The sixth sign

is that the scholar of the Hereafter should not be hasty in giving a legal ruling (fatwa); rather, he should tell the questioner to take the fatwa from those who are qualified for it. On account of prudence and caution, Imam Ghazali (may his secret be sanctified) says that among the signs of the scholar of the Hereafter is that he is not hasty in giving fatwas; rather, he holds back and keeps away, so that some way of release may be found. If someone qualified for it

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Kifayat al-Atqiya, pp. 72-73

cannot be found, then he should see: if he knows the matter he is being asked about with certainty, from an explicit text of the Book of Allah, an explicit text of hadith, consensus (ijma'), or clear analogy (qiyas jali), then he may give the fatwa. If he is asked about something concerning which he is in doubt (he does not know the ruling with certainty), then he should say La adri (I do not know). And if he is asked about something which he knows only by way of conjecture and estimation, then he should be cautious in giving a fatwa, put it away from himself, and refer it to someone else, if that other person is able to resolve it.

Let it be known that those who give fatwas and those who seek them are today of many kinds. Giving a fatwa in the true sense is the work of the mujtahid, and it is a long time since they came to an end. Afterwards, the eminent jurists (fuqaha) took up this responsibility, giving fatwas while keeping in view the principles (usul) and derived rulings (furu') of their mujtahid. In this age even such muftis can be counted on the fingers. Thanks be to Allah that even in this era of decline there are individuals who untangle the knots of new particular cases, though they are few. But the great tragedy of today's age is that now whoever graduates from a madrasa and comes out with the certificate of fadilat is not ready to be called anything less than a mufti. Most of them know nothing of the principles and derived rulings; many cannot even translate an Arabic passage. The limit is that some gentlemen do not even know Urdu properly; indeed, even some huffaz (memorisers of the Quran) have started giving fatwas. Now the self (nafs) has such dominance that they consider saying La adri (I do not know) an insult. Whichever mosque imam or primary-school (maktab) teacher is asked a question, he will certainly come out with some wild guess or other. Ignorance in matters of religion has increased so much that so-called maulvis have begun clashing with the scholars and honoured muftis, criticising the opinions of responsible scholars, and stirring up strife (fitna).

Among those who seek fatwas, sincerity of intention is now very rare. In reality very few people actually need a fatwa; behind a fatwa some personal matter or grudge or other lies hidden. Some personal grievance makes a person request a fatwa, and then they take that fatwa and start stirring up strife over it, and apply it

to those with whom they have some personal dispute. Sometimes people of corrupt belief ask the Ahl-e-Sunnat questions in the form of a fatwa in which, if the mufti gives a fatwa of 'yes', he is trapped, and if he gives 'no', they get the chance to stir up strife. For example, they will ask whether Salah behind the imam of the Haram is permissible or not. In this case, given the imam's false beliefs and ideas, if the Sunni mufti says yes, it is wrong; and if he says no, they show the common people: 'Look! According to them, Salah behind the imam of the Haram is not permissible.' Likewise, people of our own side also ask questions for the sake of strife.

This is why the elders of religion and the honoured Sufis used to say, In kar-e ma nist (giving fatwas is not our work). It is not that there were none among them qualified to give fatwas. There have been great and highly capable muftis who had wrapped themselves in the mantle of Sufism (tasawwuf). But since there were scholars present whose constant occupation was the outward sciences and fatwas, they gave them precedence in this matter. Second, because of the prudence and caution that is being discussed. Third, because of strife, their effective way of reform, instead of fatwas, was explaining and making people understand face to face with love; and they would admonish the wrongdoer in such a way that the duty of enjoining good and forbidding evil was fulfilled, he also came to realise his wrong, and he was not disgraced in people's eyes either. Sometimes, through their inward spiritual influence (tasarruf), they would draw a person from misguidance to guidance and from sin to righteousness. Today's honoured muftis need to exercise great caution; they need to assess the questioner and understand his purpose. They also need to keep in view the level of the common people. Let it be known that we have discussed this subject in full detail in another writing, so look there.

The seventh sign is that, among the sciences, he aims at that knowledge whose acquisition brings him to the felicity of the Hereafter ("that his aim among the sciences be the knowledge which brings and conveys him to the felicity of the Hereafter, and that is the knowledge of the inward, the watching over of the heart, and knowing the path of the Hereafter and travelling it") (Kifayat al-Atqiya,

Ihya' 'Ulum al-Din, and others).

Such knowledge is the knowledge of the inward (ilm-e batin), and watching over the heart (muraqaba-e qalb), that is, guarding and protecting the heart, and knowing the path of the Hereafter and travelling upon it.

