Sufism/ Tasawuf (Islamic mysticism)

[SipahSalar]

Islam revolves around three crucial aspects, understanding,practice and society. Three are equally important. In fact the understanding and society are more essential because they propagate your character and the image of Islam to others. It wasn't Muhammad (SAAWW)'s ibadat but his character, his dealing and his social behavior which won the hearts of Arabs. So was true for the Saints of Subcontinent who attracted more people towards Islam than Mughal Emprors or Foreign Islamic invaders. Islam has always spread with the character

But you can never improve your character without ibadat. Prophet started spending more and more time in a cave before Gibreel came to him.

 

[SBD-3]

But you can never improve your character without ibadat. Prophet started spending more and more time in a cave before Gibreel came to him.

Had Ibadat on its own be the cure then Satan would have never fallen down for he was the most steadfast angel in his Ibada.

 

[SipahSalar]

Had Ibadat on its own be the cure then Satan would have never fallen down for he was the most steadfast angel in his Ibada.

That's just your assumption without any daleel.

 

[The BrOkEn HeArT]

Mullahs of his time called him kaffir as they did many other Pirs of their time, you seem to have missed his point.

Just read the life story Sai Bulle Shah. Not from any muslim scholar book but from his poetry. You will get the point.

Na mai Momin wich maseetan ,
Na mai vich kufar diya reetan,
Na mai paakkan vich pleetan,
Na mai mussa , na firown.

Man this kaafi clearly pointing out that he was not religious but humanist. Why you are becoming so ignorant. Even I m not a religious person then why I have so much respect for suffi fakir. Because I have searched and read them carefuly. And understand them. They were humanist not religious.

 

[The BrOkEn HeArT]

What is sufism?

Rabia Basri was walking while holding a torch and a container of water.
Someone asked her "where are you going?"
She replied "i am going to put out the flames of hellfire so i don't obey Allah out of fear of hell, and i am going to burn jannah so i don't love Allah out of greed for paradise".

Excatly, problme with muslims is they fear from the hell and lure for jannat. They don't love Allah directaly. They love Him for jannah only because Quran stats that if they don't love Allah , they will get burn in Hell. So suffi people had tried to change this mind set, so they can love Allah just for Allah.

 

[My-Analogous]

Good thread and now it is time to introduce my dynasty head

Abdul-Qadir Gilani

Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani (Arabic: عبد القادر الجيلاني‎; Persian: عبد القادر گیلانی‎, Turkish: Abdülkâdir Geylânî, Kurdish: Evdilqadirê Geylanî, Urdu: عبد القادر گیلانی‎ Abdolqāder Gilāni[9] Al-Sayyid Muhiyudin Abu Muhammad Abdal Qadir Al-Jilani Al-Hasani Wal-Hussaini (born 29 Shabaan, 470 Hijri, in the town of Na'if, district of Gilan, Persia,oar Gilan Al-Mada'in, Iraq died 8 Rabi al-Awwal 561 AH, in Baghdad,[10] (1077–1166 CE), was a Persian[11] Hanbali[4][5] jurist and Sufi based in Baghdad. Qadiriyya was his patronym.

Family
Al-Gilani was born around 1077 in Persia.[nb 1][12] Al-Gilani's father, Abu Salih Musa al-Hasani, was a descendant of Hasan ibn Ali, (Imam Hasan). Hasan was the eldest son of Ali and Fatimah. Ali was Muhammad's son-in-law and also cousin and Fatima was Muhammad's daughter. Al-Gilani's mother was the daughter of Abdullah Sawmai, a descendant of Husayn ibn Ali, the younger son of Ali and Fatima. Thus, Al-Gilani was both a Hasani and Hussaini Sayyid.

Name
Within Al-Gilani's full name, al-Sayyid Muhiyudin Abu Muhammad Abdal Qadir al-Jilani al-Hasani wal-Hussaini, the word Sayyid denotes his descent from Muhammad.[13] The name Muhiyudin describes him as a "reviver of religion".[14] The phrase, al-Jilani refers to Al Gilani's place of birth.[15][16] However, Al-Gilani also carried the epithet, al-Baghdadi.[17][18][19] referring to his residence and burial in Baghdad. The phrase al-Hasani wal-Hussaini affirms his lineal descent from both Hasan ibn Ali and Hussein ibn Ali, the grandsons of Muhammad.[20][21] Describing Al Gilani with the phrase 'Najib al-tarafayn Sayyid' indicates that both his mother and father were of apostolic lineage.[22]

