Topic
The Company of the Righteous
keeping good company
39 entries
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What if the shaykh’s advice goes against what you want?
A seeker must acknowledge every word of his shaykh as true, and where he is unable to comprehend the meanings he must consider it his own flaw. If the shaykh's advice is against his wish he should still follow it and trust the shaykh's wisdom, and he must not question the shaykh about its positive or negative aspects or present his own opinion. Even seekers who lack capacity would reach the station of Divine Love if they stay connected with the shaykh and listen to his advice.
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Is bay’ah enough without attending the shaykh’s gatherings?
Spiritual training, tarbiya, happens best when a disciple attends his shaykh's meetings or listens to his words while keeping him updated with his state. Where someone takes the pledge but never attends, never listens and never informs the shaykh of his states, that training cannot take place. Seekers living in the same city are to attend the gatherings regularly, and those living elsewhere still make the effort to visit when possible and listen to recordings of the shaykh's lectures.
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How does a woman take bay’ah?
The pledge of the believing women is recorded in the Qur'an, and the Prophet took it from them verbally: never once in his life did he touch the hand of a woman who was not related to him. Holding the hands of women while taking the pledge is unacceptable in the Shariah, since it is prohibited to touch an unrelated woman, and one must follow in his footsteps.
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Do you have to shake hands to take bay’ah?
Offering the hands when taking bay'ah is a Sunnah for men, though spoken words are enough, since bay'ah is a pledge. Holding the hands of women while taking the pledge is unacceptable in the Shariah, as it is prohibited to touch an unrelated woman, and the Prophet took the pledge from women verbally.
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Is bay’ah obligatory, or is it Sunnah?
The Prophet took the pledge from his Companions on various occasions: at Hudaybiyyah, where Allah approved of it, and on other occasions for matters other than war, with pledges both for performing good deeds and for forbiddance. That is why taking the pledge is a Sunnah. Because the pledge in Tasawwuf is a pledge to follow the Shariah, one must find someone who is fully adherent to the Shariah and capable of leading.
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What is a silsila, the unbroken chain of teachers in Sufism?
As with any other discipline of the religion, Tasawwuf is learnt from someone who has an unbroken line of teachers extending back through the Companions to the Prophet, the source of all religious knowledge. Those who claim to be Sufis without such a lineage are pretenders. University degrees, acclaim and published work are great achievements, but they cannot replace learning from that unbroken line.
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Can you learn Tasawwuf from the internet or YouTube?
Information gathered over the internet on matters relating to Iman can be incorrect and unreliable, and thus misguiding. A person would not perform heart surgery on himself from a YouTube video; he would seek a medical specialist. Commitment to someone who has been through the process and holds the criteria of a true guide is how Tasawwuf is realised, and its true state needs a connection with a living teacher over a prolonged period of time.
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What does a shaykh actually do for a seeker?
The shaykh is the spiritual father for the seeker: he takes the seeker to follow the Prophet, adjoins him to Allah, and always ensures that he follows the way of the Shariah and the Prophetic Sunnah. He guides his disciples with his own example and through the classical works of the scholars of the lineage.
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How does someone become a shaykh? Is a formal degree required?
Among the basic conditions of a true shaykh are that he has been publicly authorised by a true shaykh, through an unbroken chain of authorisation back to the Prophet, and that he has travelled the path of Tasawwuf under the guidance of his shaykh. He is not required to hold a formal degree from a religious school; it suffices that he has studied Qur'anic exegesis. University qualifications or research cannot be substituted for ilm, true knowledge, as they are not authenticated by the unbroken chain.
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Must a shaykh perform miracles or supernatural feats?
Supernatural feats can be manifested by disbelievers as well, and they are not among the prerequisites of a shaykh. Bayazid al-Bustami said not to be deceived by a man who can fly in the air until his state with regard to observance of the Shariah is seen, and Junayd al-Baghdadi said that all paths are closed on the entire creation except the one that follows the Prophet in totality. Mujaddid Alf Thani described Allah's friends as people whose associates are never wretched and whose company is light and effulgence.