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Khawarijis/Takfiris
| The Origins of Mass Takfir of Muslim Societies Lie In the Books of Sayyid Qutub |
ألمعنا فيما سبق إلى أن نشأة فكر التكفير بدأت بين شباب بعض الإخوان في سجن القناطر في أواخر الخمسينات وأوائل الستينات، وأنهم تأثروا بكفر الشهيد سيد قطب وكتاباته، وأخذوا منها أن المجتمع في جاهلية، وأنه قد كفر حكامه الذين تنكروا لحاكمية الله بعدم الحكم بما أنزل الله، ومحكوميه إذا رضوا بذلك
We have pointed out in what has preceded that the spread of the ideology of Takfir occurred amongst the youth of the Ikhwaan who were imprisoned in the late fifties and early sixties, and that they were influenced by the ideology of the Shaheed Sayyid Qutb and his writings. They derived from these writings that the society had fallen into Jahiliyyah (of kufr), and that he had performed Takfir of the rulers who had rejected the Hakimiyyah of Allaah by not ruling by what Allaah has revealed, and also Takfir of those ruled over (i.e. civilians), when they became satisfied with this.
Imaam ad-Dhahabi says in 'Al-Kabair':
Allaah Ta'ala said:
"… but transgress not the limits. Truly, Allaah does not like the transgressors." [al-Baqarah: 190]
Allaah Ta'ala said:
" And whoever disobeys Allaah and His Messenger, he has indeed strayed in clear misguidance. " [Ahzaab: 36]
316- The Prophet -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- said: "Whoever says to his Muslim brother, O Kafir (disbeliever)!' Then verily it returns to one of them."[1]
There are many narrations which describe the Khawarij, and the people differed in performing Takfeer (taking people out of the fold of Islaam) upon them, since the Prophet -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- said about them: "they will go out from (leave) their religion as an arrow goes out of the game. So, where-ever you find them, kill them."[2]
318 - The Prophet -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- said about them: "They are the most evil of those killed under the sky, and the best person killed is the one who is killed by them."[3]
So the Khawarij are the people of Bida', they make it Halaal to take the blood of people, and they perform Takfeer. They performed Takfeer upon 'Uthmaan and 'Alee and of a group from the pre-eminent Companions- may Allaah be pleased with all of them.
319- Ishaaq al-Azzraq, on the authority of al-'Amash, on the authority of Ibn Abu ‘Awfaa - radiAllaah anhu- who said:
I heard the Messenger of Allaah - SallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam – say: The Khawaarij are the dogs of the Hell-fire.[4]
320- Hashraj bin Nubaatata, said Sa'eed bin Jumhaan narrated to me that he said: I entered upon Ibn Abu 'Awfaa and he was blind, and he said: who are you?
I said: Sa'eed bin Jumhaan.
He said: What happened to your father?
I said: The al-Azzariqa (who are a sect from the Khawarij) killed him.
He said: May Allaah kill the al-Azzariqa! Then he said: The Messenger of Allaah - SallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam – narrated to us that they are the dogs of the hell fire.
I asked: only the al-Azzariqa?
He said: All the Khawarij.[5]
321- Hammad bin Salama said: Abu Hafs narrated to us, that he heard Abdullah bin Abu 'Awfaa say while they were fighting the Khawarij: I heard the Messenger of Allaah -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- say: "Tooba (a tree in paradise) for the one who kills them and is killed by them."[6]
All Praise belongs to Allaah, may His peace and blessings be upon our final Prophet Muhammad, his family, his companions and all those who follow his guidance.
Ref:
[1] Bukharee & Muslim
[2] Bukharee & Muslim
[3] Ibn Abee Shaybah, Ahmad, Tirmidhee and Ibn Majah
[4] Narrated by Ahmad 4/355 & 4/382-383, & Ibn Majah 173, authenticated by al-Albaani
[5] Abu Dawood at-Tayalisee, Ahmad and Hakim
[6] Abu Dawood at-Tayalisee, Ahmad and Hakim
Modern Day Deviant Groups: Shaikh Ahmad bin Yahyaa An-NajmeeAl-Fataawaa al-Jaliyyah ‘anil-Manaahij Ad-Da’wiyyah (pg. 51-55) compiled by HasanIbn Mahmood Ibn Mansoor ad-DaghreeriAl-Ibaanah.com
Question:"Noble Shaikh Ahmad Ibn Yahyaa An-Najmee, may Allaah give you tawfeeq, there are found some books that include talk about these hizbee groups, which have incorporated a methodology that opposes the methodology of the Salaf in the fields of knowledge and action. And these books fall in between that which is large and difficult for the beginner to grasp of its content and between that which is short and contains little benefit. So O Shaikh, we hope that you can give us a clear but brief image of the most prominent of some of these methodologies’ founders and some of the issues they are criticized in. This is so that the Muslims can beware of falling into any part of that. And if you would be so kind O Shaikh as to direct the last of your talk to focusing on the true methodology, which every Muslim is obligated to follow..."
Answer:All praise be to Allaah, and may His peace and blessings be upon the most honorable of all creation, our prophet Muhammad, and on his family and Companions. To proceed:
Jamaa'at-ul-Ikhwaan al-Muslimoon
Definition of the Ikhwaan Al-Muslimoon:
They are the followers of Hasan Al-Bannaa. There are several points to be noted about their methodology, the most important of which are the following:
1. They show a lack of importance to Tawheed Al-‘Ibaadah [1], which is the most important matter in Islaam, since the Islaam of an individual is not valid without it.
2. They remain silent and concede to the people in their performance of major Shirk, supplication to other than Allaah, performance of tawaaf around graves, making oaths to the dead in the graves, sacrificing in their names and so on.
3. The founder of this methodology was a Sufi. He had a connection with Sufism to the point that he gave bay’ah (oath of allegiance) to ‘Abdul-Wahhaab Al-Khusaafee upon (following) his Khusaafee Shadh-lee order.
4. The presence of innovations amongst them and their worshipping Allaah through them - even to the point that the founder of this methodology acknowledged that the Prophet (sallAllaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) would attend their gatherings of dhikr and that he (sallAllaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) would forgive what past sins they had committed, as is found in his saying:
"May Allaah bless the one who upon light in which he appeared To the worlds, and so he surpassed the sun and the moonThis habeeb (i.e. Muhammad) along with his beloved has gatheredAnd pardoned everyone in what sins they did in the past."
5. They call to establishing the Khilaafah and this is an innovation because the Messengers and their followers were not entrusted with anything except to call to Tawheed. Allaah says: "And We have indeed sent to every nation a messenger, (saying to his people): ‘Worship Allaah and avoid the taaghoot (false deities).’"[Surah An-Nahl: 36]
6. They have a lack of Walaa and Baraa (loyalty and disavowment) or a weak form of it. This is made clear in their call to bring closeness between the Sunnis and the Shee’ah. And their founder was quoted as saying: "We will cooperate with one another in what we agree on and pardon one another in what we disagree on."
7. They hate and despise the people of Tawheed and those who adhere to the Salafee Way. This is made clear in their talk concerning the Saudi state, which is founded upon Tawheed and which teaches Tawheed in its schools, institutes and universities. And it was made clear in their killing of Jameel Ar-Rahmaan Al-Afghaanee just because he called to Tawheed and because he had schools in which he would teach Tawheed.
8. They pursue the mistakes of the leaders and expose their faults - whether true or false - spreading them amongst the youth in order to make the leaders appear hateful to them and so that they can fill their hearts with contempt against them.
9. They hold detestable partisanship to the party they ascribe themselves to. So they show friendship based on this party and they show enmity based on this party.
10. They give their oath of allegiance to work for the Ikhwaani Manhaj according to the ten conditions that the founder has set forth. And there are other issues of concern, which perhaps can be dealt with at a later time.