Allama Sayyid Bakri (may his secret be sanctified) further says that when his aim is to acquire the knowledge of felicity, he should mostly concern himself with the knowledge of the inward, so that through it he may come to know the things that corrupt and ruin deeds and cause the heart anxiety and distraction; and he should remain occupied in governing and reforming his heart, so that it may be disciplined and adorned with praiseworthy morals. He should hope and expect, through spiritual striving (mujahada), that the path of the Hereafter will be unveiled to him, because this is what leads to witnessing (mushahada). Allah the Exalted says:

وَالَّذِیْنَ جٰھَدُوْا فِیْنَا لَنَھْدِیَنّھُمْ سُبُلَنَا؂

And those who strive in Our cause, We will surely guide them to Our ways.

Those who strive in Our ways, We will certainly show them Our paths.

So through spiritual striving, through sitting and keeping company with Allah the Exalted in seclusion (khalwat), and through purifying the heart of worldly preoccupations, the subtleties of the religious sciences are unveiled and countless springs of wisdom gush forth from the heart. So purifying the heart is cleansing it of preoccupations, and sitting with Allah in seclusion is the key to inspiration (ilham) and the fountainhead of unveiling (kashf). Thus there are many seekers of knowledge who study for a long period, yet cannot go a single word beyond what they have learned; hence they do not come to know anything new except what they have heard. And there are many who, in acquiring knowledge, limit themselves to what is essential, intended and important, do much in the way of practice, and make use of watching over the heart. Allah the Exalted opens for them such subtleties of wisdom that the minds of the people of intellect

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Kifayat al-Atqiya, p. 74

Surah al-Rum 30:69

are left astonished. This is why the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

مَنْ عَمِلَ مَا عَلِمَ وَرَّ ثَہُ اللہُ عِلْمَ مَا لَمْ یَعْلَمْ ؂

Whoever acts upon what he knows, Allah makes him inherit the knowledge of what he did not know.

Whoever acts upon his knowledge, Allah the Exalted will give him knowledge which he does not know.

It is in the earlier scriptures: "O Children of Israel! Do not say that knowledge is in the heavens, so who will bring it down to the earth; nor say that knowledge is in the depths of the earth, so who will dig it out from there; nor say that it is beyond the sea, so who will cross the sea and bring it. Knowledge has been placed in your hearts. Adorn yourselves before Me with the manners of the spiritual ones, and bear the character of the truthful (siddiqin); you will make knowledge appear in your hearts so much that it will cover you and take you completely into its embrace."

The Seventh Sign

Acquiring the Seventh Sign and the Way to It

If a person wishes to see in practice all that has been described in the seventh sign, let him read the lives of the people of unveiling, the verifying Sufis (sufiya muhaqqiqin), and the realities and gnostic insights (haqa'iq wa ma'arif) they have set out; he will easily understand that it is correct and true letter by letter. When those who acquire outward knowledge and the knowledge of felicity act upon it, this very thing takes the form of inward knowledge. For this, a few things are required:

1. His main devotion should be to the knowledge of the Shari'ah. By the knowledge of the Shari'ah is meant not only that knowledge which is acted upon with the outward limbs; rather, the Shari'ah includes all those deeds which relate to the body, or to what the heart is commanded or forbidden. Likewise, it includes and covers all those praiseworthy qualities which the Messenger of the universe ﷺ produced in the noble Companions through the grace (fayzan) of his company and with which he adorned them. Likewise, the heart and body should avoid those base and blameworthy qualities which we have been

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1. Ihya' 'Ulum al-Din, 1:106

2. Kifayat al-Atqiya, p. 74

commanded to avoid, such as love of the world, love of praise, love of rank and office, envy, malice, greed, covetousness, self-exaltation and the like. Likewise, when he adopts God-fearing piety (taqwa) and abstinence, and carries out self-purification (tazkiya-e nafs) and the cleansing of the heart (tasfiya-e qalb) through spiritual exercises (mujahadat), this brings him to purity of heart, through which an affinity arises in him with the Divine Court and the noble angels. Disciplining and refining the heart and the self: this is the cleansing and purification which we have been commanded in the Quran and Sunnah, and from it arises sincerity (ikhlas), which the Quran and Sunnah describe again and again.