Paternal heritage
Al Gilani's father was a Sayyed.[23][24] He was respected as a saint by the people of his day, and was known as "Jangi Dost", (one who loves God), thus "Jangidost" was his sobriquet.[25][26][27]

Education
Al Gilani spent his early life in Na'if, the town of his birth. In 1095, at the age of eighteen years, he went to Baghdad. There, he pursued the study of Hanbali law [28] under Qadi Abu Sa'd al-Mubarak al-Mukharrimi and Ibn Aqil.[29] He was given lessons on Hadith by Abu Muhammad Ja'far al-Sarraj.[29] In Tasawwuf, his spiritual instructor was Abu'l-Khair Hammad ibn Muslim al-Dabbas.[30] (A detailed description of his various teachers and subjects are included below). After completing his education, Gilani left Baghdad. He spent twenty-five years as a reclusive wanderer in the desert regions of Iraq.[31]

Subject Shaykh (Teacher)
Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) Ibn Aqil al-Hanbali
Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) Abu Al Hasan Mohd. ibn Qazi Abu Yali
Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) Abu Al Khatab Mahfuz Hanbali
Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) Muhammad ibn Al Husnayn
Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) Qazi Abu Saeed Mubarak ibn Ali al-Mukharrami
Tasawwuf (Sufism) Qazi Abu Saeed Mubarak ibn Ali al-Mukharrami
Abu'l-Khair Hammad ibn Muslim al-Dabbas

Abu Zakariay ibn Yahya ibn Ali Al Tabrezi

Hadith Abu Bakr ibn Muzaffar
Hadith Mohd. Ibn Al Hasan Baqalai Abu Sayeed
Mohd. ibn Abdul Kareem

Hadith Abu Al Ghanaem Mohd. Ibn Mohd Ali Ibn Maymoon Al Farsi
Hadith Abu Bakr Ahmad Ibn Al Muzaffar
Hadith Abu Jafer Ibn Ahmad Ibn Al Hussain Al Qari
Hadith Abu Al Qasim Ali Ibn Mohd. Ibn Banaan Al Karkhi
Hadith Abu Talib Abdul Qadri Ibn Mohd. Yusuf
Hadith Abdul Rahman Ibn Ahmad Abu Al Barkat Hibtaallah Ibn Al Mubarak
Hadith Abu Al Nasr Ibn Il Mukhtar
Hadith Abu Nasr Muhammad
Hadith Abu Ghalib Ahmad
Hadith Abu Abdullah Aulad Ali Al Bana
Hadith Abu Al Hasan Al Mubarak Ibn Al Teyvari
Hadith Abu Mansur Abdurahman Al Taqrar
[32]

Later life
In 1127, Al Gilani returned to Baghdad and began to preach to the public.[12] He joined the teaching staff of the school belonging to his own teacher, al-Mukharrimii, and was popular with students. In the morning he taught hadith and tafsir, and in the afternoon he held discourse on the science of the heart and the virtues of the Qur'an. He was said to have been a convincing preacher and converted numerous Jews and Christians. His strength came in the reconciling of the mystical nature of the Sufi and strict nature of the Qur'an.[12]

Death and burial
Al Gilani died in the evening of Saturday 1166 (8 Rabi' al-Awwal 561AH) at the age of eighty nine years (by the Islamic calendar).[10] His body was entombed in a shrine within his madrassa in Babul-Sheikh, Resafa (East bank of the Tigris) in Baghdad, Iraq.[33][34][35] During the reign of the Safavid Shah Ismail I, Gilani's shrine was destroyed,[36] however in 1535 the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman had a turba (dome) built over the shrine, which exists to this day.[37]

Books

• Futuh al-Ghaib (Revelations of the Unseen) – 78 discourses, fairly short and to the point but very powerful.
• Al-Fath ar-Rabbani (The Sublime Revelation) – 62 discourses, definitely longer, given in the Ribaat and Madrasa in Baghdad AH 545–546.
• Jala' al-Khawatir (The Removal of Cares) – 45 discourses, also in the same locations, given in the year AH 546.
• Malfuzat (Utterances of Shaikh 'Abd al-Qadir) – This is a collection of quotes from the Shaikh. Generally, it is found at the end of the hand-copied, Arabic manuscripts of Fath ar-Rabbani.
• Al-Ghunya li-Talibi Tariq al-Haqq (Sufficient Provision for Seekers of the Path of Truth, also known in the Indian sub-continent as Al-Ghunya li-Talibin). These five volumes, written by the Shaikh at the request of one of his murids, is a comprehensive guide to all aspects of Islam, both the inward and the outward.
• Khamsata 'Ashara Maktuban (Fifteen Letters) – These are 15 letters originally written in Persian by Shaikh 'Abd al-Qadir to one of his murids.
• Al-Fuyudat al-Rabbaniyya (Emanations of Lordly Grace)
• Bashair al-Khairat (Glad Tidings of Good Things) – A Salawat by Shaykh Abd al-Qadir by way of inspiration from Allah.
• Kitab Sirr al-Asrar wa Mazhar al-Anwar[38] (The Book of the Secret of Secrets and the Manifestation of Light

