Topic
The Company of the Righteous
keeping good company
39 entries
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Why does keeping company (suhba) matter so much in Tasawwuf?
The word the Qur'an uses for following in Surah Luqman is ittiba, which implies keeping the company of the teacher and following his example, the fundamental method of teaching in Tasawwuf. The Prophet compared good company and bad to a musk seller and a blacksmith's bellows, and Mujaddid Alf Thani wrote that on the path of Tasawwuf the benefit depends on the company, and that saying and writing are not enough.
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Does loving your shaykh matter spiritually?
The Prophet's reply to a question from Abu Dharr clearly indicates the virtue of those who love their teacher, and a hadith narrated by Abu Musa indicates approval of loving the shaykh for the sake of Allah. Quite often a shaykh would initiate someone lesser in spiritual development solely because he possesses the requisite desire. The readiness and enthusiasm with which a seeker absorbs and practises his shaykh's teachings will determine his progress on the path of Tasawwuf.
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Does a writer’s spiritual state affect the reader?
A writer's state affects the one who reads him, and the scholars hold that a pure-hearted author's book on worldly matters may do more good than a religious book whose author's heart is still engulfed in darkness. Writers may write long passages, but it is the one who drinks from the fountain that knows the taste of the Divine Love. Modern Sufis who claim authority on Tasawwuf by reading books stand at the ridge, without any knowledge of the worlds beyond.
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Can a seeker diagnose his own spiritual ailments?
The nafs never agrees that it has any ailment and tries to hide behind self-praise. The inner ailments that remain unnoticed and undetected can be recognised and diagnosed only by an accomplished shaykh, who prescribes the cure through spiritual exercises and disciplines such as dhikr and muraqaba. The disciple has to adhere to the inner and outer aspects of the Shariah and engage in constant remembrance.
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Must a shaykh renounce the world and live as an ascetic?
It is the way of the Prophet to have a family and earn the living while keeping worldly desires at bay, and a shaykh is not required to have denounced and abandoned the world. His heart should be void of worldly affairs and firmly attached to Allah and His Last Prophet, and among the few attributes the scholars describe, a true shaykh does not seek this world by his religious learning and declines luxury in worldly affairs. The Prophet told the believers to stay close to a person endowed with abstinence in this world and the trait of speaking less.
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What is hal in Sufism, and can it be learnt from books?
A true shaykh helps a seeker attain the hal, the state, of perpetual remembrance, and that hal comes with tálluq, the connection with a living shaykh. Often people who learnt merely through books have the information but lack the state. It needs a connection with a living teacher over a prolonged period of time and cannot be achieved in a sitting, and the teacher's own state affects the seeker either way.
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What is raabta with a shaykh?
Raabta, communication with the shaykh, covers a seeker's attending his shaykh's meetings and informing him of the changes in himself, good or bad. Travelling with the shaykh or keeping a retreat in the mosque with him gives the disciple an opportunity to observe his routines, and attending the meetings or travelling with him gives the shaykh an opportunity to observe the disciple and help him overcome his shortcomings. A seeker must not discuss his spiritual matters with anyone except his own shaykh, and must be concise in reporting them.
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What is tawajjuh, spiritual attention?
Tawajjuh is attention. The scholars consider the three embraces of Jibril during the first revelation a form of transmission of knowledge from Allah, and when the Prophet struck the breast of a Companion whose heart was filled with doubt, the Companion's state of fear and awe was such that he felt he was witnessing Allah. Yet spiritual transmission is not the real source of the effect: the attainment of the final goal is only possible with Allah's grace and guidance, and by following the Sunnah and the company of the pious.
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What is nisbah (nisbat) in Sufism?
When a seeker's virtues permeate him until they become an essential part of his being, that can be termed spiritual affinity, and in Tasawwuf this affinity between Allah and the seeker is nisbah. The Companions and the ones who came after them obtained it through consistency and regularity in the obligatory and voluntary prayers, dhikr, recitation of the Qur'an, remembrance of death and the fear of the Day of Judgment, and this led to taqwa. There are four stages of affinity, from a reflective affinity that is strong in the shaykh's company and diminishes on leaving it, to the associative affinity Abu Bakr had with the Prophet, where the disciple becomes an image of his shaykh in all aspects.
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Can you benefit from a shaykh at a distance?
A disciple should not be disheartened by distance, as someone who lives far from his shaykh may be the closest to his heart. The shaykh's company has its own profound benefits, but his intent can be gathered from his words, whether heard or read, and a seeker who cannot attend the gatherings because of distance must listen to recordings of the lectures. The best way prescribed is still the traditional one: listening to the words of the shaykh and keeping him informed of one's states.