2. Allah the Exalted is Light, and the angels too are luminous. Servants, because of the elements and the self that commands to evil (nafs-e ammara), have no affinity with that Court. So at such a time there is need of a person who can be a means for ordinary servants to obtain light from the Divine Court, and who has affinity with both sides. He is called the perfect spiritual guide (murshid-e kamil), who through his inward attentions (tawajjuhat) and spiritual influences (tasarrufat) transfers Divine light into lightless breasts and subtle centres (lata'if). Bear in mind that true taqwa, or the highest degree of taqwa, cannot be attained without such a perfect guide. Now, the company and love of the perfect guide, acquiring grace (fayz) and light from him, and acting upon the Shari'ah bring one to the stage where, through unveiling and inspiration or by way of the believer's insight (firasat), those sciences and gnostic insights begin to pour into his heart and self which are termed inward knowledge, and which cannot be derived from the outward sense of the Quran and Sunnah alone. In short, to reach this stage one needs, first, to know the rulings of lawful and unlawful and the voluntary and recommended acts, which fiqh explains in detail, so that by acting upon them taqwa may be attained.

Second: one needs to be adorned with those noble traits and virtues which the Possessor of the Mighty Character ﷺ granted to the Ummah, and to purify oneself of those base and blameworthy morals, habits and qualities which the Quran and Sunnah have declared faulty.

Third: one needs to learn Sufism (tasawwuf). It should also be borne in mind that, apart from fiqh, the other sciences, the virtues

and noble traits and how to be adorned with them, and the blameworthy qualities and the ways to avoid them, have been described in detail by the verifying Sufis in their extensive books; and the depth with which they acted upon the character and deeds of the Master ﷺ has generally not been granted to others. Let it also be known that to some scholars who possessed the above-mentioned qualities, Allah the Exalted granted the rank of nearness (qurb) purely out of His grace, but such people can be counted on the fingers. The general body of those in the Ummah who reached the Real, Glorified is He, and who became heirs to nearness and gnosis (ma'rifa), unveiling and inspiration, and realities and gnostic insights, reached Him through a perfect guide and spiritual exercises, together with the above-mentioned qualities and perfections of knowledge and practice. We have described these matters in detail in another writing, especially in the book "Tasawwuf aur Us ke Fawa'id" (Sufism and Its Benefits).

Let it also be known that it is a clear fact that steadfastness (istiqamat) in acting upon the outward and inward of the Shari'ah is not attained without a perfect guide. Mere knowledge does not necessarily entail practice, as the lives of great jurists and scholars bear witness; and today anyone can easily observe the deeds of scholars and jurists. Hence it is often seen that if someone attains mastery in a particular discipline or a particular rank, he falls victim all the more to the above-mentioned vices of the self: pride, envy, love of the world, love of praise and so on. That is why the imams stated as the sign of being a scholar of the Hereafter the very thing mentioned in the seventh sign. Today an ordinary educated person who is acquainted with these signs can, if he wishes, easily distinguish among scholars and spiritual masters who among them is a scholar of the Hereafter and who is not, who can lead one to Allah and who cannot.

Let it also be remembered that the beliefs of the Ahl-e-Sunnat, possessing which is a basic condition for the scholar of the Hereafter: if someone acquires in detail that knowledge of them which the scholars have declared an individual obligation (fard 'ayn), then at most you can say of him that he has rational, proof-based knowledge (ma'rifat-e burhaniyya) of Allah the Exalted. If he departs with this faith, it is sufficient for salvation; but this knowledge too does not necessarily entail practice. The scholars who have this

knowledge through teaching and repetition: their deeds too are plain to see. Every perceptive person knows in how many misdeeds, outward and inward, they are entangled, with how many base qualities they are marked, and how the very existence of many of them has become nothing but strife. The great pity is that they are absorbed in these very matters and sciences and think that they have achieved the whole purpose of coming into the world. It should also be kept in mind that taking allegiance (bay'a) with some spiritual guide is not sufficient for the stated purpose. First, in this age perfect guides who can lead one to Allah are extremely rare. Most scholars are disciples of someone only on the basis of scholarly or khanqah fame. Second, even if a perfect guide is found, if after taking allegiance with him one does not acquire grace and light from him, and does not act upon the established system which the honoured Sufis (may Allah's good pleasure be upon them) laid down for cleansing and purification, then until then he cannot attain the stage that is being described.

Benefit: If someone is a seeker of spirituality and cannot find a perfect guide, how is spirituality to be attained? I have explained this in a short separate treatise. Although it is difficult without a perfect guide, it is still to be hoped for.

