Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatu
I am very pleased, present with me this very instant is
His Excellency, Honorable Syaikh Alhady, a practising Sufi Guru of the 21st century, from the Naqsyabandy
Order. During this Q & A session, we will try to elicit as much information
and clarifications from him in order to enlighten us regarding the subject of
Sufism, Tariqah, Tasawwuf in Islam, and so forth. We also hope that by the end
of the session, we will be able to appease the cynics, skeptics, and critics, put
to rest all doubts, misunderstanding, prejudices and disputes regarding the
said subjects, once and for all!
1.QUESTION: Assalamualaikum, Honorable Syaikh! Can you please define what indeed is Sufism,
Tariqah and Tasawwuf? Are they part of Islam and if so why do they invite so
much polemic of prejudices among Muslims in general, especially in this part of
the world?
ANSWER:
Waalaikumussalam warahmatulahi wabarakatu. Bismillahi, waminallahi,
wabillahi, wailallahi, wafillahi, wala hawla wala quwwa tailla billahil
‘aliyyil’azim. ‘Amma ba’:
When we speak about Sufism, Tariqah and Tasawwuf, or add
another one, ie, Ihsan, we actually mean the same thing. They are essentially the
same, in essence, and they are indeed an integral part of the Islamic religion!
They specifically refer to the intrinsic, hidden reality or esoteric nature or
part of Islam, whilst the more famous Syariah refers to the exoteric or popularly
external nature of Islam.
Prejudices invariably, arise as a result of sheer
ignorance, malignant sickness of the heart, misinformation, misunderstanding
and the misfortune of not having been exposed to the correct practices with de
facto practitioners; much less engaging experientially in such practices.
2.QUESTION: Are they derived from the Holy Quran?
ANSWER: Yes indeed, in spite of the people’s general
disbelief, the word Tariq or Tariqah appears not once but nine times in five
Surahs in the Holy Quran! So are words like Sirot, Sabil, Suluk, Wasilah,
Rabitah, Ihsan, etc. which appear in the Holy Quran, mean the same thing. Does
it matter then, if the word Tasawwuf does not, This therefore, is an indisputable
testimony of TariqahTasawwuf [as popularly known at present] being an integral
part of Islam that which we, inevitably, cannot do without!
3.QUESTION: Please enlighten us further.
ANSWER: Islam, as we know it comprises, firstly, the
external or exoteric phase or AzZohir Syariah and secondly, the internal or esoteric
phase or AlBatin Syariah. While the former consists of the renown Fiqh and
Usuluddin [Tawheed], the latter comprises Tasawwuf or Ihsan! Let me put it in a
nutshell for better understanding. If you draw a big circle, within it
represents Islam, draw a smaller circle
within the big circle to represent Iman or Tawheed, and lastly, draw a third
circle within the second circle to denote Tasawwuf or Ihsan. Subsequently, the
sums of all the parts will make up Islam as a whole, as the complete religion.
No part should be taken out or practised in isolation because they are all
inclusive in nature.That being the essence of Islam, the pure and true religion
as described by the Prophet to Archangel Gibrail, in the presence of theSahabah
[reported in Hadits Sohih], should be well understood by all Moslems.
4.QUESTION: Are there anymore Quranic exegesis to support
this?
ANSWER: Yes indeed! While the three circles denote firstly,Islam
or Moslem, secondly, Iman or Mukmin and thirdly, Ihsan or Muhsin respectvely, Q.S.
Al-Hujurat: 14, admonishes:
' Say, we have submitted our wills to God [become Moslem]
for not yet has faith [Iman] entered your hearts.' Meaning, one can be a Moslem
yet not a mukmin!
In Q.S. Al-Ankabut: 69, assures:
' And those who strive in Our [Cause], We will certainly
guide them to Our Paths: For verily God is with those who do right. [Muhsin].'
The above verse exhorts one to strive, struggle hard and
undertake Jihad in the religion before God will finally show the right way or
path to Him and thereby attain the goodness and utter delicacy [Ihsan] of
nearness and close proximity to Him.
This again shows the inclusive nature of the symbolic
three circles embodying one another representing Islam in its perfect state.
