The Defense of the Sunnah: An Analysis of the Theory and Practices Of Tasawwuf (Sufism) Written, with the permission of Shaykh Nooruddeen Durkee, by: Ibrahim Muhammad Hakim ash-Shaghouri Edited by: Hajja Noura Durkee Final Draft Completed: Rabi I, 1430 – March, 2009 © Ibrahim Hakim ash-Shaghouri [email protected] 2 Table of Contents Introduction 5 Topic: The Light of the Prophet (asws) and his special distinctions 8 Topic: The Existence of the Special Awliya’ and their Degrees 19 Hadith of the Wali 25 Miraculous Knowledge of the Unseen 26 Vision of the Prophet (asws) in a wakeful state 31 Topic: Tawassul and Tabarruk 35 Hadiths about Tawassul 36 Multiplying and Dividing the Oneness of Allah 47 Hadiths about Tabarruk 49 Seeking blessings through the Prophet’s (asws) grave 52 Topic: The Graves of the Righteous and Practices Connected to Them 54 The Life of the Grave and the Hearing of the Dead 54 Visiting Graves to Gain Blessings 65 Reciting Qur’an at graves and donating it as a reward 85 Topic: Understanding Innovation (Bid’a) in Islam 89 Topic: Audible Group Dhikr in Masajid 105 Compiling Ahzab and Awrad 114 Prayer Formulas (Ruqya) and Amulets 123 Topic: Commemorating the Birth (Mawlid) of the Prophet (asws) 127 As understood by the scholars 134 Did the Sahaba commemorate his birth? 136 Topic: Seclusion (‘Uzla) and the Spiritual Retreat (Khalwa) 138 Topic: Extra Worship in Rajab and Sha’ban 145 Topic: The Integral Place of Tasawwuf in Islam 150 Miscellaneous Topics 155 Kissing the Hands and Feet of Righteous Scholars 155 Hadith of the Lesser and Greater Jihad 157 “Nothing contains Me but the heart of My believing servant” 159 Special Knowledge and Gnosis 160 Shaykh al-Akbar Ibn al-‘Arabi and the ‘Oneness of Being’ 165 al-Khadir (alayhi salam): Is he still alive? 169 Hadiths about the Family of the Prophet (asws) 170 Conclusion 172 3 4 Introduction In the Sanctified Name of Allah, the Universally Merciful, Uniquely Compassionate. All Praises and Lauds belong to and come from Allah, the Lord, Creator and Sole Sustainer of and Provider for all the worlds and realms. May He continue to send glorious benedictions and strengthening greetings of peace upon the heart, spirit, and blessed light-form of our Prophet, Guide, and Master Muhammad, and upon his household, companions, and inheritors, ‘till the Last of Days and the Final Judgment. I testify with full conviction that there is absolutely no deity other than Allah the Most Exalted, and that our liege-lord Muhammad is His most perfect worshipper and final messenger. And I bear witness that Heaven is real, Hell is real, the Final Hour is real, the Scale of Justice is real, the Bridge is real, the Pond of Abundant Blessings is real, the angels and jinn and spirits are real, and that all of the Prophets and Messengers from Adam (asws) to Muhammad (asws) have come with the unaltered Truth from their Lord and guidance for their people, and that Prophet Muhammad (asws) came to all of the people from his time till the end, with the merciful religion of Islam, abrogating all previously revealed religions and creeds, and that whoever dies upon the belief above shall enter Heaven by the grace of Allah, while whoever dies rejecting the belief above after its clear exposition to him shall suffer torment in Hell by the justice of Allah. I seek forgiveness and pardon for my sins and shortcomings, as I do likewise on behalf of my Muslim brothers and sisters, past, present, and future, especially the reader of these words. This Book… The purpose of this book is to educate the reader about some of the beliefs of Sufis and their practices, and to demonstrate how they are in full accordance with the Shari’a. Tasawwuf from the very beginning has always been integral to the Din, functioning as the realization and implementation of the pillar of Ihsan in the being of the Muslim. Tasawwuf is not a madhhab, nor a sect, nor an ideology, nor a cult, nor a foreign import, nor an heretical invention. It is nothing other than a science concerning the reality of Allah, His Messenger, and the self, transmitted faithfully and without interruption from the Prophet (asws) himself. It is the belief of the writer that the current corruption of the Ummah and its degradation is a direct result of – among other things – the crumbling away of the pivotal pillar of Ihsan as realized through the practice of Tasawwuf and its principles. In the words of one Muslim leader, Syed Zayn al-Abedin: “Many calamities have befallen the Ummah during the last 200 years, but one of the worst has been the rejection of Tasawwuf. We find ourselves without coherent leadership and following self-proclaimed scholars who teach a dry, literalist