Definition and Degrees
Sayyid Jurjānī (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Warāʿ is to abstain from doubtful things out of fear of falling into the unlawful (ḥarām)."[1]
Allāma Muḥammad b. Allān Ṣiddīqī (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "According to the scholars, warāʿ is to abandon even what is not harmful out of fear of falling into what is harmful."[2]
Ibn ʿAjība (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Warāʿ is to restrain the nafs (the lower self) from committing that which has an unpleasant outcome."[3]
To explain warāʿ, we will set forth in order the degrees of warāʿ that the seeker of perfection must attain.
The warāʿ of the common people: It is to abandon doubtful things so as not to fall into the mire of opposition, following the saying of the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him): "Indeed, the lawful is clear and the unlawful is clear. But between them are matters that are doubtful, which many people do not know. Whoever avoids the doubtful matters clears himself in regard to his religion and his honor. But whoever falls into doubtful matters falls into the unlawful, like a shepherd who grazes his animals near a sanctuary and they are likely to graze in it. Indeed, every king has a sanctuary, and indeed, the sanctuary of Allah is what He has made unlawful... Indeed, in the body there is a piece of flesh; if it is sound, the whole body is sound, and if it is corrupt, the whole body is corrupt. Indeed, it is the qalb (the heart)."[4]
The warāʿ of the elect: It is to abandon whatever clouds the qalb and leads it to darkness and unease. Thus, the people of the qalb are scrupulous about the thoughts that come to their hearts. They also strive to purify themselves from inner whisperings and arrogance. Their pure qalb serves as their greatest admonisher whenever they are in doubt about something or uncertain about a ruling. As the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) indicated: "Leave what causes you doubt for what does not cause you doubt!"[5]
In another saying, the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Goodness is good character, and sin is what wavers in your nafs and what you dislike people to see."[6]
Sufyān al-Thawrī (may Allah have mercy on him) also said on this matter: "I have not seen anything easier than warāʿ; abandon whatever causes doubt within you!"[7]
The warāʿ of the elect of the elect: It is to sever all ties with anything other than Allah, to close the door of hope to anything besides Him, and to attach all desires to Him alone, not inclining to anything else. This is the warāʿ of those who possess maʿrifa (experiential knowledge of God): "Everything that distracts you from Allah is a source of misfortune for you." Shiblī (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Warāʿ is to avoid everything other than the Exalted Allah."[8]
The virtue of warāʿ: Warāʿ is a quality that encompasses all the traits of perfection. This has been explained above. When Ḥasan al-Baṣrī (may Allah have mercy on him) entered Mecca, he saw a young man from among the children of ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (may Allah be pleased with him) leaning against the Kaʿba and preaching to the people. Ḥasan (may Allah be pleased with him) approached the young man and asked: "What is the foundation of religion?" The young man replied: "Warāʿ." Ḥasan (may Allah be pleased with him) then asked: "What is the calamity of religion?" The young man replied: "Greed." Ḥasan al-Baṣrī (may Allah have mercy on him) was amazed and said: "A single particle of warāʿ is better than a thousand weights of fasting and prayer."[9]
Ibn ʿAṭāʾullāh al-Iskandarī (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "The abundance of a servant's knowledge and his persistence in his litany does not indicate his understanding. Rather, his sufficiency with his Lord, his humble submission with his qalb, his liberation from the servitude of greed, and his adornment with the ornament of warāʿ indicate the light of his understanding."[10]
There is no rank higher than warāʿ. For the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) expressed in his counsel to Abū Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) that warāʿ is the highest form of worship with the words: "O Abū Hurayra! Be among the people of warāʿ, and you will be the most devout of people."[11]
For this reason, warāʿ is the path to attaining a great divine gift. As Yaḥyā b. Muʿādh (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Whoever does not perceive the subtlety in warāʿ will not attain the gift of the Majestic (Allah's mercy)."[12]
Due to the importance of warāʿ, the loftiness of its station, the nobility of its rank, and the greatness of its effect, the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) indicated it in many noble hadiths. We will present some of them:
1. From the Companion ʿAṭiyya b. ʿUrwa (may Allah be pleased with him), the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "A servant cannot reach the rank of the muttaqīn (those who have taqwa) until he abandons what is harmless out of fear of what is harmful."[13]
2. From Ḥudhayfa b. al-Yamān (may Allah be pleased with him), the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The virtue of knowledge is better than the virtue of worship. The best part of your religion is warāʿ (abstaining from doubtful matters)."[14]
