Malicious (ill-intentioned) individuals have adopted the appearance of Sufis and claimed to be practitioners of Sufism (taṣawwuf). By associating themselves with them through nisba (spiritual affiliation) and imitating them in word, conduct (sīra), spiritual state (ḥāl), and behavior, they have betrayed Sufism (taṣawwuf). In reality, Sufism (taṣawwuf) is free and distant from such people.
In terms of our duty to serve the Truth (God), our responsibility is to distinguish between the false callers who invite to Sufism (taṣawwuf) and the sincere and gnostic members of the Saʿādat al-Ṣūfiyya (the blessed Sufi community). In particular, it is an important matter for us to discern, in every era and land, those imams of that community who possess a high degree in iman (faith), taqwa (God-consciousness), and warāʿ (scrupulousness), who spread good character (akhlāq) and religion, and who call and invite to the exalted Allah. Our duty is, as someone who clings to Allah’s sharia (the sacred law) and religion, to say: “There is a great difference between Sufism (taṣawwuf) and the Sufis, and those who are not true Sufis but, through their deviant conduct, imitate Sufis and claim to be among them. For example: just as a Muslim does not represent the religion of Islam through his bad character and ugly deeds.”
In the true sharia (sharīʿa) and religion, when has it ever been possible for one neighbor to be punished for the wrongdoing of another? Can Islam, which carries a pure essence, be tainted by the faults of Muslims? How can this pure community be held responsible for the actions of deviant claimants to Sufism (taṣawwuf) who associate themselves with Sufis?
Some scholars have rejected the actions of deviant Sufis and have targeted those deviant and transgressive individuals who invite to Sufism (taṣawwuf). Many times, the true murshids (spiritual guides) of the Sufis have warned people against them. Ahmad Zarrūq (may Allah have mercy on him), in his book "Qawāʿid al-Taṣawwuf," says: “The statements of those who go to extremes in Sufism (taṣawwuf) are rejected, just as are those of the people of caprice among the legal theorists and the censured jurists, and their actions are to be avoided. Just as this true school is not to be abandoned because such evildoers are attributed to it, so too Sufism (taṣawwuf) is not to be abandoned because of the existence of impostors...”[1]
In every group among people, until the Day of Judgment, there will be both good and evil. Just as not all scholars, jurists, teachers, judges, merchants, and rulers are the same, so too not all Sufis are alike. Among them, there are those more righteous than the righteous, and those more corrupt than the corrupt. This is so clear to the majority that it leaves no room for doubt. Know the Truth, and learn its people, for men are known by the Truth, the Truth is not known by men.
We too, like the scholars who have censured and rejected them, disapprove of those who call to Sufism (taṣawwuf) in a mistaken way and those who deviate in Allah’s religion. However, we accept, approve, and follow those who adhere to the Book and sunnah, and who act uprightly in Allah’s sharia (the sacred law). In the coming sections, I will present to you the testimony of the scholars of the Islamic ummah, both early and later generations.
Notes
- See Ahmad Zarrūq, Qawāʿid al-Taṣawwuf, principle 35, p.13.
- See Kitāb al-Islām ʿalā Muftaraq al-Ṭuruq, p.52. Muhammad Asad was of Austrian origin and his name was Leopold Weiss. After entering Islam, he took this name. He translated the Noble Qur’an and al-Bukhārī into English.