The Qutubees
They are a people that have read the books of Sayyid Qutb and accepted what is in them from truth and falsehood. So you will find them defending Sayyid Qutb when someone criticizes him, even if the truth is with the one criticizing.It is well known that Sayyid Qutb was not from the men of religious knowledge. His original status was that he was an author. Then he adopted the beliefs of the Ash'arees - the belief of ta'weel (misinterpretation of Allaah's Attributes), as did others among the learned people from Egypt. He has serious and vile errors, which the people of knowledge have refuted and exposed. But when they expose these errors, this results in the rage of the Qutubees befalling them by way of their criticizing, speaking ill and discrediting them. So Allaah is sufficient for us and He is the Best of Guardians.
So the basic principle is that: Men are known by way of the Haqq (truth) and the Haqq is not known by way of men. So it is obligatory on us to accept the truth and to worship Allaah, Lord of all worlds, by it, and to abandon everyone that treads an innovated methodology. And we must place as our role model, the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu 'alayhi wa sallam), his Khulafaa, his Companions, and those who followed them amongst the Imaams of guidance. And Allaah is the One who grants success.
The Suroorees
The definition of the people who adhere and ascribe to this methodology:
The Suroorees are a group of people or a sect that ascribe themselves to Muhammad Suroor Zayn-ul-‘Aabideen. They have some aspects of the Sunnah and some aspects of Bid’ah (innovation) in them. The most important characteristics that can be noted from them are:
1. They attack the rulers and speak about them in a manner that results in evil, corruption and danger. It appears that they declare the leaders to be disbelievers, but this can only be understood by way of their circumstances and actions and cannot be picked up from their words. This is since the path they take is the path of the Khawaarij or close to it, knowing that the religious texts state the obligation of hearing and obeying the rulers.
And our rulers in this land (of Saudi Arabia) are Muslims - all praise be to Allaah. They use Allaah’s Legislation for judging in their court systems and they establish the prescribed punishments (hudood). So declaring them to be disbelievers or talking about them in a manner that leads to revolting and rebelling against them is considered a great form of causing corruption. Due to this, we must warn against those who adhere to this methodology or rid ourselves from them, especially since they have attacked the scholars of this land by reviling them, making slanderous remarks against them and accusing them of betraying the Deen. This matter indicates what they are behind.
2. They call to Jihaad, but they do not intend by it the Jihaad against the disbelievers. Rather it seems like they intend by it to change the leaders, knowing that we cannot rid the leaders of their errors. And we do not claim that they are infallible however we say: It is obligatory to obey them and to advise them in a private manner because they are Muslims. And the Prophet (sallAllaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) forbade us from rebelling against the leader unless the one rebelling sees clear disbelief upon him by which he will have a proof from Allaah in the matter.
3. They claim that the scholars in this land do not understand the current affairs. And they can be refuted by the fact that the Muftees and the judges do not issue a fatwa in a single issue nor do they judge in a single matter except after coming to know its state of affairs, which encompasses it, such as the cause, the conditions for the ruling and its effects. So whoever claims that these scholars and judges do not understand the current affairs then he has wronged himself and spoken what is not permissible for him to say. As for knowing the plans and schemes of the enemies and so on, then this falls under the jurisdiction of each country’s army.
Jamaa'at-ut-Tableegh
They are a people that follow Muhammad Ilyaas, the founder of this Jamaa’ah.
A biography of the founder: Muhammad Ilyaas was born in 1302H. He memorized the Qur’aan and read the Six Collections of Hadeeth. [2] He was upon the Deobandi methodology, taking the Hanafee madh-hab, the Ash’aree and Matureedee Creed and the Sufi way. They have four Sufi orders amongst them:
1. The Naqshabandees2. The Sahroordees
3. The Qaadirees, and
4. The Jishtees
Shaikh Muhammad Ilyaas gave the Sufi bay’ah (oath of allegiance) to Shaikh Rasheed Al-Kankoohee, who later became Shaikh Rasheed As-Saharanpuree. Then he renewed it with Shaikh Ahmad As-Saharanpuree who certified him to take oaths of allegiance. Muhammad Ilyaas would sit in detached isolation (khalwah) by the grave of Shaikh Nur Muhammad Al-Badaayunee, in what is known as the Jishtee Muraaqabah (self meditation). And he would go out to the grave of ‘Abdul-Qudoos Al-Kankoohee, the one who forced the ideology of wahdat-ul-wujood [3] on him. He resided and taught in Delhi and passed away in 1363H.
Circumstances that brought about the start of the movement:
Shaikh Abul-Hasan An-Nadwee saw that Muhammad Ilyaas took refuge in this way of giving Da’wah when the ways of blind-following failed to rectify the people of his region. Shaikh Miyaan Muhammad Aslam quotes one of Ilyaas’ sayings that he received kashf (mystic disclosure) to follow this way through a dream in which he was inspired with a new tafseer (interpretation) of Allaah’s saying: "You were the best nation brought out for mankind, commanding good and forbidding evil and believing in Allaah." [Surah Aali ‘Imraan: 110] And it was that going out (khurooj) to call people to the way of Allaah cannot be realized by staying in one place based on Allaah’s word "brought out"and that one’s Eemaan increases by going out in this khurooj based on Allaah’s saying: "and believing in Allaah" after having said: "brought out for mankind."
The following can be noted from what has just been mentioned:
1. The Qur’aan is not interpreted by makshoofaat (mystical disclosures), and by Sufi dreams, of which the majority of them, rather all of them come from the inspirations of the Devil.
2. It is apparent from what was stated previously that the founder of this Jamaa’ah was engrossed in Sufism from head to toe. This is because he gave two oaths of allegiance on it and was tested by its false beliefs and because he would spend his time sitting by the graves of Sufis.
3. The founder of this Jamaa’ah was a qubooree (grave worshipper) and a khuraafee. This is clear from his saying: "...and he would sit in detached isolation (khalwah) by the grave of Shaikh Nur Muhammad Al-Badaayunee." And concerning the second person, he mentioned that he forced the ideology of wahdat-ul-wujood on him. So his being attached to the grave of the one who forced the ideology of wahdat-ul-wujood on him is without doubt a clear proof that he held that same belief
4. Those who believe in wahdat-ul-wujood claim that Allaah embodies Himself inside the attractive woman - and refuge is sought from Allaah! This is a matter that has reached the highest level of repulsiveness. May Allaah give them what they deserve of His curses and wrath!
The methodology of the Jamaa’at-ut-Tableegh can be summarized in six issues or six principles or six characteristics:
1. Actualizing the statement of Tawheed: "Laa Ilaaha Illaallaah Muhammadur Rasoolullaah" (There is no deity worthy of worship except Allaah and Muhammad is His Messenger)
2. Praying with full submissiveness and humility
3. Knowledge of the Virtues (Fadaa’il) and not the Fiqh issues (Masaa’il) along with knowledge of dhikr
4. Showing generosity to the Muslim
5. Correcting the intention
6. Calling to Allaah (i.e. Da’wah) and going out (i.e. khurooj) for that purpose in the Way of Allaah upon the tablighi manhaj.
There is an objective behind each of these six principles or characteristics as well as a virtue to be attained. So for example the objective behind (Laa Ilaaha IllaAllaah) is to: "Eradicate the corrupted yaqeen (Certainty) from the heart while placing the correct and valid yaqeen into the Essence (dhaat) of Allaah." They really intend the belief of wahdat-ul-wujood with this.
Point to be noted about Jamaa’at-ut-Tableegh:
1. The founder of this Jamaa’ah was raised upon Sufism and gave two oaths of allegiance on it.
2. He would position himself by graves, waiting to receive Kashf (Sufi mystical disclosure) and meditative ideas from the deceased inside them.
3. He would perform the Jishtee Muraaqabah (self meditation) at the gravesite of ‘Abdul-Quddoos Al-Kankoohee, who used to believe in wahadat-ul-wujood.
4. The Jishtee Muraaqabah is to sit by a grave for half an hour of every week, covering the face and reciting this dhikr: "Allaahu Haadiree, Allaahu Naadhiree." [4] This statement or this action if done sincerely for Allaah is an innovation. And if it is done for the person in the grave then it is committing Shirk with Allaah. And the last of the two is what is most evident.
