest son, Hazrat Khwaja Muhammad Sadiq (may Allah have mercy on him). In short, there would be a long list of matters of innovation that could be pinned on Hazrat Mujaddid (may his secret be sanctified). Would these people be ready and willing to call Hazrat Mujaddid (may his secret be sanctified) an innovator? Let them say it just once and see — they will learn what a shower of curses rains down on them from the creation and the Creator. The fact is that not even the greatest cleric of this sect can give any definition of innovation on the basis of which Hazrat Mujaddid could be saved from being an innovator while all the Sunnis, the Barelvis, are pushed into that pit. I quote a passage on innovation by Allama Sayyid Muhammad Faruq al-Qadiri, from which the correct definition of innovation and the meaning intended by Hazrat Mujaddid (may his secret be sanctified) will be well understood. After a fine discussion on innovation, the said Mawlana writes:

Attempts are commonly made to give a false colour to the true position of Imam Rabbani Mujaddid Alf-e-Sani (may Allah be pleased with him) regarding innovation. To clarify it, we quote an extract from the writing of an illustrious scholar and renowned elder of his noble family, Shaykh al-Shuyukh Hazrat Muhammad Hasan Khan Mujaddidi (may Allah have mercy on him), from which the position

of Hazrat Mujaddid Alf-e-Sani (may Allah have mercy on him) regarding innovation becomes fully clear. He writes:

It should be known that in language bid'ah means every newly arisen thing that has no precedent. Allah Most High has used it thus: “Originator (Badi') of the heavens and the earth.” In the Shari'ah, bid'ah means a thing newly introduced into the affairs of religion — that is, something that did not exist in the blessed time of the Prophet ﷺ and that is contrary to and in conflict with the Sunnah. We added the condition of being contrary to or in conflict with the Sunnah because, after the Prophet ﷺ, so many new matters arose, and both in this age and before it they became so common and widespread, that neither the muqallid nor the ghayr muqallid can avoid them — so much so that even the latter part of the best generations (khayr al-qurun) could not escape them, to which the books of history bear witness.

The upshot is that the innovation meant in the hadith is the innovation that is called bad (sayyi'a) and that is contrary and opposed to the Sunnah; but newly arisen matters which do not conflict with or oppose the Sunnah fall within what the Shari'ah permits (mubahat).

This is because in our school all things are originally permissible (prohibition is established by an explicit text from the Lawgiver). Here the question arises: the hadith uses the words kullu bid'atin dalala — that is, every innovation is misguidance — yet we have declared some innovations permissible. The answer is that by saying “every”, the Lawgiver (peace be upon him) did not mean that all kinds of innovation, whether good or bad, are without exception misguidance and error; rather, “every” means that all the kinds of bad innovation that clash with and oppose the Sunnah are misguidance. The proof of this is the Prophet's ﷺ own saying, which has come in the Sahih collections:

“Hold fast to my Sunnah and to the Sunnah of my Rightly Guided Caliphs who come after me.”

The Sunnah of the Rightly Guided Caliphs cannot be identical to the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ, because conjunction requires distinction; so if the word “every” were taken absolutely, there would remain no room for following the Sunnah of the Rightly Guided Caliphs, and no place would be left for the saying of Hazrat Sayyiduna Faruq (may Allah be pleased with him) that twenty rak'ahs of Tarawih is an excellent innovation. The scholars say that innovation has many kinds.

Some of them are obligatory in this age — for example, spreading knowledge, building madrasas and travellers' lodges, and the like; some are a good Sunnah, such as praying twenty rak'ahs of Tarawih, establishing offices and courts for government, building mosques with decorated stone and teak wood, compiling the Qur'an into a single codex (mushaf), fighting rebels, and so on; and some innovations are recommended or permissible, such as most of the customs and practices of the present age. Thus the ways of the shaykhs, their arranged litanies of remembrance (adhkar), and their timed meditations (muraqabat) fall within this good innovation, which renowned and eminent scholars have accepted and considered good.