May Allah give him Jannah and forgive his all sins.

Abdul-Qadir Gilani - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[KingMamba]

Just read the life story Sai Bulle Shah. Not from any muslim scholar book but from his poetry. You will get the point.

Na mai Momin wich maseetan ,
Na mai vich kufar diya reetan,
Na mai paakkan vich pleetan,
Na mai mussa , na firown.

Man this kaafi clearly pointing out that he was not religious but humanist. Why you are becoming so ignorant. Even I m not a religious person then why I have so much respect for suffi fakir. Because I have searched and read them carefuly. And understand them. They were humanist not religious.

If you had really studied sufism you would know that they are indeed Muslims regardless of their extra curricular methods. Like I said Sufism does not exist without Islam, as for Bulleh Shah yes he was pro humanity in that he did not think we should let religious differences divide however it was his belief that Sikhs were more fit to rule then Muslims that led to some calling him a kaffir.

 

[Indos]

Tasawwuf can also be said as the knowledge to get "Nur" (light) from ALLAH while we are still on earth :

Quran, An-Nur: verse 35

"Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The example of His light is like a niche within which is a lamp, the lamp is within glass, the glass as if it were a pearly [white] star lit from [the oil of] a blessed olive tree, neither of the east nor of the west, whose oil would almost glow even if untouched by fire. Light upon light. Allah guides to His light whom He wills. And Allah presents examples for the people, and Allah is Knowing of all things."

Another explanation from Quran :

Quran Al-An'am: verse 122

"And is one who was dead and We gave him life and made for him light by which to walk among the people like one who is in darkness, never to emerge therefrom? Thus it has been made pleasing to the disbelievers that which they were doing."

In my opinion, this Nur ( Light) is the mystical side of Islam, can only be experienced by the ones who has had that privilege, with layers among The Nur itself, in which better faith results in more Nur (Light) of ALLAH. More Nur also means more present of ALLAH inside our heart, thus create more satisfaction, happiness, worth, etc inside the heart, something that is real and felt by the heart and only ruh (soul) that can reach that Nur.

 

[Shamain]

The word is iman. And when it gets in your heart.
I dont know about sufis tasawwuf or anything.
Allah has set a very simple path to reach him.
He never asked us to set our desires on fire or walk some entwined routes to get to him.
When you get iman in your heart that light guides your feet through all rocky patches.
I am sorry for interfering in a thread.

 

[Indos]

The word is iman. And when it gets in your heart.

I am sorry for interfering in a thread.

Please feel free to post your ideas here...........

 

[Indos]

 

[Indos]

Abu Madyan (1126–1198), also known as Abu Madyan Shu'ayb Al-Ghawth, or Abū Madyan, or Sidi Bou-Mediene, or Sidi Abu Madyan Shuayb ibn al-Hussein al-Ansari, was an influential Andalusian mystic and a great Sufi master.

Some even refer to him as the national figure of Maghreb mysticism as he was such a forerunner of Sufism in this geographical area. Devoted to the fervent service of God, he helped introduce looking into oneself and harmonizing internal occurrences with the external observances through asceticism.[1]


Life
Abu Madyan was born in Cantillana (Arabic: قطنيانة‎), a small town about 35 km away from Seville, in 1126. He came from an obscure family and his parents were poor. As he grew up, he learned the trade of a weaver as it was a popular practice at the time. As a young adult, Madyan moved to Marrakech where he joined a group of Andalusian soldiers and worked as a guard for the city. His insatiable hunger for knowledge, however, piqued his interest in the Qur'an and the study of religion and mysticism.