5. They have four of their graves located in the masjid from where their Da’wah emerged.
6. The founder of this Jamaa’ah believed in Kashf.
7. The founder of this Jamaa’ah was a grave worshipper.
8. The Tablighis perform their worship with an innovated form of dhikr, done in the way of the Sufis. This is by splitting up the statement of Tawhheed (Laa Ilaaha IllaAllaah).
9. Whoever cuts off the negation part of the Statement of Tawheed from its affirmation part intentionally, by saying "Laa Ilaaha" (only), then this necessitates the fact that he has committed disbelief. Shaikh Hamood At-Tuwayjiree stated this, quoting it from the scholars.
10. They make it permissible to wear amulets that have on them mystical writings and names of unknown people, which probably are names of devils! And this is not permissible.
Footnotes:
[1] Translator’s Note: This is the category of Tawheed related to the Oneness of Allaah in the worship that is performed to Him, i.e. that we worship only Allaah and no one else.
[2] Translator’s Note: The hadeeth Collections of Al-Bukhaaree, Muslim, Abu Dawood, At-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah and Ahmad.
[3] Translator’s Note: Wahdatul-Wujood is the belief that Creator (Allaah) and the Creation is one existence.
[4] Translator’s Note: This has something with the meaning of "Allaah is my ever-Present Accompanier, Allaah is my Watcher"
THE SUFIS
http://www.turntoislam.com/forum/showthread.php?t=50013
Parallels between Sufism and Christianity
During his life, the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) prophesized that Islam will be divided into sects just as Judaism and Christianity did before it. Indeed this prophecy has come true with the prevalence of sects and deviant beliefs within the religion of Islam. One such sect is that of Sufism. Sufism began about three centuries after hijrah. Some believers began to engage in extra forms of worship and to deny the world around them through ascetic practices. At first these people were still considered Muslims, although what they were doing was an innovation. However, after time, a Sufi philosophy and practice began to develop that took those who practice it outside the religion of Islam into that of Kufar. Interestingly, there are many such extreme Sufi practices that have parallels in Christianity. These similarities show the extent to which the Sufis have deviated from the true religion sent by Allah and explained by the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
Both Sufism and Christianity are rooted in a mystical view of God and religion. This mystical view/experience of religion has the following characteristics (Armstrong, p.219). It is a subjective experience involving an interior journey of the soul towards God, rather than an objective experience involving facts. It is based on imagination rather than reason. Lastly, the experience is something deliberately created by the believer through physical and/or mental exercises; this experience does not come about by itself. The emphasis in a mystical approach is that of finding a "personal God", discovered through some interior journey involving meditation, imagination, chanting, dancing, music, to name but a few. Importantly, the messengers and prophets sent by Allah did not come with this mystical message, but rather that of a logical message appealing to reason and focusing on bringing the society as a whole back to the straight path. Although the reasons for the development of mysticism and how it came to deviate from that taught by the messengers are interesting in and of themselves, the focus of this discussion will concentrate on how Sufis and Christians have similar mystical worldviews, which demonstrates how they have left the true religion sent by Allah.
One point of commonality is that of God speaking directly to Christian and Sufi individuals. Christians believe that God speaks to them and guides them through the "Holy Spirit". The Holy Spirit is one part of a divine trinity, the other parts being God himself and Jesus. Each Christian believes that they can get to know God by knowing the Holy Spirit; this is done through prayer, meditation, and reflection. Some even believe that the Holy Spirit is manifest in each person as part of the divine as a result of Jesus dying on the cross to save and redeem humanity. The Holy Spirit can speak directly to people when they are awake or through dreams. One of the most infamous examples of this is the dream that Paul had where it was shown to him what is allowed and what is not allowed. Based on this dream, pigs became lawful for man to eat - even though Jesus himself never made pigs lawful! Catholics believe that the holy spirit speaks directly to the Pope and based on what the Pope receives, he can then make new laws for his followers. Those familiar with Christian culture will know that it is routine to hear Christians say, "the holy spirit spoke to me" or "the holy spirit guided me/ showed me what to do/ etc.". This amounts to each person having a direct line of communication from God to receive whatever insight or information or new revelation God wants to give him or her. This is reflected further in the popular culture as shown by the success of books where God speaks to people. The book "Conversations with God" (both Part 1 and Part 2) has been on the bestseller lists. In this book a man writes the conversations that he has with God and God's answers to his questions. Other "new age" books, such as The Celestine Prophecy, also on the bestseller list, describe how people receive insight and information through God speaking to them.
Sufis also believe that God speaks to them and reveals to them "special hidden knowledge" that is not known to others. This notion originates in the Sufi belief that Allah resides in their souls and that humans have divine qualities. Ibn Ataa Illaah said, "The entire being is darkness, however, it was lit by the manifestation of Truth in it" (As-Saleh, p89). This is exactly the same as the Christian idea of the human soul being illuminated and guided by the holy spirit. Sufis have written their own tafsir of the Quran in which they use taweel, which is uncovering the hidden meaning of words and passages that are not obvious from reading them. For example, Ibn Arabi interprets the verse "Allah has set a seal on their hearts and on their hearings" to mean that "They hear not except from Him (Allah) and understand not except from Him. They see not except by Him, and they neither turn to you nor to what you have because of what We have made and placed with them" (As-Saleh, p 169). Tbn Arabi implies that Allah has sealed the hearts and hearing of Sufis to all else except what Allah reveals to them directly through their meditation! Ibn Arabi believes that his tafsir was divinely inspired and written by way of Divine dictation and Allah putting the meaning in his heart (As-Saleh, p169). This verse actually refers to those who are disobedient to Allah and, as a punishment, Allah has sealed their hearing and hearts so that they cannot receive guidance from Him, and as a result, not go to Paradise.
Since there is a priority on individual communion with the Divine, directly through God or the Holy Spirit, the religion itself takes on a very individualistic tone. The overall focus is taken away from the society and community, and their relationship with God as a whole, to the individual's relationship with God. The mystical journey is a uniquely personal one, all dependent on the self. The Christian and Sufi prays, meditates, etc - they may even attend church or group meetings. However, the emphasis is always on the self and the responsibility to the society is removed or lessened significantly. This is in opposition to the overall purpose of Allah's religion, as Allah sent messengers and prophets to communities and nations - not individuals. Allah also punished whole nations and communities, like those of Lot, Noah, Shuaib, for their sins. Islam is a whole system, where the political, social, economic, etc. spheres of life are all mixed together and thus inseparable. The religion is not something each person does away from the society on his or her own, but is done through every action that the person takes. In Christianity there is little to no emphasis on the community and the community's relationship to God. Each concentrates on their own personal relationship with God, while the society suffers. For example, there is a passage in the Bible that states that Christians should not take interest; however all do. The mystical worldview is responsible for this by relativizing what each person believes because the focus switches to concentrate on one aspect of the religion, the personal. Each person can have their own system and beliefs based on whatever they feel God wants them to do, not what God says they should do - as delivered through a messenger or correctly preserved scripture. (Note the acceptance of homosexuality in Christian society.) This exactly describes the mystical experience where imagination, not reason is used. This individual tone of Sufism and Christianity is a consequence, intended or not, which separates people further from God, because they are not following the way Allah gave them.
Another parallel of Christianity and Sufism is that of a hierarchical structure to the religion. Christians have priests, pope, bishops, ministers, and other clergy members built into the religion hierarchy. The Sufis have shaikhs, leaders and wise men, etc. The mystical journey requires that one have a leader to guide them and teach them the mystical ways, which people are incapable of learning on their own. It should be noted that this is because the "founders" of these groups have set up the religion in such a perplexing way. The Trinity is not something easily understood because it just does not make sense and the Sufi taweel and hidden meanings, etc also do not make sense because their meanings have nothing to do with the obvious intended meaning. Both groups have such an affinity to their leaders that they follow them no matter what and go to the extreme in believing them. For example, the Catholic system was set up on the principle that the common person could not figure out their own religion and needed a priest to teach them and interpret for them what they should do. This is evidenced by the fact that their Bible was not translated into common languages until about 1500 AD, until that time it remained in Greek and Latin. Catholics still believe that a priest is necessary to teach the religion. Priests have given themselves a lot of power; for example they believe that they can forgive sins through confession. The Pope is considered infallible and is able to make new laws or change existing laws for the church and its followers. Sufis have an equally unique relationship with their sheikhs and leaders. The Sufis take their sheikhs to be infallible as well and do not question them. al-Bakree wrote that the student should, "Submit the affair to him and do not question. Even if he comes with something sinful if that be possible. Be in his presence like a dead person since I (the student) am with one washing me to remove the filth from me" (AI-Madkhalee, p23). Others say that a student should not disapprove of the deeds of a Sufi sheikh - even if it is forbidden, he should not marry his master's divorcee or one who his master likes, and that seeing a sheikh is the same as seeing Allah (as-Saleh, p122-123). Both groups go against what Allah has intended for them by following their leaders in such a way. One should seek a religious leader or scholar for advice and help, but no go so far as to accept that they can forgive sins or should be submitted to blindly. In the Quran it says that the Jews and Christians took their priests and rabbis as their god. This is a commentary on what the Christians already did and a warning, not heeded by future Sufis. It shows us that this type of hierarchy is not acceptable to Allah and not part of the religion.