They have encouraged people towards these things and have themselves been occupied with these practices; and not only do they not regard these matters as innovation, they do not even consent to the word innovation being used for them — as is the way of our supreme guide, Imam Rabbani Mujaddid Alf-e-Sani (may Allah have mercy on him). (Fazil-e-Barelvi aur Umur-e-Bid'at)

I would make a sincere appeal to the devotees of Hazrat Mujaddid Alf-e-Sani (may his secret be sanctified) to try to understand the words of this great guide of theirs, and not to lose hold of their faith and true beliefs by being misled by every

person who outwardly takes the name of Hazrat Mujaddid (may his secret be sanctified) but in reality is a stern denier of the greatness and loftiness of him and of all the friends of Allah. The true position of Hazrat Mujaddid (may his secret be sanctified) is the one pointed out by our predecessors and, in this age especially, by the Imam of Ahl-e-Sunnat, A'la Hazrat (may his secret be sanctified).

Chapter Two

The Means of Nearness to Allah

It should be known that the root cause of nearness and closeness to the Most Holy Lord is attraction (jadhb) — that is, Allah Most High drawing His servant towards Himself. This attraction is sometimes without any intermediary; this is called election (ijtiba'). Allah Most High says:

“Allah chooses for Himself whom He wills” (Allah chooses for His nearness whomever He wills).

But most often it comes through the intermediary of something. On investigation and search, the intermediary is one of two things: first, correct worship; second, the company of a perfect and perfecting human being. The attraction that comes through the intermediary of worship is called the blessings of worship (barakat-e-'ibadat), and that which comes through the medium of company is called the influence of the shaykh (ta'sir-e-shaykh). This discussion concerns those things which act as the efficient cause ('illat fa'ili) of nearness to Allah.

Human capacity (isti'dad) also plays a part in nearness to Allah; every person's capacity and aptitude is different. The Master of the world ﷺ says: “People are mines like the mines of gold and silver” — that is, human beings are mines just as there are mines of gold and silver: from one place gold is extracted and from another land silver, from one place iron and from another brass, and so on. Human capacity acts as the receptive cause ('illat qabili).

Obstacles to Nearness

The things that hold one back from nearness to Allah are the vices of the self (nafs), the impurity of the elements, and the heedlessness of the subtle centres (lata'if) of the World of Command

('alam-e-amr). These are the things that obstruct nearness. When a person worships correctly and adopts the company and service of a perfect and perfecting shaykh, then just as through these he traverses the lofty degrees of nearness to Allah, so through them he also removes the obstacles to nearness to Allah.

From this account you will have understood that it is necessary for the imperfect one to adopt these two things. The first is acquisition (kasb): that is, to take up acts of worship and spiritual exercises as prescribed by the shaykh, through which the obstacles to nearness are removed, purification of the self (tazkiya) is attained, the elements are cleansed and purified of vices and bad traits, and the subtle centres of the World of Command are refined (tasfiya). The second thing is the attraction of a perfect and perfecting shaykh, which bestows the affiliation (nisbat), brings one to the stages of nearness to the Truth, and lifts one out of the lowliness of the dust into the embrace of the heights of the heavens.

The shaykhs of most orders have placed wayfaring (suluk) before attraction. They saw that first those things which obstruct nearness must be removed and eliminated, and then the goals attained. So these masters command their disciples (murids) to perform remembrances and spiritual exercises, and keep their spiritual energy (himmat) and attention (tawajjuh) directed towards them, so that the subtle centres of the World of Command and the World of Creation ('alam-e-khalq) may be purified and cleansed, and the selves of the disciples may be adorned with good character and praiseworthy qualities — such as repentance and turning to Allah (tawba and inabat), renunciation and reliance on Allah (zuhd and tawakkul), patience and contentment (sabr and rida), and other qualities of sincerity and purity — and with the ten well-known stations (maqamat), and so that the capacity and aptitude for nearness to the Truth may be produced in them, in order that they may then draw them towards the Divine Court and grant them nearness to Allah. Since this road is very distant and long, and one has to pass through many thorny valleys on it, therefore

Hazrat Khwaja-e-Khwajagan Muhammad Baha'uddin Naqshband (may his secret be sanctified) was inspired with a path in which attraction precedes wayfaring.