5.QUESTION: Therefore, if one practises only the exoteric
Syariah namely just Fiqh, would that make him less a Moslem?
ANSWER: Well, he still remains a Moslem nonetheless, but
he is far from being transformed to the level
measure for measure, as spelt out by the Prophet s.a.w. himself. Proof
of this is in the transformed, towering and sterling personalities of the
Tabi’in and Sahabah, who, having mentored the Prophet s.a.w. very closely and
consistently, embraced perfection in their spiritual endeavours and etiquette,
in their daily lives. They were without doubt, the perfect Ummah!
Imam Ahmad Hambal r.a. was famously reported saying:
‘ Alsyariatu billa Haqiqati ‘aatilah, wal Haqiqatu billa
Syariati baatilah.’
It means, if one embraces the Syariah without the Haqiqat
[Ihsan], all actions will be in vain, while, embracing the Haqiqat strictly,
without the Syariah will render all actions void. And whosoever enjoins the two,
will render the perfect religion!
6.QUESTION: We now have the synthesis and prerequisites
of the Perfect man and the Perfect Religion!
ANSWER: Love of God is contingent upon the love and total
obedience to the Prophet, and to flee from his commandments and personifying
all goodness [Ihsan] will only subject oneself to final doom and destruction!
Therefore, to qualify for Khalifahhood [Insan Kamil], as underlined in the Holy
Quran, one must totally adopt, adapt and embrace all teachings of the loveable
Prophet, without exception, of whichTasawwuf or Ihsan is an integral part of
his teachings.
7. QUESTION: Honorable Syaikh, you have certainly hit the
nail on its head very convincingly and conclusively; and also exhorted the
teaching and embracing of values in Tasawwuf to be ingrained in each and every one
resulting in a knowledgeable, resilient, stronger and a blessed Ummah!
ANSWER: That indeed is a fitting description of the stuff
made of the Moslem Ummah that lasted a good 300 years of the golden eras gone
by. All we have to do is just to replicate it, if only it is that simple!
8. QUESTION: What is the danger ensuing from not knowing
and not engaging TariqatTasawwuf?
ANSWER: One becomes less human, because one is part human
and part beast, as a result of ones unbridled dominant lower Nafs.
9. QUESTION: Is that why man is ever so prone to fall
prey to even the slightest temptation to do evil?
ANSWER: No other reason.
10. QUESTION: Why is Tasawwuf the domain of the Elite?
ANSWER: Will gold ever lose its lustre and splendour, even
when flung into a mud?
11. QUESTION: Every dog has its day; and every DOGMA has
its say!
ANSWER: Yes, more importantly is to allay, even eliminate
all prejudices, misgivings, misconceptions and especially ignorance, so that
Tasawwuf will stand tall and supreme in the hearts of men!
12. QUESTION: Honorable Shaikh, last but not least, why
is it that you do not portray the mainstream Ulamas, especially, in your attire
attributes?
ANSWER: In all my Halaqahs, you will find me fully
attired; but outside it, I am fully sick and tired, of stereotyping what I
stand for. Dressing up to represent what you are not, to the public, is so
rampant that any right-thinking person will be loathe. There’s already so much
of artificiality, superficiality, absolute hypocrisy, deception and greed among
the so-called elites [read: ulamas]. Lets not emulate it lest one wishes to
profit from it!
The Prophet S.A.W. was reported saying in his Hadits:
‘ Innallaaha laa yanzuru ila suwarakum, walaa ilaa
a’malakum, walakin yanzuru ilaa qulubikum.’
Which means, God does not look at your physical
attributes nor your deeds but He most certainly holds your heart to account!
13. QUESTION: Thank you immensely, Honorable Syaikh, for
this most engaging and enlightening discourse, which should put all doubts and
controversies to rest, eternally!
ANSWER: Alhamdulillah- Then, I will humbly rest my case,
likewise! Wabillahit Taufiq wal Hidayah. Wasalamualaikum warahmatullahi
wabarakatu.
BAITUL ADAM ITMT, SHAH ALAM, MALAYSIA. 07/02/2012.
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