Other similarities are numerous and will be mentioned briefly. The Christians and Sufis both use the same types of activities to reach a mystical state, such as: music, clapping, breathing and other physical exercises, singing, trances, poetry using mystical phrases and meanings, asceticism (not marrying, ignoring food, etc). In Sufism knowledge is made known only to the elite, as in Christianity it is known only to priests and other learned scholars. Annihilation (Sufi term) and ecstasy (Christian term), or becoming one with God, is another commonality. Sufis deny their utter existence until they believe that they have become one with Allah, "I am my Beloved and my Beloved is Me, I am the Lover and I am the Beloved, next to whom there is none." (as-Saleh, p.81). The Christian Maximus the Confessor said that, "The whole man should become God, deified by the grace of the God-become-man, becoming whole man, soul, and body, by nature and becoming whole god, soul and body, by grace" (Armstrong, p222). In this annihilation/ ecstasy concept, both refer to God in terms of Love, personalizing Him beyond all reason, and writing as if Allah Himself were their lover. Note the Sufi quote above and the writings of Saint Augustine. Sufis and Christians engage in grave and ancestor worship; they pray to them for guidance and ask for their intercession with Allah. Sufi sheikhs and Christian scholars and do-gooders can achieve the level of sainthood and can even perform miracles, and to whom people pray and ask for their intercession. Both groups share the notion of religious relativism, where all paths or religions leading to God are considered acceptable. Christians do believe that their path is the right one. However, their understanding and belief in their creed has become so weakened over time that many now believe that all religions lead to God. It is the attitude of "If it is good for you - it is ok with me - and leave me to do my thing".
Sufis believe that since God is everywhere and appears in everything, that all paths to God are acceptable. Ibn Arabee believes that all religions, even pagan, are really one (Al-Madhkalee, p31). All practices mentioned are against what Allah has taught us through messengers, prophets, and the Holy Quran. Singing, dancing, and asceticism are not acceptable forms of worship; Muslims learned the proper ways from the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The message of Islam does not include annihilation or ecstasy; enshaAllah Muslims that are good will be in Paradise and meet Allah, but never become Him. Muslims are to love Allah and the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) more than themselves, but not to think of either in such extreme ways. Grave and ancestor worship are forms of shirk in Islam, because the only one worthy of our prayer is Allah. Muslims know that the only true path is Islam, as taught by the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH); all other religions are on the wrong path.
Such parallels between the Sufis and Christians show how similar the religions actually are and demonstrate how far they have strayed from the true religion of Islam. The discussion of mysticism and its resulting influence on both religions proves that this mystical experience is not a way that Allah wants us to worship Him. These mystical ways are currently so popular because of the moral relativism of today's popular culture and society and because it allows each person to do what they want. There is little concern about what they should do, as each person receives individual guidance from God. Those engaged in dawah should be very aware of the similarities mentioned in this article because Christians who convert could easily become Sufis. People like what they are comfortable and familiar with. Since Sufism has so many of the same elements as Christianity, it is very likely, that without proper guidance, that Christians would turn to Sufism. This is very bad, as that person is converting from one state of Kufar to another!
It is the responsibility of all in dawah and all Muslims to ensure that this does not happen. It is also our responsibility to be aware of the deviant sects of Islam so that we can safeguard ourselves from these practices.
References:
http://www.learndeen.com/jm/deen-islam/sects/34/85.html?5e79d1c535618125fe5727bbc91646f1=8fbf453b6439aa939b89dfc456b4275bBoth Sufism and Christianity are rooted in a mystical view of God and religion. This mystical view/experience of religion has the following characteristics (Armstrong, p.219). It is a subjective experience involving an interior journey of the soul towards God, rather than an objective experience involving facts. It is based on imagination rather than reason. Lastly, the experience is something deliberately created by the believer through physical and/or mental exercises; this experience does not come about by itself. The emphasis in a mystical approach is that of finding a "personal God", discovered through some interior journey involving meditation, imagination, chanting, dancing, music, to name but a few. Importantly, the messengers and prophets sent by Allah did not come with this mystical message, but rather that of a logical message appealing to reason and focusing on bringing the society as a whole back to the straight path. Although the reasons for the development of mysticism and how it came to deviate from that taught by the messengers are interesting in and of themselves, the focus of this discussion will concentrate on how Sufis and Christians have similar mystical worldviews, which demonstrates how they have left the true religion sent by Allah.
One point of commonality is that of God speaking directly to Christian and Sufi individuals. Christians believe that God speaks to them and guides them through the "Holy Spirit". The Holy Spirit is one part of a divine trinity, the other parts being God himself and Jesus. Each Christian believes that they can get to know God by knowing the Holy Spirit; this is done through prayer, meditation, and reflection. Some even believe that the Holy Spirit is manifest in each person as part of the divine as a result of Jesus dying on the cross to save and redeem humanity. The Holy Spirit can speak directly to people when they are awake or through dreams. One of the most infamous examples of this is the dream that Paul had where it was shown to him what is allowed and what is not allowed. Based on this dream, pigs became lawful for man to eat - even though Jesus himself never made pigs lawful! Catholics believe that the holy spirit speaks directly to the Pope and based on what the Pope receives, he can then make new laws for his followers. Those familiar with Christian culture will know that it is routine to hear Christians say, "the holy spirit spoke to me" or "the holy spirit guided me/ showed me what to do/ etc.". This amounts to each person having a direct line of communication from God to receive whatever insight or information or new revelation God wants to give him or her. This is reflected further in the popular culture as shown by the success of books where God speaks to people. The book "Conversations with God" (both Part 1 and Part 2) has been on the bestseller lists. In this book a man writes the conversations that he has with God and God's answers to his questions. Other "new age" books, such as The Celestine Prophecy, also on the bestseller list, describe how people receive insight and information through God speaking to them.
Sufis also believe that God speaks to them and reveals to them "special hidden knowledge" that is not known to others. This notion originates in the Sufi belief that Allah resides in their souls and that humans have divine qualities. Ibn Ataa Illaah said, "The entire being is darkness, however, it was lit by the manifestation of Truth in it" (As-Saleh, p89). This is exactly the same as the Christian idea of the human soul being illuminated and guided by the holy spirit. Sufis have written their own tafsir of the Quran in which they use taweel, which is uncovering the hidden meaning of words and passages that are not obvious from reading them. For example, Ibn Arabi interprets the verse "Allah has set a seal on their hearts and on their hearings" to mean that "They hear not except from Him (Allah) and understand not except from Him. They see not except by Him, and they neither turn to you nor to what you have because of what We have made and placed with them" (As-Saleh, p 169). Tbn Arabi implies that Allah has sealed the hearts and hearing of Sufis to all else except what Allah reveals to them directly through their meditation! Ibn Arabi believes that his tafsir was divinely inspired and written by way of Divine dictation and Allah putting the meaning in his heart (As-Saleh, p169). This verse actually refers to those who are disobedient to Allah and, as a punishment, Allah has sealed their hearing and hearts so that they cannot receive guidance from Him, and as a result, not go to Paradise.