3. It is narrated from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever possesses three things will have earned the reward and his iman (faith) will be perfected: good character with people, warāʿ that prevents him from what Allah has made unlawful, and forbearance that repels the ignorance of the ignorant."[15]
4. From Anas (may Allah be pleased with him): The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) found a date on the road and said: "If I were not afraid that it was from charity (zakāt), I would have eaten it."[16]
5. Abū Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Ḥasan b. ʿAlī (may Allah be pleased with him), when he was a child, took a date from the charity (zakāt) and put it in his mouth. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'Leave it! Leave it! Spit it out! Did you not know that we do not eat charity (zakāt) or that charity (zakāt) is not lawful for us?'"[17] Indeed,
The masters of the
Sufiyya
attain the highest
degrees of warāʿ
and revive among us the memories of the Companions (ṣaḥāba) and the Followers (tābiʿīn).
It is narrated that one day the servant of Abū Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) brought him food. Abū Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) ate from it, then the servant informed him that the food was doubtful. He then tried as much as possible to induce vomiting and expelled everything from his stomach.[22]
Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq (may Allah be pleased with him) used to say: "Out of fear of falling into one door of the unlawful, we would abandon seventy doors of the lawful."[19]
When ʿUmar b. ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz (may Allah have mercy on him) was brought a piece of musk from the spoils, he took the perfume container in his hand and said: "Its scent is beneficial, but I dislike using it before the Muslims."[20]
ʿAbdullāh, the son of ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with them both), said: "I bought a camel and sent it to graze. When it became fat, I put it up for sale.
When ʿUmar entered the market, he saw a fat camel and asked, 'Whose camel is this?'
They said, 'It belongs to ʿAbdullāh, the son of ʿUmar.'
ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: 'Well done, O son of the Commander of the Believers! But what is this camel?'
ʿAbdullāh (may Allah be pleased with him) replied: 'I bought this camel when it was weak and sent it to graze. I desire what the Muslims desire (i.e., trade).'
ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with him), rebuking his son for using his position, said: 'Graze the camel of the Commander of the Believers' son! Water the camel of the Commander of the Believers' son! O ʿAbdullāh, son of ʿUmar! Take back the capital you spent on the camel, and the rest transfer to the Muslims' treasury (bayt al-māl)!'"[21]
Ḥudhayfa b. Thābit (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "When ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with him) appointed a leader, he would have witnesses from the community and write a covenant for him, stipulating that he should not ride a horse, eat delicacies, wear soft clothes, or close his door to those in need. If he neglected any of these, he would be subject to punishment."[22]
There is even a well-known story with his wife. His wife had saved money by economizing in order to buy halva. She asked ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with him) to buy some halva. ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with him) asked her: 'Where did you get this money for halva?' She replied: 'I saved it by economizing.' ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: 'Leave it for the bayt al-māl! If you truly needed it, you would not have been able to save it.' Thus, ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with him) would go hungry to feed his subjects.
The servant of ʿUmar b. ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz (may Allah have mercy on him) would bring him hot water in a vessel for ablution. One day, he asked the servant: 'Do you take this jug to the Muslims' kitchen? Do you place it near the kitchen until it is heated, and then bring it to me?' The servant replied: 'Yes, may Allah grant you well-being, I bring it from there.' ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: 'You have spoiled the matter!' He then calculated how much wood was used to heat the jug and how many days had passed, and ordered his slave Muzāḥim to leave that amount of wood in the kitchen.[23]
Allāma Munāwī (may Allah have mercy on him) said: ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Mubārak returned from Khurāsān to Shām to return a pen he had borrowed and forgotten to give back to its owner. Then Munāwī (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated various stories about the warāʿ of the Sufis and said: 'Look at their warāʿ! If you desire happiness, emulate them!'[24]
It is narrated from Bishr al-Ḥāfī (may Allah have mercy on him) that someone said: Bishr al-Ḥāfī was invited to a meal. When food was placed before him, he reached out his hand, but it did not reach. He tried again, but still could not. This happened three times. Someone who knew him said: 'This man's hand does not reach out even to doubtful foods, let alone the unlawful. It would have been better if the host had not invited him.'