The Naqshbandi masters first turn their attention to casting remembrance (ilqa'-e-dhikr) into the subtle centres of the World of Command, and by their lofty spiritual energy make those subtle centres engaged in remembrance. Since, through being stained by sins and through the bad company of the world and worldly people, the subtle centres have forgotten their origin and become heedless of the remembrance of the Most Holy Lord, the perfect shaykh, by casting light through his attention, purifies the subtle centres of these impurities and filth, reminds them of their origins, and fills and populates them with the remembrance of Allah Most High, so that they may become annihilated (fani) and absorbed in their origins.

It should be borne in mind that the shaykh's attention has the greater part in refinement and purification, because the case with the blessings of worship is this: whatever nearness the worship of a perfect person bestows is reckoned of value, but the nearness gained from the worship of an imperfect person is not worth counting, since the reward of worship too is given according to degrees; the progress and increase in nearness that worship bestows on a perfect person it does not bestow on the imperfect — so much so that it is said that the worship of the whole world, compared with the worship of a friend of Allah (wali), is like a shadow. So the disciple should adopt only those things which the shaykh commands. The shaykhs command their disciples to undertake spiritual exercises and striving only so that the elements may be refined and the self purified; the attainment of nearness is not the aim. Rather, refinement and purification are not attained by worship and exercise alone until the influence of the shaykh is attained.

Removing a Misconception

Many people think that sainthood (wilayat) can be attained only when great forty-day retreats (chillas) are performed, fast upon fast is kept, and a person gives up everything connected with the world. That is why people who cut off ties with everyone and remain occupied in solitude with glorifying Allah (tasbih) and declaring His oneness (tahlil), and adopt great exercises and strivings, are held in great esteem in people's eyes.

By contrast, those who do not outwardly take up these things but strive that their every word and deed should accord with the Sunnah — however lofty the heights these masters may have reached — are given no importance. This involves great ignorance and folly; because of it, who knows how many friends of Allah have had their sainthood denied, and how many who are not friends of Allah are taken to be crowned with sainthood — and clearly both of these open the doors to deprivation and evils. The real spiritual exercise and the greatest striving is following the Sunnah and the company of a perfect shaykh. People have generally remained unaware of the lofty degrees of the Naqshbandi elders because, among them, following the Sunnah and the company of the shaykh are the two things necessary for attaining progress, and in the eyes of the common people these are not worthy of leading to lofty ranks.

Just consider: Islam is a complete and perfect religion, comprehending all degrees. If all those perfections that are possible for ordinary human beings cannot be attained by following the Master of the universe ﷺ, then such a person, in other words, thinks that his Shari'ah is not sufficient for attaining the stations of nearness to Allah. We seek refuge in Allah from that.

May the Most Holy Lord protect everyone from such evil notions. Amin. The attainment

of progress should never be thought to depend on great strivings and such tremendous exercises as have no proof in the Sunnah.

At the same time, one should also take care that we do not reject, by calling them innovation, the exercises and strivings the shaykhs prescribed for the needs of their time — like those gentlemen for whom belittling the friends of Allah is itself worship. The intentions of these masters (in prescribing exercises and strivings) were good; never, ever let anything escape the tongue that would entail belittling these elders.