Since there is a priority on individual communion with the Divine, directly through God or the Holy Spirit, the religion itself takes on a very individualistic tone. The overall focus is taken away from the society and community, and their relationship with God as a whole, to the individual's relationship with God. The mystical journey is a uniquely personal one, all dependent on the self. The Christian and Sufi prays, meditates, etc - they may even attend church or group meetings. However, the emphasis is always on the self and the responsibility to the society is removed or lessened significantly. This is in opposition to the overall purpose of Allah's religion, as Allah sent messengers and prophets to communities and nations - not individuals. Allah also punished whole nations and communities, like those of Lot, Noah, Shuaib, for their sins. Islam is a whole system, where the political, social, economic, etc. spheres of life are all mixed together and thus inseparable. The religion is not something each person does away from the society on his or her own, but is done through every action that the person takes. In Christianity there is little to no emphasis on the community and the community's relationship to God. Each concentrates on their own personal relationship with God, while the society suffers. For example, there is a passage in the Bible that states that Christians should not take interest; however all do. The mystical worldview is responsible for this by relativizing what each person believes because the focus switches to concentrate on one aspect of the religion, the personal. Each person can have their own system and beliefs based on whatever they feel God wants them to do, not what God says they should do - as delivered through a messenger or correctly preserved scripture. (Note the acceptance of homosexuality in Christian society.) This exactly describes the mystical experience where imagination, not reason is used. This individual tone of Sufism and Christianity is a consequence, intended or not, which separates people further from God, because they are not following the way Allah gave them.
Another parallel of Christianity and Sufism is that of a hierarchical structure to the religion. Christians have priests, pope, bishops, ministers, and other clergy members built into the religion hierarchy. The Sufis have shaikhs, leaders and wise men, etc. The mystical journey requires that one have a leader to guide them and teach them the mystical ways, which people are incapable of learning on their own. It should be noted that this is because the "founders" of these groups have set up the religion in such a perplexing way. The Trinity is not something easily understood because it just does not make sense and the Sufi taweel and hidden meanings, etc also do not make sense because their meanings have nothing to do with the obvious intended meaning. Both groups have such an affinity to their leaders that they follow them no matter what and go to the extreme in believing them. For example, the Catholic system was set up on the principle that the common person could not figure out their own religion and needed a priest to teach them and interpret for them what they should do. This is evidenced by the fact that their Bible was not translated into common languages until about 1500 AD, until that time it remained in Greek and Latin. Catholics still believe that a priest is necessary to teach the religion. Priests have given themselves a lot of power; for example they believe that they can forgive sins through confession. The Pope is considered infallible and is able to make new laws or change existing laws for the church and its followers. Sufis have an equally unique relationship with their sheikhs and leaders. The Sufis take their sheikhs to be infallible as well and do not question them. al-Bakree wrote that the student should, "Submit the affair to him and do not question. Even if he comes with something sinful if that be possible. Be in his presence like a dead person since I (the student) am with one washing me to remove the filth from me" (AI-Madkhalee, p23). Others say that a student should not disapprove of the deeds of a Sufi sheikh - even if it is forbidden, he should not marry his master's divorcee or one who his master likes, and that seeing a sheikh is the same as seeing Allah (as-Saleh, p122-123). Both groups go against what Allah has intended for them by following their leaders in such a way. One should seek a religious leader or scholar for advice and help, but no go so far as to accept that they can forgive sins or should be submitted to blindly. In the Quran it says that the Jews and Christians took their priests and rabbis as their god. This is a commentary on what the Christians already did and a warning, not heeded by future Sufis. It shows us that this type of hierarchy is not acceptable to Allah and not part of the religion.
Other similarities are numerous and will be mentioned briefly. The Christians and Sufis both use the same types of activities to reach a mystical state, such as: music, clapping, breathing and other physical exercises, singing, trances, poetry using mystical phrases and meanings, asceticism (not marrying, ignoring food, etc). In Sufism knowledge is made known only to the elite, as in Christianity it is known only to priests and other learned scholars. Annihilation (Sufi term) and ecstasy (Christian term), or becoming one with God, is another commonality. Sufis deny their utter existence until they believe that they have become one with Allah, "I am my Beloved and my Beloved is Me, I am the Lover and I am the Beloved, next to whom there is none." (as-Saleh, p.81). The Christian Maximus the Confessor said that, "The whole man should become God, deified by the grace of the God-become-man, becoming whole man, soul, and body, by nature and becoming whole god, soul and body, by grace" (Armstrong, p222). In this annihilation/ ecstasy concept, both refer to God in terms of Love, personalizing Him beyond all reason, and writing as if Allah Himself were their lover. Note the Sufi quote above and the writings of Saint Augustine. Sufis and Christians engage in grave and ancestor worship; they pray to them for guidance and ask for their intercession with Allah. Sufi sheikhs and Christian scholars and do-gooders can achieve the level of sainthood and can even perform miracles, and to whom people pray and ask for their intercession. Both groups share the notion of religious relativism, where all paths or religions leading to God are considered acceptable. Christians do believe that their path is the right one. However, their understanding and belief in their creed has become so weakened over time that many now believe that all religions lead to God. It is the attitude of "If it is good for you - it is ok with me - and leave me to do my thing".
Sufis believe that since God is everywhere and appears in everything, that all paths to God are acceptable. Ibn Arabee believes that all religions, even pagan, are really one (Al-Madhkalee, p31). All practices mentioned are against what Allah has taught us through messengers, prophets, and the Holy Quran. Singing, dancing, and asceticism are not acceptable forms of worship; Muslims learned the proper ways from the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The message of Islam does not include annihilation or ecstasy; enshaAllah Muslims that are good will be in Paradise and meet Allah, but never become Him. Muslims are to love Allah and the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) more than themselves, but not to think of either in such extreme ways. Grave and ancestor worship are forms of shirk in Islam, because the only one worthy of our prayer is Allah. Muslims know that the only true path is Islam, as taught by the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH); all other religions are on the wrong path.
Such parallels between the Sufis and Christians show how similar the religions actually are and demonstrate how far they have strayed from the true religion of Islam. The discussion of mysticism and its resulting influence on both religions proves that this mystical experience is not a way that Allah wants us to worship Him. These mystical ways are currently so popular because of the moral relativism of today's popular culture and society and because it allows each person to do what they want. There is little concern about what they should do, as each person receives individual guidance from God. Those engaged in dawah should be very aware of the similarities mentioned in this article because Christians who convert could easily become Sufis. People like what they are comfortable and familiar with. Since Sufism has so many of the same elements as Christianity, it is very likely, that without proper guidance, that Christians would turn to Sufism. This is very bad, as that person is converting from one state of Kufar to another!
It is the responsibility of all in dawah and all Muslims to ensure that this does not happen. It is also our responsibility to be aware of the deviant sects of Islam so that we can safeguard ourselves from these practices.
References:
- Al-Madkhalee, Shaykh Muhammad ibn Rabee' ibn Haadee. The Reality of Sufism in Light of the Quraan and Sunnah. 1995. Al-Hidaayah.
- Armstrong, Karen. A History of God. 1993. Alfred A. Knopf.
- As-Saleh, Saleh. From the Treasures of Ibnul Qayyam (1): A Chapter on The Dispraise of Al-Hawa (Desire),, appended with Warning; the Muslims Against Deviant Creeds and Methodologies. 1998. Daar Al-Bukhaaree.
The (Sufi) Naqshabandi Tariqah Unveiled
Verily all Praise is for Allaah, we praise Him, seek His aid and ask for His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evil of ourselves and the evil of our actions. Whomsoever Allah guides then there is none who can misguide him, and whomsoever Allaah misguides then there is none who can guide him. I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped except Allaah alone, having no partners and I bear witness that Muhammad
is His slave and Messenger. May the peace and blessings of Allaah be on the final Prophet Muhammad , his family, his companions and all those who follow in their footsteps until the last day. To proceed:This little booklet is a modest attempt to analyse and expose the teachings and practices of the Tariqat ul Naqshbandi in the light of the Glorious Qur’aan and Sunnah, and is done purely in fulfilling our obligation to enjoin the right and forbid the evil. Over the years many deviant movements have arisen in the Muslim world bent on corrupting the teachings of Islaam and thereby mislead the Muslims. One of the most dangerous of the contemporary movements is the group known as the Naqshbandi Tariqat.
