Topic
Misconceptions
29 entries
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Is Sufism haram or forbidden in Islam?
Authentic Tasawwuf is not forbidden: it is the science of ikhlas, or sincerity, needed by every Muslim, and of the states of the heart that the Shariah itself commands. What is forbidden is any false “Sufism” that sets itself against the Shariah.
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Is Sufism part of Islam, or separate from it?
Sufism is part of Islam, its inner dimension. To claim Sufism is outside Islam is to take the soul out of our religion.
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Were the great Islamic scholars actually Sufis?
Many of the Islamic scholars to whom Allah gave success in their work were Sufis. To discard the works of those trained by Sufis would mean discarding “75 percent or more of the books of Islam.”
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Is a Sufi like a Hindu Yogi? Is Sufi practice just meditation or yoga?
The Sufi and the Hindu Yogi are opposites. A Sufi seeks Allah; the Yogi detracts from the very existence of Allah toward Nirvana. The assertion that their rigors are similar is completely fake: a Sufi's training has its origin only in Islam.
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What is the real meaning of Zuhd (detachment / asceticism)?
Zuhd does not mean forbidding what is permitted or squandering wealth; rather, it means trusting what is in Allah's hand more than what is in your own, and meeting hardship with patience.
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Can a Sufi marry, work, and raise a family?
In Tasawwuf the seeker is not barred from having children or running a successful business. Your sleep, your time with family, and your lawful earning are part of your spiritual path only if done with the intention to please Allah.
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Is Sufism the same as monasticism? Do Sufis withdraw from the world?
Islam does not permit monasticism; Tasawwuf calls a person to live fully in the world, as a good son, a good father, a good husband, neighbour, and employee, not to retreat from it.
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Do you have to be a Muslim to be a Sufi? Can anyone be a Sufi?
The belief often held in the West that Sufism is universal and a person from any religion can be a Sufi is a delusion. Without the Shahadah, correct belief, following the Shariah and the Prophetic Sunnah, no one can attain the pleasure of Allah; one who does not truly believe in any of the fundamental tenets cannot be a Muslim, and Tasawwuf does not exist without the Shahadah and the Shariah.
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Is Sufism a bid’ah (innovation), since the word isn’t found in the Qur’an?
The absence of its name from the Qur'an does not make Sufism a bid'ah: many essential Islamic sciences, Tafsir, hadith science, theology, got their names only after the first generation. A thing is not bid'ah if the Shariah itself supports its purpose.