Yes, without exception. Any “Tasawwuf” that sets itself against the Shariah is irreligious and rejected. This is the dividing line between true Tasawwuf and the pretenders. Some claim that once the heart is pure, the outward law no longer binds them. The answer comes from Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanvi, citing al-Futuhat al-Makkiyya: “Tasawwuf that is … Read more
One must be a Muslim. The modern idea that anyone of any faith can be a “Sufi” is a delusion, because Sufism is excellence in Islam. There is a Western notion that Sufism is a universal spirituality open to anyone regardless of belief. It is not. Sufism is the pursuit of excellence (Ihsan) in Deen, … Read more
Their superiority is not in question. Tasawwuf is not a rival to them; it is the practice of applying them to the heart. Knowledge of the Qur’an and Sunnah does not suffice until it is lived. No one is placing anything above the Qur’an and Sunnah. The point is what a person does with them. … Read more
No. 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. The objection is that Tasawwuf is a later invention because the term isn’t in the Qur’an or Hadith. But by that logic, Tafsir (Qur’anic exegesis), Usul … Read more
In the famous Hadith of Jibril, the Prophet ﷺ named three levels: Islam (outward practice), Iman (inward belief), and Ihsan (to worship Allah as if you see Him). Ihsan is Tasawwuf. A man came to the Prophet ﷺ and asked him what Iman, Islam, and Ihsan are. The Prophet ﷺ answered: Iman is belief in … Read more
It is part of Islam, its inner dimension. To claim Sufism is outside Islam is to take the soul out of our religion. There is a persistent idea that Tasawwuf is a foreign thing bolted onto Islam. It is not. Tasawwuf is the spiritual, inner aspect of Islam itself, the same relationship between a servant … Read more