Like most deviant groups, they claim that the Muslim masses are ignorant and are therefore in need of a Sheikh (leader) who is supposed to possess the secret knowledge of the unseen. They also claim that all religious texts have an obvious outer meaning known to the masses and a hidden meaning known only to the Sheikh, and that the masses are unable to contact Allaah on their own and hence are in need of a intermediary (Sheikh) who will get them close to Allaah if given unquestionable and unconditional obedience.
The greatest danger of this group lies in the fact that they, while wearing the cloak of Islaam, are striving to destroy it from within, in a vain attempt to extinguish the light of Islaam and divert the Muslims from the reality of the religion.
Realizing the grave threat posed by this group, we have undertaken the task of exposing the falsity of this group, seeking only the pleasure of Allaah (SWT), we hope that the absurdities, fallacies, and the extremely deviant nature of this group would be clearly exposed to those trapped in its clutches and as a timely warning to those contemplating to join them.
The simple method we have adopted in exposing the group’s deviant beliefs is to quote what Allaah (SWT) says in the Qur’aan and what His truthful Messenger Muhammad
has said in the authentic Ahadith, and then to quote the group’s beliefs or position vis-a-vis the same issue, taken from their own publications printed by ‘Arafat Publishing House’, and where necessary commented upon.In all firmness to this group we have given the names of the books, along with the page number from where we have taken these quotes. Reference to the Qur’aanic Aayaat and authentic Ahadith too have been provided.
Due to lack of space we are compelled to deal with only some of the serious issues of the group’s beliefs and teachings which are directly in conflict with the pure Islaamic teachings as revealed in the Glorious Qur’aan and authentic Sunnah.
This booklet is by no means a complete exposition of the entirety of this group’s deviant beliefs and teachings and all Qur’aanic Aayaat quoted are only translations of the meanings of the Qur’aan.
We pray this little booklet serves to remove the confusion and ignorance that the people are suffering from regarding this important issue and that it will save all those sincere seekers of truth from falling in to Shirk.
1. THE ISLAAMIC BELIEF: Allaah is the Only Truth
Allaah (SWT) says in the Qur’aan -
"That is because Allaah - He is the Truth and it is He who gives life to dead." (Qur’aan, Chapter 22, Verse 6)
THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Aba Yazid al-Bistami is the Truth
On page 15 of the book ‘The Naqshbandi Way’ it reads -
"Whoever recites this Ayah even a single time will attain a high rank and a great position, … he will get what the Prophets and saints could not get, and will arrive at the stage of Aba Yazid al-Bistami, the Imam of the order who said: "I am the Truth (al-Haqq)."
The above statement ‘I am the Truth’ - is a clear example of Shirk (association) in the aspect of the Names and Attributes of Allaah, since Al-Haqq in the definite form, is one of Allaah’s unique attributes and is not shared by any created being or thing unless preceded by the prefix `Abd meaning "Slave of" or "Servant of". (In fact the Mystic al-Hallaaj was publicly executed as an apostate for daring to openly claim divinity in his infamous pronouncement "Anal-Haqq"- I am the Truth.)
2. THE ISLAAMIC BELIEF: None shares with the command of Allaah
Allaah (SWT) says in the Qur’aan -
"Verily, His (Allaah’s) command, when He intends a thing, is only that he says to it, "Be! And it is!" - (Chapter 36, Verse 82); and in another place in the Qur’aan, Allaah says =
"They have no protector other than Him (Allaah); nor does He share His command with any person whatsoever." - (18:26)
THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Sheikh shares with the command of Allaah
On page 33 of the book ‘Mercy Oceans - Part 1’, it reads "The Power of the wali is such
that he only needs to say Kun (be) and that will be."
The above is another example of Shirk (association) in the aspect of the Lordship of Allaah, since the Islaamic principle of the Lordship of Allaah states that no created being can share in God’s attributes and infinite qualities, and any attempt to give the Divine attributes to creation is referred to as Shirk (association), the antithesis of Tawheed (singling out Allaah alone for worship).
3. THE ISLAMIC BELIEF: None could attain the Rank of the Prophets or their Companions
The Prophet Muhammad
has said in a well known Hadith that,"The best of people are those living in my generation, and then those who will follow them, and then those who will follow the latter…"
(Saheeh Bukhaaree, Vol 5, Hadith #3, Arabic-English Trans.)
THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Certain people could attain a Rank higher than the Prophets and their Companions.
On page 1 of the book ‘The Naqshbandi Way’ it reads,
"Our master the Sheikh says that a person who manages to act on these principles in our times will achieve what earlier generations did not achieve … he who attains an exalted stage and a great rank, such a rank which the Prophets themselves and the companions were unable to attain."
On page 4 of the book ‘the Naqshbandi Way’ it reads,
"Especially those who hold to the Prophet’s Sunnah, will attain special stations that weren’t opened to earlier people - not even to the Prophet’s companions.’
The deviant claim of attaining the rank which the Prophets could not is a major deception of the Naqshbandiya as any Muslim with even the basic knowledge of Islaam will confirm. As regards the companions (May Allaah be pleased with them all), the Prophet
in a hadith narrated by Anas bin Maalik (Radhiallaahu Anhu) said -"After me, you will see others given preference to you, so be patient till you meet me."
(Saheeh Bukhaaree, Vol 5., Hadith #137, Arabic-English Trans.)
He
also said in reference to his Companions (May Allaah be pleased with them all),"For by Him in Whose hand is my soul, if you were to spend the like of Uhud or of the mountains in gold, you would not reach their actions." (Saheeh Bukhaaree)
4. THE ISLAMIC BELIEF: Allaah is above the heavens
Allaah (SWT) says in the Qur’aan -
"Do you feel secure, that He (Allaah), who is above the heavens, will not cause the earth to sink with you." (Qur’aan, Chapter 67, Verse 16).
And in a long Hadith found in Saheeh Muslim, it is narrated that the companion Mu`awiyah ibn al-Hakam, (Radhiallaahu Anhu) slapped his servant girl who used to tend his sheep, and as a result when to the Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) and asked what should be done as an atonement for having slapped her. The Prophet
replied, "Bring her to me" so Mu`awiyah brought her to the Prophet . The Prophet then asked her, "Where is Allaah?" and she replied "Above the Sky" then the Prophet ( ) asked her, "Who am I?" and she replied, "You are Allaah’s Messenger", so the Prophet said, "Free her, for verily she is a true believer." (Saheeh Muslim, Vol 1, Hadith #1094, English Translation)THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Allaah is Everywhere
On page 13 of the book Haqiqat ul Haqqani it reads,
"Allaah Almighty is everywhere but specially in the Baitullaah as He has Himself called it the house of Allaah. For it to be called the house of the Lord, the Lord of the house must be in it."
The concept of Allaah being everywhere is not Islaamic as the above Qur’aanic Aayah and the authentic hadith confirm. Indeed if Allaah was everywhere then there would be no need for the Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) to go up through the seven skies on the night of Mi`raaj to meet Allaah - he would have been in the direct presence of Allaah in his very own house.
5. THE ISLAMIC BELIEF: None has the knowledge of the Last Day except Allaah
Allaah (SWT) says in the Qur’aan,
"Verily the knowledge of the Hour is with Allaah (alone)." (31:34)
And according to the well known Hadith, where Angel Jibreel (`alaihis salaam) came in the guise of man, we quote the part of the Hadith that is relevant to our matter, after asking about Islaam, Imaan and Ihsaan, Angel Jibreel (`alaihis salaam) asks Prophet Muhammad
"then tell me about the hour (meaning the last day)", the Prophet Muhammad (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) replied, "The one questioned about it knows no better than the questioner."(Saheeh Muslim, vol 1, Hadith #4, English Translation)
THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Sheikh has the knowledge of the Last Day.
In the beginning of page 19 of the book ‘Mercy Oceans - part one’, it reads -
"These signs have been given us indication that the Last Day is coming is nearly exactly now …we shall witness that great event within two years."
