Topic
Tasawwuf & Its Reality
23 entries
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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.
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What character does the path of Suluk produce in a person?
Thinking lowly of oneself, compassion to the creation of Allah, generosity, forgiveness, reliance on the Creator, fulfilling promises and service to other Muslims are among the morals of the Sufis, which are the same as the morals of the Prophet. All that is mentioned in the Hadith is also inclusive of the morals of the Sufis.
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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.
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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.
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What is Suluk?
Suluk is to follow the Sunnah in actions and habits, and its effect is that one starts to despise the blameworthy traits and the praiseworthy traits are attained. For the believer, following the Shariah becomes second nature, the heart finds peace in the obedience of Allah and the acts of worship become easy to perform. Its benefit is that it removes indolence and makes it easy to follow the Shariah.
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What is the difference between Fiqh and Tasawwuf?
Fiqh governs the outward form of a deed, its rules and its conditions. Tasawwuf is the discipline that gives that same deed its inner meaning, the pure intention and the cognizance of Allah.
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Do I need a spiritual guide, or can I learn the path from books?
True Tasawwuf has to be learnt and practised under the guidance of someone who has learnt and received it from another shaykh, linking the chain back to the Companions and ultimately to Allah's Last Prophet. Books are a great source of information, but it is when they are combined with tálluq, the connection with a living shaykh, that the information becomes knowledge.
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Where does the word “Sufi” come from?
Al-Hujwiri recorded several explanations for the word “Sufi”: the woollen garment (suf), the “first rank” (saff), the People of the Veranda (Ashab al-Suffa) of the Prophet's mosque, or safa, meaning purity.
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What is the difference between Islam and Sufism?
Tasawwuf is a branch of knowledge within Islam, just as Fiqh, the knowledge of Hadith and Tafsir are, with its roots within the bounds of the Qur'an and Hadith. The basic foundation of Islam is held in its beliefs, alongside a system of morality and the worship that constitutes the basics of all other systems; the human's direct relationship with his Creator, the breath and life of religion, is cultivated through Tasawwuf. Of the three fundamentals named in the hadith of Jibril, Islam is the Shariah and its ancillary disciplines, and the level of ihsan is Tasawwuf.
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What is Sufism (Tasawwuf)?
In simple words, Tasawwuf is the branch of knowledge dealing with the Prophetic mission of Yuzakkihim, "to purify them", and its reality is based upon the hadith that names Iman, Islam and ihsan. It entails leading one's life according to the Sunnah, striving to curtail lust, greed, jealousy and anger, and performing the practices of Deen without these evils in the heart. Its journey begins by purifying intentions, and its destination is the constant cognizance of Allah, which keeps on increasing.