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usmani790
PAKISTAN
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 Topic initiated on Wednesday, January 24, 2007 - 7:21 AM 
The Place of Tasawwuf in Traditional Islam
Some people have very wrong concept about Tasawwuf these days.We Muslims sees Tasawwaf same as the non-Muslims sees Islam today and when mostly have chance to study the religion of Islam they got the shock of their life for the wrong concept of this religion spread all over the world.
As there are Muslims whose actions have caused to spread a bad picture of Islam all over so do some Muslims caused to spread the bad picture of Tasawwaf in the eyes of Muslims.Following is a lecture on Tasawwuf,If the participants here will spare some time to read it, I am hope full that It will remove their misconceptions against it and they will benifit from it.
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The Place of Tasawwuf in Traditional Islam
Nuh Ha Mim Keller 1995
Perhaps the biggest challenge in learning Islam correctly today is the scarcity of traditional 'ulama. In this meaning, Bukhari relates the sahih, rigorously authenticated hadith that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said,
"Truly, Allah does not remove Sacred Knowledge by taking it out of servants, but rather by taking back the souls of Islamic scholars [in death], until, when He has not left a single scholar, the people take the ignorant as leaders, who are asked for and who give Islamic legal opinion without knowledge, misguided and misguiding" (Fath al-Bari, 1.194, hadith 100).
The process described by the hadith is not yet completed, but has certainly begun, and in our times, the lack of traditional scholars whether in Islamic law, in hadith, in tafsir 'Koranic exegesis' has given rise to an understanding of the religion that is far from scholarly, and sometimes far from the truth. For example, in the course of my own studies in Islamic law, my first impression from orientalist and Muslim-reformer literature, was that the Imams of the madhhabs or 'schools of jurisprudence' had brought a set of rules from completely outside the Islamic tradition and somehow imposed them upon the Muslims. But when I sat with traditional scholars in the Middle East and asked them about the details, I came away with a different point of view, having learned the bases for deriving the law from the Koran and sunna.
And similarly with Tasawwuf which is the word I will use tonight for the English Sufism, since our context is traditional Islam quite a different picture emerged from talking with scholars of Tasawwuf than what I had been exposed to in the West. My talk tonight, In Sha' Allah, will present knowledge taken from the Koran and sahih hadith, and from actual teachers of Tasawwuf in Syria and Jordan, in view of the need for all of us to get beyond clichés, the need for factual information from Islamic sources, the need to answer such questions as: Where did Tasawwuf come from? What role does it play in the din or religion of Islam? and most importantly, What is the command of Allah about it?
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Please see the following link for complete article
http://www.tamilmuslim.co.uk/articles/traditional.htm
Edited by: usmani790 on Wednesday, January 24, 2007 9:13 AM |
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imran776
UNITED KINGDOM
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Posted - Wednesday, January 24, 2007 - 8:12 AM 
AOA Brother Usmani,
I really appreciate your concerns and efforts to share your knowledge about tasawaff via these forums. Rather I must admit that we need people like you to help understand Islam in an intellectual way.
But one thing I will request is that as a policy matter we have decided that no single posting should be more than A4 size page and your is much more than that.
I personally will go through the complete posting but if all members keep on sending such long postings then either no-one will read it or just hand full of people will read and reply to it.
So I will request if you can summarise your posting (current one as well if possible) in future and please be brief and precise. You can give external links but try to be as brief as you can.
This email is not intended to be critical of anyone but is an effort to make these forum more lively and participative.
Regards
Imran |
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aboosait
INDIA
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Posted - Wednesday, January 24, 2007 - 2:25 PM
quote:
Some people have very wrong concept about Tasawwuf
Almighty Allah says: which means,
"He has chosen you (to conform to His religion) and has imposed no difficulty upon you in religion, the religion of your father Ibrahim. He named you 'Muslims' both before (in the preceding Divine Scriptures) and in this Book." (22.78)
Ibn Kathir elaborated on this verse, saying:
"Allah has chosen the Muslims, honored them, and distinguished them exclusively of other nations by the most honorable Messenger and the most perfect religion, and He has not overburdened them with more than they can bear."
If Sufis insist that they are Muslims, then what is the sense of identifying themselves with Sufism rather than with Islam. The word "Sufism" was not familiar to those who lived in the first and the best three generations of as-Salaf as-Salih (the pious predecessors) who were commanded by Allah the Exalted and His Messenger (s.a.w)
Three fundamentals of Sufism which are innovations not sanctioned by the Qur'an or the Sunnah:-
1. The division of knowledge into exoteric, or manifest, asoteric, or hidden;
2. The division of Islam into shari'ah (religious sciences) and the sciences of truth; and
3. the addition to Islam of the Sufi order as the path leading to the truth. |
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imran776
UNITED KINGDOM
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Posted - Wednesday, January 24, 2007 - 2:32 PM
| Thanks brother Usmani for making your posting short. It will probably take a bit of time for me to go through the whole document and then I will be able come up with something. |
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raushan
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
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Posted - Wednesday, January 24, 2007 - 2:35 PM
Sufism is a host of ideas or disciplines which seek to enable a person to be closer to God through worship, glorifying God’s name and offering voluntary prayers as well as the remembrance of God’s name and attributes in all situations. It also aims, through the same actions, to purify one’s soul and weaken one’s worldly desires. This is the general idea, but there are numerous Sufi or mystic schools which differ in their main ideas and detailed practices.
Hence, it is difficult to apply any generalization to all Sufi trends. Whatever we may say about Sufism, we may find a group here or there to which the description does not apply, yet that group remains a Sufi group.