and legalistic religion cut off from its traditional and spiritual heritage. In some cases this develops into a harsh and uncompromising political ideology, with violent results. While we understand the sources of this ideology, we cannot condone its methods or 5 attitude. Islamic civilization, which was remarkably stable and united for over 1200 years, is now in a crisis of disunity.” It is unfortunate, then, that something as essential as Tasawwuf should have enemies, whether they be from within (those who believe that Tasawwuf can be divorced from Islam) or without (those who believe Tasawwuf never belonged to Islam). It is my hope that with an honest and thorough study of this book and others like it, the reader will come to an understanding of the integral place of Tasawwuf as one of the sciences of Islam, not just due to simple acceptance of my words, but based on authentic knowledge from the Qur’an and Sunnah and rightly guided scholars. The Din will be revivied in its fullness by the return of Tasawwuf to its rightful place in the lives of the Muslims. It is hoped that this will aid in the spreading and rooting of Islam in the hearts of Muslims and non-Muslims alike, in accordance with the promise of Allah: “He is the One Who has sent His messenger with the Din of Truth, to have it overcome all other religions and ways of life, and Allah is sufficient as a Witness.” (Q48:28) Note of Thanks: I am a student of knowledge and a servant of its people, and much of the beneficial knowledge and insights in this book come from them. Therefore, I would like to express my appreciation of and gratitude towards the following contemporary scholars and shuyukh, whose help and previous work has been indispensable in the composition of this book, and to whom are owed a great deal: my Shaykh Sidi Abdullah Nooruddeen Durkee and his wife Hajja Noura, Shaykh Ahmad ibn Mustafa al-‘Alawi, Shaykh Gibril Haddad, Shaykh Abdullah ibn Siddiq al-Ghumari, Shaykh Mahmud Mamduh, Shaykh Nuh Keller, Shaykh Mahmud Subayh, Shaykh ‘Isa ibn Mani’ al-Himyari, may Allah continue to bless them and increase their favors to us, and shower with mercy those among them who have passed away beyond this world. I would also like to thank my dear friend and elder brother, Sidi Hisham Zoubeir, for his advice and comments. I ask the reader to recite a Fatiha and Ikhlas on their behalf. Note on Hadith Documentation: In this book, I have attempted to my utmost to provide the reader with source documentation for the Qur’anic ayat and Prophetic ahadith and scholarly writings. For the Qur’an, I have used the reading and numbering of Hafs, which is the most popular across the Muslim world. The translations have been for the majority my own, while relying on the published translations of Shaykh Nooruddeen Durkee, Abdullah Yusuf ‘Ali, Muhammad M. Pickthall, and many others. As for the hadith sources, I have taken care to provide sufficiently thorough documentation for them also, using for the most part the most well-known major collections. As those who are familiar with hadith collections know, there are a number of different published editions and commentaries out there. As an example, the Sahih collection of Imam Muhammad ibn Isma’il al-Bukhari has undergone a number of publications, some of them in three volumes, some in four, with different page numberings and different editions and dates of publication. In addition, there are different numbering systems for the hadiths. So for example, the Dr. Bugha edition of Sahih Bukhari counts 7124 hadiths in three volumes, while the Fath al-Bari numbering system counts 7563 hadiths, whereas the “universal numbering system” of Sahih Bukhari counts 7008 hadiths. Therefore, for the sake of clarity and consistency, in sourcing hadiths I have used the universal numbering system of most of the major collections (mainly 6 for the “Nine Books”). The basic format of a hadith citation is: Bukhari (1:2 #3), which would mean that the hadith is recorded by Imam Bukhari in his Sahih, first volume, second page, third hadith (according to the universal numbering system). Sometimes I will only include the hadith number for the sake of brevity, since that is the most important piece of information needed when looking for a particular hadith in a certain collection. I have also sometimes mentioned the title of the chapter in which the hadith is found. Also, please be aware that there are different published editions of hadith collections, each having different volume and page numberings. I have tried to use the most popular editions of collections, but on rare occasions I did not have access to them and in that case, I have relied on the sourcing of others.