The way of warāʿ among the Sufis is to follow the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) and the noble Companions (ṣaḥāba). This is the result of their love for Allah, their adherence to His hudā (guidance), and their fear of opposing Him. Whoever tastes the sweetness of iman (faith), Allah bestows upon him taqwa (God-consciousness). Whoever attains taqwa becomes one who fears Allah, avoids doubts, and hopes for His bounty. As Shāhī Kirmānī (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 'The sign of taqwa is warāʿ, the sign of warāʿ is to avoid doubtful matters, the sign of fear is sadness, and the sign of hope is to perform good acts of obedience.'[26]
O reader, strive to reach those of lofty aspiration, and sit in their gatherings to emulate them. Whoever sits with a people becomes like them.
References
- Taʿrīfāt of Sayyid Jurjānī, p. 170
- Dalīl al-Fāliḥīn Sharḥ Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn, vol. 5, p. 26
- Miʿrāj al-Tashawwuf, p. 7
- Reported by al-Bukhārī in Ṣaḥīḥ, Kitāb al-Īmān, and Muslim in Kitāb al-Musāqāt, from Nuʿmān b. Bashīr (may Allah be pleased with them both)
- Reported by al-Tirmidhī in Kitāb Ṣifat al-Qiyāmah, who said the hadith is ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ
- Reported by Muslim in Kitāb al-Birr wa al-Ṣila, from Nawwās b. Samʿān (may Allah be pleased with him)
- Risāla al-Qushayriyya, p. 54
- Risāla al-Qushayriyya, p. 54
- Risāla al-Qushayriyya, p. 54
- Miʿrāj al-Tashawwuf, p. 7
- Ibn Mājah from Abū Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him), Kitāb al-Zuhd, Bāb al-Warāʿ wa al-Taqwa, with a ḥasan isnād
- Risāla al-Qushayriyya, p. 54
- Al-Tirmidhī in Ṣifat al-Qiyāmah, who said the hadith is ḥasan gharīb
- Al-Ṭabarānī in al-Awsaṭ, and al-Bazzār said the isnād is ḥasan
- Al-Bazzār as in al-Targhīb wa al-Tarhīb
- Al-Bukhārī and Muslim in their Ṣaḥīḥs, Kitāb al-Zakāh
- Al-Bukhārī and Muslim in their Ṣaḥīḥs, Kitāb al-Zakāh
- Al-Bukhārī in Ṣaḥīḥ, Bāb al-Ayyām al-Jāhiliyya
- Risāla al-Qushayriyya, p. 53
- Risāla al-Qushayriyya, p. 55
- Riyāḍ al-Nāḍira, vol. 2, p. 47
- Ibn Kathīr, al-Bidāya wa al-Nihāya, vol. 7, p. 34
- Sīrat ʿUmar b. ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz by ʿAbd al-Ḥakam, p. 37
- Fayḍ al-Qadīr, Sharḥ al-Jāmiʿ al-Ṣaghīr, vol. 5, p. 52
- Al-Ṭūsī, al-Lumaʿ, p. 71
- Al-Sulamī, Ṭabaqāt al-Ṣūfiyya, p. 193
- Risāla al-Qushayriyya, p. 56
- Risāla al-Qushayriyya, p. 56
- Risāla al-Qushayriyya, p. 56
- Al-Futūḥāt al-Wahbiyya Sharḥ al-Arbaʿīn al-Nawawiyya by Shaykh Ibrāhīm Shibrī Ḥayṭī