Soon after, Abu Madyan traveled to Fes to complete his education. He left for Fes at about the end of the Almoravid empire or at the beginning of the founding of the Almohad power.[2] There, he studied under Abu Ya’azza al-Hazmiri, ‘Ali Hirzihim, and al-Dakkak. It was al-Dakkak that provided him with the khirka, the cloak passed from Master to student in the study of Sufism. During his time studying in Fes, Madyan became entrenched within the readings of Al-Ghazali, who was one of the most prominent, if not the most prominent theologian, philosopher, and mystic of Sunni Islam and was even regarded as one of the renewers of the religion.

Abu Madyan was particularly fascinated with mysticism by Sidi Ali Ibn Harazem. They fasted and prayer together in a continuous fashion as the ideal Sufi, practicing very strict asceticism. Abu Madyan, who'd come from a poor background, didn't have a hard time distancing himself from such pleasures. Because of his strict practices, he reaches the rank of Kutb and Ghuth. After several years in Fez, Abu Madyan went to Mecca where he met the great Muslim saint, Jilani, and completed his mystic studies under him. Later he went to the town of Béjaïa where he practiced very strict asceticism and acquired an honorable reputation for his knowledge. People would come far to both listen to his public lectures and consult him on certain manners. People believed he could even perform miracles.

His beliefs were in opposition to the Almohade doctors of that town. The Almohades were disturbed at his increasing reputation and wanted to get rid of him.

Eventually, Madyan settled in the town of Béjaïa where he established a mosque-school (zawiya). The sheer amount of fame and influence that Abu Madyan evoked raised serious concern from the political powers of the time. The Almohad Caliph Ya’qub al-Mansur summoned Madyan to Marrakech for this reason so he could talk to Madyan himself. Upon his summoning to Marrakech, Abu Madyan was taken ill and died before he reached his destination in 594/1198, near the river of Ysser (يسر).[3] His last sigh was supposedly "Allah al-Hakk." He was buried in al-‘Ubbad near Tlemcen, Algeria. His funeral was widely commemorated by the people of Tlemcen and he has been considered the patron saint and protector of Tlemcen ever since. A mausoleum was built by the order of the Almohade sovereign, Muhammad al-Nasir, too shortly after his death. Many princes and kings of Tlemcen have contributed to this mausoleum since his demise. Many monuments, a good number of them still well preserved, were built in his honor next to his tomb by the Marinid kings, who controlled Tlemcen in the 14th century. One such monument is the Mosque of Madrasa. His tomb became the center of fine architecture and is still a place of pilgrimage for many Sufis today.[2]

Teachings
The basic principles and virtues taught at Madyan’s school in Bejaia were repentance (tawba), asceticism (zuhd), paying visits to other masters, and service to experienced masters. He emphasized futuwa (youth/chivalry) but only when accompanied by the obedience of devotees to their master, the avoidance of disagreements between devotees, justice, constancy, nobility of mind, the denunciation of the unjust, and a feeling of satisfaction with the gifts of God. Because of his focus on the acceptance of one’s emotions, Madyan and his followers refused to confine themselves to only asceticism and meditation alone, but instead lived day to day by maintaining close relationships with the people around them. Along with sharing his knowledge and ideas with his disciples, Abu Madyan wrote many poems and spoke in proverbs in order to connect with the masses and not just the intellectuals.[1]

According to Yahya B. Khaldun, Abu Madyan's teachings may all be summed up in this verse which he often repeated, "Say Allah! and abandon all that is matter, or is connected with it, if though desirest to attain the truth goal."[2]

Legacy
Aside from attaining Ghawth status and teaching hundreds and hundreds of disciples, Abu Madyan left his mark in more ways than one. He gained immense popularity because he was relatable, despite his high scholarly status. He had a personality and way of speaking that united people from all walks of life, from the common people to the academics. Even to this day, scholars say that no one of the time surpassed him in religious and intellectual influence. His school produced hundreds of saints and out of the 46 Sufi saints in the Rif region, 15 were his disciples. People still visit his tomb today for asking god trough him they call it tawasoul , they visit him from all around the world.

Sayings
There are very few surviving writings from Abu Madyan, and of those that do still exist, there are mystical poems, a testament (wasiyya) and a creed (akida). He encouraged the free expression of emotions rather than rigidity, but also made known his support of asceticism complete devotion to God and a minimalist lifestyle.

