What are the conditions of a true shaykh?

Someone asked the Beloved Prophet ﷺ, "Allah's Messenger ﷺ! Who is the best person in whose company we should sit?" The Beloved Prophet ﷺ replied, "Sit in the company of the one who when you merely look at, he reminds you of Allah, whose speech increases you in knowledge, and whose actions remind you of the Hereafter." [Musnad Abi Ya'la 2437]

An authentic shaykh is of the calibre that he possesses the knowledge of the Shariah, Islamic jurisprudence, and of the Tariqa, the mystic aspects of the Shariah. It is important that one must follow a shaykh who has knowledge of the Book and Sunnah. It does not mean that he must possess a formal degree from a religious school; rather it suffices that he has studied Qur'anic exegesis.

He is not required to have memorised the Qur'an, neither is he required to have studied principles of jurisprudence, theology and hypothetical matters related to fiqh and fatwa. The objective of bay'ah, the pledge taken with a shaykh, is to command the lawful and prohibit the unlawful, to remove blameworthy traits and practise praiseworthy traits, therefore the shaykh should have enough knowledge of Deen to guide the seeker.

One of the important attributes is that the shaykh is associated with the pious and always refers to Qur'an and Hadith for guidance. He should follow the Sunnah to the best of his ability, abstain from major sins and not persist in minor sins. His heart should be void of worldly affairs and firmly attached to Allah and His Last Prophet ﷺ.

He should command the lawful, prohibit the unlawful and not be obstinate, characterless or unmanly. He should be wise and intelligent so that he can be relied upon in what he commands and prohibits. It is not a prerequisite that he should manifest extraordinary acts and supernatural feats, nor is it necessary that he should not earn a livelihood.

Some basic conditions for a true shaykh are these:

• being a Sunni Muslim with a valid Aqida, the tenets of faith, and a follower of one of the four Sunni schools of fiqh, Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i or Hanbali;
• being aware of the Shariah law, to be able to answer the questions of the seekers or humble enough to ask the scholars when he does not know;
• being a male, as a shaykh is an heir;
• having been publicly authorised by a true shaykh, connecting him through an unbroken chain of authorisation back to the Prophet ﷺ;
• being worthy of the position to be taken as an example;
• and having travelled the path of Tasawwuf under the guidance of his shaykh. [Keller, Sea without Shore 271]

A few of the attributes as described by the scholars follow, and I have been blessed to witness these signs and many more in my Shaykh, Mowlana Shamsur Rehman may his blessings continue:

• A true shaykh does not seek this world by his religious learning, being cognizant of this world's wretchedness and aware of the next world's permanence.
• His deeds do not belie his words, and he does not tell anyone to do something without doing it himself.
• He is devoted to the knowledge of the hereafter, which increases the desire for worship.
• He declines luxury in worldly affairs.
• His main concern is the knowledge of the inward and keeping the eye on the path to the hereafter; he combats his ego, keeps a vigil on the heart and perpetually strives to deepen his certitude.
• He is somber and subdued, the awe of the Divine plain in his manners, dress, speech and silence, so that no one sees him without being reminded of Allah. [al-Ghazali, Ihya Ulum id Din, vol. 3]

Hafiz Ibn Qayyim rahimahullah has mentioned the prerequisites of the shaykh as, "When a person intends to follow a man then let him see: Is he from among the people of remembrance (Dhikr) or the people of heedlessness? Whether his desires control him or Revelation? If his desires control him and he is heedless then his behaviour has exceeded the limits. It is therefore, advised to observe the Shaykh, his exemplar and followers. If he is found to be heedless, then one should stay away from him. If he is one of those who remember Allah, follow the Sunnah and prudent in his matters, then hold on to him. The only difference between the alive and the dead is by Dhikr; the one who remembers his Cherisher is alive and the one who does not is dead." [al-Jawziyyah, al-Wabil al-Sayyib 69]

A shaykh does not have to be one who has denounced and abandoned the world, nor is it a prerequisite that he have no family or earn no living. The way of the Beloved Prophet ﷺ is to have a family, earn the living, yet keep the worldly desires at bay.