The Nearest of Paths

Khwaja-e-Khwajagan Muhammad Baha'uddin Naqshband (may his secret be sanctified) had petitioned the court of Allah Most High: Grant me a path that is nearer and that leads to the goal in every case. His supplication was honoured with acceptance, and the command came: In your path attraction shall precede wayfaring. In other paths they place wayfaring before attraction; that is, the perfect spiritual guide (pir) first commands his disciple to undertake exercises (the forty-day retreat, night vigils, hunger and the like), and through these exercises refines the disciple's elements and self. When the disciple sees the purity of his self and elements outside himself in the World of Images ('alam-e-mithal) — for example as a star, a crescent, a waning moon, a full moon or the sun — then the shaykh gives the disciple the glad tidings of annihilation (fana) and the refinement of the self and elements. This is called wayfaring (suluk), and this journey is called the journey in the horizons (sayr-e-afaqi).

After this, the shaykh, by his attention alone, occupies himself with purifying the disciple's subtle centres of the World of Command until they attain annihilation and subsistence (fana and baqa). This is called attraction (jadhb), and this journey is called the journey within the selves (sayr-e-anfusi), because in this journey whatever the seeker sees (illumination, progress,

reaching the origin, and annihilation) he sees within himself. According to the explanation of Hazrat Mujaddid (may Allah be pleased with him), this journey is called the journey within the selves because the selves become mirrors of the shadows and reflections of the Names and Attributes of Allah Most High — not that the wayfarer's journey takes place within the self. Here, in reality, it is a journey through the shadows of the Names in the mirrors of the selves. In the Naqshbandi path, attraction is placed before wayfaring, and the beginning is made with the subtle centres of the World of Command; wayfaring is traversed within attraction, and the journey in the horizons within the journey within the selves.

Hazrat Mujaddid (may his secret be sanctified) explains and elaborates this as follows: the purpose of journeying and wayfaring, and of attraction and refinement, is to purify the self of base morals and vile qualities. Captivity to the self and the pursuit of the self's desires is the greatest evil. Captivity to the horizons arises from captivity to the self, because whatever a person loves, he loves for the sake of his love of himself; for example, if he loves his children and wealth, he loves them for his own benefit. Since in the journey within the selves love of oneself disappears through the dominance of love of Allah Most High, the love of children and wealth also disappears within it; in this way the journey in the horizons is also cut (completed) within the journey within the selves. In this case the meanings of the journey in the horizons and the journey within the selves also remain sound without strain, because in reality the journey is both in the selves and in the horizons: the gradual cutting of the self's attachments is the journey in the selves, and the cutting of the attachments to the horizons, which takes place within the journey within the selves, is the journey in the horizons. The meanings that other shaykhs have given for these two involve strain. Thus the Naqshbandi path became the nearest way.

There is another reason too for the Naqshbandi path being the nearest of paths, and it is that

the means (wasila) of the Naqshbandi masters to the presence of the Master of the Prophets — upon him and his family be blessings and salutations — is Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him). Clearly, the stronger the means, the nearer the road to arrival, and the stages will be crossed very quickly. That is what appears in the words of the elders of this exalted order: our affiliation (that is, constant presence or constant awareness) is the Sunnah of Hazrat Siddiq-e-Akbar (may Allah be pleased with him), who is the best of mankind after the Prophets, and the awareness of Hazrat Siddiq-e-Akbar (may Allah be pleased with him) is certainly the highest and loftiest of all awarenesses. (Tazkira-e-Mashaikh-e-Naqshbandiya)

This Path Certainly Leads to the Goal

The Naqshbandi path leads to the goal in any case; there is no possibility here of not arriving, because the first step of this path is attraction, which is the threshold of arrival. What prevents a wayfarer's arrival is either pure attraction without wayfaring or pure wayfaring without attraction, and neither of these obstacles exists here, because in this path there is neither pure wayfaring nor mere attraction, but attraction that contains wayfaring. So in this exalted order the only thing that can prevent arrival is the seeker's own laziness; nothing else is an obstacle. If a sincere seeker remains in the company of a perfect spiritual guide and fulfils the conditions of seeking, it is hoped that he will certainly arrive. If someone has the misfortune to fall in with an imperfect guide — since he himself has not arrived, how can he make another arrive? In that case the fault is not the path's. (Maktub 221 and Tazkira)