Works

• Bidayat al Mouridin, Ms 938, Bibliot. Nat. Alger.
• Ouns al Wahid, Ms 2-105 (8) fol. 337–343, Bibliot. Nat. Paris, ed. in Cairo 1301–1884, with a commentary by Ahmed Bâ'chan.
• Tahfat al Arib, pub. et trad. in Latin par F. de Dombay, Vindobonae, Ebn Médirai Mauri Fessani Sentenciae quaedam arabicae, 1805
• Diwan, (collection of his poems) édit. Chaouar of Tlemcen, Damascus, 1938.

References

1. ^ Jump up to:a b "Sidi Boumediene Chouaib, pôle du soufisme au Maghreb: Un nom lié à la ville ancestrale" ["Sidi Boumediene Chouaib, center of Sufism in the Maghreb: A name linked to the ancient city"] (French). El Moudjahid (Algiers). 16 April 2011.
2. ^ Jump up to:a b c The Encyclopaedia of Islam. Leiden: EJ Brill. 1913. pp. 98–99.
3. Jump up^ Ibn al-Zayyat al-Tadili (circa 1220 AD). التشوف إلى رجال التصوف (in Arabic) (Ahmed Toufiq ed.). p. 319. Check date values in: |date= (help)

Sources

• Arnaldez, R. "Falsafa". Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Edited by: P. Bearman;, Th. Bianquis; C.E. Bosworth;, E. van Donzel; and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2011. Brill Online Augustana. 5 April 2011
• Zarcone, Th.; Hunwick, J.O.; Ernst, C.; Jong, F. de;, L. Massignon-[B. Radtke]; Aubin, Françoise. "Taṣawwuf (a."). Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Edited by: P. Bearman;, Th. Bianquis;, C.E. Bosworth;, E. van Donzel; and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2011. Brill Online. Augustana. 5 April 2011
• Griffel, Frank, "Al-Ghazali", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2008), Edward N. Zalta (ed.),
• Marçais, G. "Abū Madyan, S̲h̲uʿayb b. al-Ḥusayn al-Andalusī". Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Edited by: P. Bearman;, Th. Bianquis;, C.E. Bosworth;, E. van Donzel; and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2011. Brill Online. Augustana. 3 April 2011

Abu Madyan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Indos]

Quran: 83: 14-24

Nay, but that which they have earned is rust upon their hearts.

Nay, but surely on that day they will be covered from their Lord.

Then lo! they verily will burn in hell,

And it will be said (unto them): This is that which ye used to deny.

Nay, but the record of the righteous is in 'Illiyin

Ah, what will convey unto thee what 'Illiyin is!

A written record,

Attested by those who are brought near (unto their Lord).

Lo! the righteous verily are in delight,

On couches, gazing,

Thou wilt know in their faces the radiance of delight.


@Falcon29

The bold one is something about face that I have mentioned to you before, but you misunderstood it

 

[Aepsilons]

Written by: Jalal al-Din Rumi

Two Kinds of Intelligence

There are two kinds of intelligence: one acquired,
as a child in school memorizes facts and concepts
from books and from what the teacher says,
collecting information from the traditional sciences
as well as from the new sciences.


With such intelligence you rise in the world.
You get ranked ahead or behind others
in regard to your competence in retaining
information. You stroll with this intelligence
in and out of fields of knowledge, getting always more
marks on your preserving tablets.


There is another kind of tablet, one
already completed and preserved inside you.
A spring overflowing its springbox. A freshness
in the center of the chest. This other intelligence
does not turn yellow or stagnate. It's fluid,
and it doesn't move from outside to inside
through conduits of plumbing-learning.


This second knowing is a fountainhead
from within you, moving out.

 

[Indos]

Written by: Jalal al-Din Rumi

Two Kinds of Intelligence

There are two kinds of intelligence: one acquired,
as a child in school memorizes facts and concepts
from books and from what the teacher says,
collecting information from the traditional sciences
as well as from the new sciences.


With such intelligence you rise in the world.
You get ranked ahead or behind others
in regard to your competence in retaining
information. You stroll with this intelligence
in and out of fields of knowledge, getting always more
marks on your preserving tablets.


There is another kind of tablet, one
already completed and preserved inside you.
A spring overflowing its springbox. A freshness
in the center of the chest. This other intelligence
does not turn yellow or stagnate. It's fluid,
and it doesn't move from outside to inside
through conduits of plumbing-learning.


This second knowing is a fountainhead
from within you, moving out.

In the Christianity ( Old Testament) this concept is called Hikmah which is also similar in Quran although for Islam, many of us dont want to use the definition brought by Torah which in this regard is quite fit with Sufism, I dont know the English definition though