The above book (Mercy Oceans) was published in 1987 and it I almost nine years since its publication, but the last day is still not witnessed. How could it be when indeed Allaah has clearly stated in the Qur’aan,
"Say None in the heavens and the earth knows the unseen except Allaah." (Qur’aan, Chapter 27, Verse 65)
6. THE ISLAMIC BELIEF: Believers and disbelievers are not equal.
Allaah (SWT) says in the Qur’aan - the likeness of the two parties (disbelievers and believers) is as the blind and the deaf and the seer and the hearer. Are they equal when compared? Will you not then take heed?" (Qur’aan, Chapter 11, Verse 24)
THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Believers and disbelievers are equal
On page 12 of the book ‘the Naqshbandi Way’, it reads ,
"Allaah does not distinguish between the non-believer and the faasiq (wrong doer) or between a believer and a Muslim. In fact they are all equal to him."
Furthermore, on page 16 of the same book it reads, "Allaah does not distinguish between a kaafir or a hypocrite or between a saint and a Prophet."
7. THE ISLAMIC BELIEF: No intermediary between Allaah and Man
Allaah (SWT) says in the Qur’aan,
"And when My servants ask you (O Muhammad) concerning Me, then (answer them), I am indeed near (to them in knowledge), I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me." (Qur’aan, Chapter 2, Verse 186)
THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Sheikh is intermediary between Allaah and Man
On page 23 of the book Haqiqat ul Haqqani it reads,
"If there wasn’t Mowlana Sheikh Nazim between us and Seyyidina Mahdi (Alai), or between us and the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sal), or between us and Allaah Almighty, no one would be able to reach to Divine knowledge… this is because Mowlana Sheikh Nazim is the intermediary between us and these stations."
[It should be known that the practice and belief of having an intermediary between man and God is a pagan practice, borrowed directly from other religions like Christianity which believes the Pastor or the church priest to be an intermeidary between man and God and hence confession of one’s sins is done to them and not directly to God.
8. THE ISLAMIC BELIEF: No spokesman between Allaah and Man on the Day of Judgment.
Adi bin Hatim (radhiallaahu `anhu) reported that the Messenger
said,"There is none of you but his Lord will certainly talk to with him without any Spokesman between him and his Lord."
(Sunan Ibn Maajah, Vol 1, Hadith #185, English Translation)
THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Sheikh will be a spokesman between Man and Allaah on the Day of Judgment
On page 11 of the book Haqiqat ul Haqqani it reads,
"When a person takes Bayyat from Mowlana, Mowlana will be with that person. Even until he reaches in front of Allaah Almighty will Mowlana be with him, when Allaah Almighty questions this person Mowlana shall answer all questions instead of him."
9. THE ISLAMIC BELIEF: (For anything to happen) it is only what Allaah wills
Once a companion of the Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) concluded his statement to the Prophet
with the phrase "It is what Allaah wills and you will." The Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) immediately corrected him saying - ‘Are you making me an equal with Allaah? Say it is what Allaah alone wills.’ (Collected by Ahmad - Arabic)THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: It is what Allaah and the saint wills.
On page 23 of the book "Quthub us Sailan" which is written by the local head of the group, it reads
"One morning in the newspapers, I read that the wakf board had taken over the Dewatagaha Mosque seeking the chief trustee at the time, chairman of the welfare committee and chief trustee, M.I.M. Shaukat came to my place a couple of days later to find out what he could do in that matter as chief trustee, I told him that if it was the will of Allaah and the saint, well nothing could be done on his part."
10. THE ISLAMIC BELIEF: Allaah is in charge of creation.
Allaah (SWT) says in the Qur’aan -
"And Allaah is a Wakil (Guardian) over all things." (Qur’aan, Chapter 11, Verse 12)
And in another place, Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta`aalaa) says,
"He (Allaah) arranges (every) affair from the heavens to the earth." (Qur’aan, Chapter 32, Verse 3)
THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Sheikh is in charge of creation
On page 15 of the book ‘Haqiqat ul Haqqani’ it reads,
"Every thing that you know of is under the spiritual control of the Sultan al Awliya, he is the one who is in charge of all mankind in this universe, he is also in charge of all the world of Jinns and Angels."
Again the above belief is one of Shirk (association) in the aspect of the Lordship of Allaah, as has been explained before.
11. THE ISLAMIC BELIEF: None can change a bad situation except Allaah
Allaah (SWT) says in the Qur’aan,
"And if Allaah touches you with harm, none can remove it but He…" (Qur’aan, Chapter 6, verse 17)
THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Sheikh can change a bad situation.
On page 26 of the book ‘Haqiqat ul Haqqani’ in the 2nd paragraph it reads,
"If a bad situation is to come to a mureed of his, Sheikh has the power to change it."
12. THE ISLAMIC BELIEF: None can make anyone enter paradise or save from hell, except Allaah.
The Prophet Muhammad
said in an authentic Hadith -"O People of Quraysh, secure deliverance from Allaah (by doing good deeds). I cannot help you at all against Allaah. O sons of Abdul-Muttalib, I cannot help you at all against Allaah; O (my uncle) Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib, O (my aunt) Safeeyah, I cannot help you at all against Allaah; O Faatimah, daughter of Muhammad, ask me whatever you like, but I have nothing which can help you against Allaah."
(Saheeh Muslim, Vol 1, Hadith #402, English Translation)
THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Sheikh can make one enter paradise and save one from hell.
On page 30 of the book Haqiqat ul Haqqani, in the 3rd paragraph, it reads -
"Sheikh will not allow any of his mureeds to enter hell, … Sheikh Nazim will make all the followers to enter into this paradise."
13. THE ISLAMIC BELIEF: The Angel of death will take the soul of the dying.
Allaah (SWT) says in the Qur’aan,
"Say the Angel of death, who is set over you, will take your souls, then you shall be brought to your Lord." (Qur’aan, 32:11)
THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Sheikh will take the soul of the dying
On page 35 of the book ‘Haqiqat ul Haqqani’ under the heading ‘No questioning in the grave’, it reads -
"As for anyone who is related to Mowlana Sheikh Nazim as a mureed, the Angel of Death Israel (Alai) will have nothing to do with him, the soul of this mureed at the time of his death will be taken by Mowlana Sheikh Nazim, he shall look at the mureed and immediately the soul of that mureed will leave his body. There is nothing for either the Angel of death or for the Angels of the grave to do with the mureeds of Sheikh Nazim."
14. THE ISLAMIC BELIEF: No hidden knowledge in Islaam, everything is given in the Qur’aan and Sunnah.
The Prophet Muhammad
said in an authentic hadith -"I have not left anything which Allaah ordered you with, except that I have ordered you with it, nor anything that Allaah forbade you, except that I forbade you from it." (Saheeh, al-Baihaqee 7:76, Arabic)
THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Sheikh has hidden knowledge.
In spite of the above clear hadith, the deviant Naqshbandi claim that there is ‘secret knowledge’ with the Sheikh, for example on page 60-61 of the book ‘Haqiqat ul Haqqani’ in the 3rd paragraph it reads -
"Vast amounts of hidden knowledge have been communicated to his mureeds by Mowlana Sheikh Nazim in this manner. Questions by these mureeds regarding day to day life, or questions relating to religion … and also many other subjects have been answered by Mowlana Sheikh Nazim. When this type of communication has been granted to a mureed, he no longer needs to resort to books to further his knowledge."
15. THE ISLAMIC BELIEF: When Allaah loves a person…
The Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) said as narrated by Abu Huraira (radhiallaahu `anhu) that,
"…Allaah said…the most beloved things with which my slave comes nearer to Me, is with what I have enjoined upon him, and my slave keeps on coming closer to Me through performing Nawafil (praying or doing extra deeds besides what is obligatory) till I love him, so I become his sense of hearing with which he hears, and his sense of sight with which he sees, and his hand with which he grips…"
(Saheeh Bukhaaree, Vol 8, Hadith 509, Arabic - English Trans)
[The above hadith should not be misinterpreted by the reader. What it simply means is as has been explained by the Scholars of Hadith is that, when Allaah becomes his sense of hearing means the servant will only hear Halaal speech and will keep away from hearing forbidden speech. And regarding sight, then it means he will only see that which is permissible to see and keep away from seeing that which is Haraam and in the case of the hands then it means he will only touch and use his hands in that which is Halaal and will refrain from touching and doing Haraam with it.]
THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Directly contradicts the above hadith.
On page 62 of the book ‘Haqiqat ul Haqqani’ in the last paragraph it reads,
"Certain of the mureeds of Mowlana Sheikh Nazim experience that Mowlana appears within them, when this happens, they are no longer conscious of themselves as themselves, they lose their identity and are conscious of themselves as their Sheikh. They see through Mowlana’s eyes when the look, they hear through Mowlana’s ears when they hear, and they speak Mowlana’s words when they speak.."
16. THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Sheikh can be in any place at the same time.
On page 33 of the book ‘Haqiqat ul Haqqani’ it reads,
"Mowlana Sheikh Nazim can also be present in his shape and body in several places at the same time."
Also on page 65 of the same book it reads in the 2nd paragraph,
"Sometimes, mureeds have been transported to other countries and places. For example, they may be transported in a moment to London…some are known to have visited Mecca, Medina, London and Baghdad in moments by the power and the grace of Sheikh Nazim."
THE ISLAMIC POSITION on the above Naqshbandi position
In a Hadith, the Prophet Muhammad (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) said,
"There are three types of Jinn, one type flies through the air…" (Transmitted by al-Haakim, Tabaraani and al-Baihaqi, Arabic)
And Allaah says in the Qur’aan,
"And verily, there were men among mankind who took shelter with the masculine among the jinns, but they (jinns) increased them (mankind) in sin and disbelief." (Qur’aan, 72:6)
17. THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Sheikh has two faces.
On page 21 of the book ‘Haqiqat ul Haqqani’ in the first paragraph describing Sheikh Nazim, it reads -
"He (Sheikh) now has a face towards the creatures and a face towards Allaah Almighty, therefore he is with Allaah Almighty all the time!"
THE ISLAMIC POSITION on the above Naqshbandi belief
The Prophet Muhammad
rightly said, as reported by the companion Abu Huraira (radhiallaahu `anhu) who said that Allaah’s Messenger said, "The worst amongst the people is the double faced one."
(Saheeh Muslim, vol 4, Hadith #6300 - English Translation)
Also, the companion Ammaar (radhiallaahu `anhu) reported the Prophet
as saying, "He who is two faced in this world, will have two tongues of fire on the day of resurrection."
(Sunan Abu Dawud, Vol 3, Hadith #4855 - English Translation)
From the preceding, concise presentation of the Naqshbandi group’s deviant beliefs, in shaa’ Allaah, there should not remain even the slightest inkling of a doubt in the mind of the sincere reader about the group’s deviant nature and falsehood. It is only the ignorant, grossly biased and dishonest sympathizers of the group who will still maintain the view that the group’s teachings and beliefs are in accordance with the Qur’aan and Sunnah, since it has been clearly and decisively proven to be just the exact opposite.
In the foregoing article, the reader would have noticed that every thing of the pure Islamic Belief mentioned has been contradicted by this deviant group. In fact the Prophet Muhammad
had warned us about the appearance of such deviant groups, when he said in an authentic narration reported by Abu Amir al-Hawdani (radhiallaahu `anhu),"Indeed those who were before you, from the people of the book (Jews and Christians) split into seventy sects, and this religion will split into seventy three; seventy two will go in to the hell fire, and one of them will go to paradise, and it is the Jamaa`ah." (Abu Dawud, vol 3, Hadith #4580, English Translation)
[The term Jamaa`ah was explained by the companion `Abdullaah ibn Mas`ood (radhiallaahu `anhu) as meaning that which agrees with the truth. He said in his famous statement, "The jamaa`ah is that which agrees with the truth, even if it is a single person." (Reported by ibn Asaakir in Tareekh Dimashq - Arabic)]
Then there is no doubt that each of these groups claims for itself that it is the saved group, and that it is correct and that it alone follows the Messenger
, but the way of truth is a single way and it is the one which leads to salvation, and any other way is one of the ways of misguidance which leads to destruction as has been clearly explained by the Prophet in another hadith, reported by the companion `Abdullaah ibn Mas`ood (radhiallaahu `anhu), who said,"Allaah’s Messenger (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) drew a line with his hand and said, "This is the straight path of Allaah." He then drew lines to its right and to its left and said, "These are the other paths, which represent misguidance and that at the head of each path sat a devil inviting people to it (path)." He then recited, "And verily, this is My straight path, so follow it, and follow not (other) paths, for they will separate you away from His path." (Reported by Ahmad, an-Nasaa’ee and ad-Daarimee and collected in Miskhaat ul-Masaabih, Vol 1, Hadith #166, Arabic-English Translation)
So the path is to stick to the Book of Allaah and to the Sunnah of His Messenger
, as occurs in the following hadith. The Prophet said, "I have left you with two things, as long as you hold to them, you will never go astray, they are the Book of Allaah and My Sunnah." (Collected by Imaam Maalik, rahimahullaah, in his Muwatta, the Book of Decree. Hadith #3, Page 434, English Translation)
So the criterion to judge the claim of any group or individual who claims to be on the right path, is to see how close its beliefs and teachings are in accordance to the Qur’aan and Sunnah.
The external deceptive claim of the Naqshbandi group, under the guise of Islaam should not be a means of confusion to anybody, as to the reality of its deviant nature. History is a witness to the well-known slogan, "If you cannot beat them, then join them" - this is exactly what the group is doing. Its aim is to destroy Islaam from within, wearing the cloak of Islaam.
A serious effort should be made to enlighten those of the group’s followers who may be genuinely seeking the light of pure Islaam, but as a result of the group’s brainwashing have fallen into its clutches.
Whatever has been said in this booklet is not to be taken lightly, since this is a matter that could take a person completely outside of the fold of Islaam into Kufr (disbelief). This is not mere opinion of laymen but the verdict of the Ulamaa’ of Islaam, who have pronounced anyone holding such weird beliefs, which contradict the very fundamentals of Islaamic belief, and continue to persist in such beliefs even after the evidence has been clearly shown to them, risks falling outside of the fold of Islaam. It should be kept in mind that the above statements are being made for conveying knowledge only and not to make declaration of Kufr (disbelief) of any people.
It is compulsory on the `Ulamaa’ to make an effort to inform the public through all means available about the group’s deviant nature. Articles exposing the group should be written and distributed. Many Muslims have passively sat by for a long time, believing that the group would soon fizzle out and disappear. Instead, its cancerous growth has continued unabated and unchecked. As for those who in spite of what they have read, continue to have misgivings about exposing the group due to their desire to maintain an image of unity with respect to Islaam, then let them reflect on the following incident, "When some people mentioned to Imaam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (rahimahullaah) that they felt uneasy about criticizing people (who had deviated in their beliefs), he replied - "If I were to remain silent, how then would the masses know truth from falsehood?" (Reported by Imaam Ibn Taymeeyah in Majmoo`ah ar-Rasaa’il wa al-Masaa’il, vol 4, Page 10, Arabic). According to the unanimous agreement of Muslim scholars, those who introduce deviant writings and religious rites, contrary to the Qur’aan and Sunnah have to be exposed and the Muslm nation warned against them. In fact, when Imaam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (rahimahullaah) was asked if one who fasted, prayed and secluded himself in the Masjid was dearer to him than one who spoke out against people involved in deviations, he replied, when one fasts, prays and secludes oneself, he does so for himself alone; but if he speaks out against deviations, he does so for Muslims in general, which is more noble.
With this we end this article. After having read this article, if you believe it is your duty and responsibility to Allaah, to warn your brothers and sisters, then please do not be a silent spectator, spread the truth to the best of your ability. Perhaps you may save a soul or two from the deviant clutches of the group.
Finally, we ask Allaah to give all of us the towfeeq to recognize the truth, to understand it, to implement it and to call to it.
