Can a shaykh see the future or know the unseen?

Some believe the Sufi masters know everything and can foretell what is to come, and that belief is a grave error. The one given the most knowledge, the Last Prophet, admitted in the narration of Jabir concerning the farewell Hajj that there was a thing he had not known at the time. A man who tells of the unseen while contravening the Shariah is showing istidraj, and the association to a great shaykh saves no one who does not follow the Shariah.

What are the conditions of a true shaykh?

He must hold a valid Aqida, know the Shariah, follow the Sunnah closely, keep clear of major sins, and have travelled the path of Tasawwuf himself under an authorised guide. What he does not need is a formal degree, a display of marvels, or a life without work.

What is bay’ah (bai’at), the pledge to a shaykh?

Bay'ah is an oath taken to the path of Ihsan, binding the heart of the seeker to his shaykh and the soul to the Awliya of the chain reaching back to the Prophet. Its substance is to keep religion above worldly affairs and the Shariah above the intellect. Taking the pledge is a Sunnah.

What is istidraj?

Some men impress people with mystical exertions that are in fact istidraj from Satan. Marvels settle nothing about a man, because a disbeliever can show them too, and displaying them is not a condition of a true shaykh. The measure is his observance of the Shariah.

How do you find a true shaykh?

Look for the truthful, because the Qur'an commands the believer to keep their company, and that command holds for every generation. Where a seeker cannot judge truthfulness himself, the guide is the man whom most of the pious of his own time hold to be righteous.

How do you tell a genuine shaykh from a fake pir?

Judge him by his observance of the Shariah, never by marvels. A true shaykh follows the Sunnah, keeps clear of major sins, and asks nothing of a seeker that Islam forbids. The pretender gives himself away by claiming to have passed beyond the Shariah.

What is the difference between Suluk and Jadhb, and who is a Majdhub?

There are two paths in Tasawwuf. Suluk reaches nearness to Allah through spiritual exertion and devotion. Jadhb is nearness bestowed without effort or will, and the one chosen for it is called Majdhub.

Is the purpose of the path of Suluk to see lights and visions?

Unseen images, forms, lights and colours are all useless entertainment, and the tangible forms, unseen forms and lights are all created, signs bearing witness to Allah's existence. The spiritual exercises prescribed by the Sufis have been devised for the ailments of the heart, just as doctors prescribe medication for physical ailments.

Did Ibn Taymiyyah accept the spiritual states and stations of the heart?

Ibn Taymiyyah writes that the states of the heart, defined as stations and spiritual states, are from among the fundamentals and foundations of faith and religion, for example the love of Allah and His Prophet, trust in Allah, sincerity, gratitude, patience, fear and hope in Allah. The imams, he writes, have agreed that all of these actions are incumbent upon the entire creation.

Are the actions of the heart obligatory, or optional?

In Madarij al-Salikin, Hafiz Ibn Qayyim divides the servitude of man over the heart, the tongue and the remaining limbs, and writes that the consensus is that the actions of the heart, such as sincerity, trust, love, patience and true intention, are incumbent. The rectification of the heart, he writes, comes before the rectification of the limbs.