The Eighth Sign

The scholars of Islam, the masters of the Shari'ah and the Tariqa (the spiritual path), have stated that in his sciences he should rely upon following the Bringer of the Shari'ah ﷺ, and place his trust in following his ﷺ words and deeds. Moreover, in the unveiling of the sciences, their secrets, and knowledge of their wisdoms and subtleties, his reliance and trust should be upon the Prophet ﷺ, the knower of what has been and what will be.

Hazrat Imam Ghazali (may his secret be sanctified) says that in his sciences his reliance should be on perception through his own insight and purity of heart, not on books and scrolls, nor on following anyone other than him ﷺ. The one who is to be followed in these sciences is solely his ﷺ blessed person. The following of the noble Companions that

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Kifayat al-Atqiya, p. 75

takes place is only on the basis that their deeds indicate that they heard it from the Prophet ﷺ. Then, when he follows the Bringer of the Shari'ah ﷺ in accepting his ﷺ deeds and words, it is fitting that he should also be eager to understand his ﷺ secrets, for no act of the Messenger ﷺ was devoid of secrets.

Hence it is necessary that he be intensely eager to search out the secrets of the Prophet's ﷺ deeds and words. If he does not try to know the secrets but contents himself only with the wording of the matters that have been related, then he is a vessel of knowledge (wi'a' al-'ilm), not a scholar. That is why it is said that so-and-so was a vessel of knowledge; he is not called a scholar, since his concern is only with the wording and he is not acquainted with the wisdoms and secrets. And whoever has lifted the veil from his heart and illuminated it with the light of guidance has now become one who is followed, not a follower; so he should not follow anyone else.

Caution: Here keep a few things particularly in mind. 1. The following (taqlid) which Imam Ghazali (may his secret be sanctified) is negating, saying that the scholar of the Hereafter should not be a follower, means following in secrets and wisdoms, not in the rulings of fiqh. Following the mujtahid imams is necessary and obligatory; the Imam (may his secret be sanctified) himself is also a follower (muqallid).

2. Secondly, attaining secrets and wisdoms is not available to every scholar, nor do all have the capacity for their unveiling. If by secrets and wisdoms are meant the gnostic insights and realities which are attained through inspiration and unveiling when the heart and self are pure, then for that the knowledge and practice which this author (may he be pardoned) described a little before this are necessary. And if those secrets and wisdoms are meant which are reached by the scholars and righteous people who have mastery in the knowledge of the Quran and Sunnah and its related sciences, who discover the underlying causes ('ilal) and wisdoms of the rulings, then the existence of such scholars too is extremely rare in today's age. In today's age, for people of little knowledge

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1. Kifayat al-Atqiya, p. 75

like us, it is better that for secrets and wisdoms of the first kind we read the books of the verifying Sufis. These elders have gathered a treasury in the form of inward sciences of unveiling and inspiration, and of gnostic insights and realities. In particular, the imams of the Tariqa, Huzur Shaykh Ibn al-Arabi and Huzur Mujaddid-o-Munawwir Alf-e-Sani (may Allah the Exalted sanctify their secrets), have taken this work to a stage beyond which nothing more can be imagined. And above every possessor of knowledge is one more knowing.

These masters possessed sound unveiling and clear inspiration, had also reached the limit of perfection in the outward sciences, and were adorned with all the excellences that ought to be found in a perfect human being (insan-e kamil). And if secrets and wisdoms of the second kind are meant, then the eminent scholars have also explained them to a considerable extent, and the elite and common people who came later have relied upon them. Therefore they should be studied, memorised and followed. The scholars of today fall within the circle of following (taqlid), not at the stage of independent reasoning (ijtihad), whose people are not permitted to follow others. And Allah knows best what is right.

The Mujtahids Combined the Outward and Inward Sciences and Were the Saints of Their Time

The schools of law (madhahib) that became most famous and accepted in the world, and to which the Ahl-e-Sunnat became confined after the best of generations (khayr al-qurun), are four. The imams of all four, just as they had reached the level of ijtihad in the outward sciences, likewise occupied the highest stage of inward knowledge and of praiseworthy qualities and commendable traits, and the rank of sainthood (wilayat). The scholars who combined the outward and the inward have described their perfections in detail: that these imams of the schools combined five traits: (1) asceticism (zuhd); (2) righteousness; (4) knowledge of the sciences of the Hereafter which benefit the creation; (5) understanding of the interests of the creation in this world, they being people who intended the pleasure of Allah by their understanding. Then the eminent scholars described in detail the above-mentioned virtues of these four imams of the schools, Imam-e A'zam Abu Hanifa, Imam Shafi'i, Imam Malik and Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (may Allah be pleased with them), and their steadfastness

they made mention of.

These elders derived principles from the Quran and Sunnah, and then derived rulings from the principles. Having done all this, the thorny valleys of sciences and disciplines and the perilous passes of toil and hardship they had to pass through, and then, while bearing the great burden of teaching and of detailing and compiling the chapters of fiqh, the worship and spiritual discipline (riyazat) they performed, is unparalleled. Despite how busy every moment of their lives was, their perfection in the above-mentioned virtues is clear proof that Divine support was with them, and all these things are firm proofs of their sainthood, saintliness and attainment to Allah. Besides this, the trusted saints of the Ummah, the people of unveiling and inspiration, have informed us that they and their schools are accepted in the sight of Allah; they observed their inward perfections with the eye of insight and stated that these masters combined all the qualities and were accepted scholars and imams among the scholars of the Hereafter. All the classes of the religious sciences in the Ummah, the scholars, jurists, hadith scholars (muhaddithin), Quran commentators (mufassirin) and theologians (mutakallimin), who themselves held great ranks, and many of whom occupied the level of ijtihad in the sciences of the Shari'ah and the sciences of the Tariqa, such people took pride in following and adhering to these noble imams.

Elders such as Hazrat Mujaddid Alf-e-Sani and his honoured sons, Imam Abdul Wahhab Sha'rani Shafi'i and his perfect spiritual guide Sayyid Ali Khawwas, possessor of sound unveiling and inspiration (may Allah the Exalted sanctify their lofty secrets), described the virtues and perfections of the four imams and explicitly affirmed their sainthood and saintliness. Their followers and adherents ought to have followed them in all their qualities and perfections; but the eminent scholars have said this:

"The jurists of the age have followed them in only one trait, and that is fiqh and its derived rulings, because it is serviceable for this world just as it is serviceable for the Hereafter." That is, the jurists of the age followed these imams in only one trait,

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1. Summarised from Kifayat al-Atqiya, p. 76

which is fiqh and its derived rulings, which are serviceable for this world just as they are serviceable for the Hereafter.

After mentioning five imams, the four mentioned and the fifth, Sufyan Thawri, Imam Ghazali, that royal falcon of the sciences of the Shari'ah, the Tariqa and the Reality (haqiqa), spoke thus:

"Each one of them was a devout worshipper, an ascetic, a knower of the sciences of the Hereafter, one with understanding of the interests of the creation in this world, and one who intended by his fiqh the Countenance of Allah the Exalted. These are five traits, of which the jurists of the age have followed them in only one trait, namely rolling up their sleeves and going to great lengths in the derived rulings of fiqh; because the four traits are serviceable only for the Hereafter, while this one trait is serviceable for both this world and the Hereafter, and if the Hereafter is intended by it, its usefulness for this world becomes little. They rolled up their sleeves for it and by it claimed resemblance to those imams. But how far it is that angels should be compared to blacksmiths!"

Translation: So each of these imams was a devout worshipper and an ascetic, a knower of the sciences of the Hereafter, a jurist in those benefits of the creation that relate to this world, and one who intended the Divine Being by his fiqh. These are five traits, of which all the jurists followed them in one trait, and that is striving in the derived rulings of fiqh and providing details; because the four traits have no use except for the Hereafter, while this trait can be for both this world and the Hereafter, and if the Hereafter is intended, its benefit in this world is little. They strove for it and through it claimed resemblance to the above-mentioned imams. Alas! Angels cannot be compared to blacksmiths.

It should be kept in mind that considerable details concerning knowledge and scholars are found in the books of the honoured Sufis (may Allah the Exalted have mercy on them), and the realities they reached in this matter and the guidance they gave to others in this

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1. Kifayat al-Atqiya, p. 76

2. Kifayat al-Atqiya, p. 77

regard is their special share. It should also be borne in mind that the signs and marks of the scholars of the Hereafter which the scholars of the Hereafter have described are not their own invention; they set them out in the light of the guidance of the Quran and hadith, and in the same light they also described, in contrast, the signs of the evil scholars.

The division of scholars into scholars of the Hereafter and scholars of the world is not merely an innovation of these elders. Just as Allah the Exalted and His Messenger ﷺ, the knower of what has been and what will be, described the virtues and merits of scholars, so too they described their base qualities and the threats of punishment for them. Therefore the necessary conclusion follows that not all scholars are good, nor all bad; rather, some are good and some bad. Distinguishing between the two is very necessary, so that people attach themselves to the good and keep away from the bad. They are recognised by these very signs.