It can be safely said that under Sufism people seek to win God’s pleasure without having to fight for God’s cause. The traditional trend of Sufism when Islam had to fight its enemies was to sit in mosques or private places where the Sheikh, or Pir, would be surrounded by his disciples and they spend many hours in what they call, thikr, or the remembrance of God, glorifying and praising Him so many times in different formulas and texts. Moreover, they praise the Prophet in superlative terms which may often be unacceptable from the Islamic point of view. |
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aboosait
INDIA
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Posted - Wednesday, January 24, 2007 - 5:09 PM
"Sufism was doomed to destruction from when it first emerged, because of its deviation from the teachings of the Qur'an and Sunnah.
The small excess, the little innovation, led to the snowball effect, such that it emerged as a movement for well-meant increased Ibaadah and Zuhd, to Kufr and Innovation.
In truth, Islam is sufficient for us, and it is only Shaytaan who wishes to turn us away from our religion, to make us exceed the limits, and fall into his trap.
The only sure way to avoid this is to grasp tightly onto what was left to us by our beloved Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam), the Qur'an and Sunnah, as understood and believed and acted upon by the best people to have lived: the Salaf us Saalih, the Companions and those who followed their footsteps." |
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aboosait
INDIA
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Posted - Thursday, January 25, 2007 - 2:50 AM
quote:
It can be safely said that under Sufism people seek to win God’s pleasure without having to fight for God’s cause.
On what basis do you say this?
Please read the following quote from a famous website of Sufis
http://www.sufiway.org/universal_worship.php
quote:
In 1923, Sufi Inayat Khan developed a multi-faith worship service that acknowledges and pays homage to the expressions of divine truth as they are revealed through all religions. This inspiring service, called the Universal Worship, honors the “unity of religious ideals,” and is celebrated on various occasions in both a formal ritual version as well as in a more informal style. The Universal Worship provides a powerful symbolic enactment of inter-religious unity and mutual gratitude in a world fractured by divisions and suspicion.
In the same peacemaking spirit of bearing witness to the unity of religious ideals, members of the Sufi Way seek to express inter-religious respect by visiting, praying, learning, and making friends in all places of worship of all faiths, wherever we are welcome.
While we each may have a root religious tradition of our own to which we are primarily committed, we experience that this active contact with other forms of worship and revelation deepens our own faith and sense of the sacred, and adds in some small way to the increase of tolerance and peace among the world’s people
Has this anything to with Eemaan and Islaam ? |
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usmani790
PAKISTAN
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Posted - Thursday, January 25, 2007 - 4:44 AM
Brother aboosait
Quote:-Sufism was doomed to destruction from when it first emerged, because of its deviation from the teachings of the Qur'an and Sunnah.
Sufism is a path to Allah that is directly connected to Islam, the two cannot be seperated. When we say sufism, the connotation is muslims who are developing their inward selves as a way to connect to God, using means that are accepted in Islam in terms of the Shariah.Please see the following from the article.
It basically consists of dedication to worship, total dedication to Allah Most High, disregard for the finery and ornament of the world, abstinence from the pleasure, wealth, and prestige sought by most men, and retiring from others to worship alone. This was the general rule among the Companions of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) and the early Muslims, but when involvement in this-worldly things became widespread from the second Islamic century onwards and people became absorbed in worldliness, those devoted to worship came to be called Sufiyya or People of Tasawwuf (Ibn Khaldun, al-Muqaddima [N.d. Reprint. Mecca: Dar al-Baz, 1397/1978], 467).
Quote:-The small excess, the little innovation, led to the snowball effect, such that it emerged as a movement for well-meant increased Ibaadah and Zuhd, to Kufr and Innovation.
Allah Most High says: "He who is hostile to a friend of Mine I declare war against. My slave approaches Me with nothing more beloved to Me than what I have made obligatory upon him, and My slave keeps drawing nearer to Me with voluntary works until I love him. And when I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, his sight with which he sees, his hand with which he seizes, and his foot with which he walks. If he asks me, I will surely give to him, and if he seeks refuge in Me, I will surely protect him" (Fath al-Bari, 11.340–41, hadith 6502);
This hadith was related by Imam Bukhari, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Bayhaqi, and others with multiple contiguous chains of transmission, and is sahih. It discloses the central reality of Tasawwuf, which is precisely change, while describing the path to this change, in conformity with a traditional definition used by masters in the Middle East, who define a Sufi as Faqihun ‘amila bi ‘ilmihi fa awrathahu Llahu ‘ilma ma lam ya‘lam,‘A man of religious learning who applied what he knew, so Allah bequeathed him knowledge of what he did not know.’
I will request you brother to please comments on the material I am proving here for Tasawwuf.Thanks |
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aboosait
INDIA
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Posted - Thursday, January 25, 2007 - 7:41 AM
To somehow or other repost your already disproved points you have desparately begun a Hadith with the phrase:'Allah Most High says:'
Your claims have already been disproved in my previous post.
Please read it and answer the question I had asked there. |
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usmani790
PAKISTAN
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Posted - Thursday, January 25, 2007 - 11:42 AM
This must be the Hadith Qudsi some of them began like the above hadith.
Hadith Qudsi are the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) as revealed to him by the Almighty Allah. Hadith Qudsi (or Sacred Hadith) are so named because, unlike the majority of Hadith which are Prophetic Hadith, their authority (Sanad) is traced back not to the Prophet but to the Almighty.
Among the many definitions given by the early scholars to Sacred Hadith is that of as-Sayyid ash-Sharif al-Jurjani (died in 816 A.H.) in his lexicon At-Tarifat where he says: "A Sacred Hadith is, as to the meaning, from Allah the Almighty; as to the wording, it is from the messenger of Allah (PBUH). It is that which Allah the Almighty has communicated to His Prophet through revelation or in dream, and he, peace be upon him, has communicated it in his own words. Thus Qur'an is superior to it because, besides being revealed, it is His wording." |
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aboosait
INDIA
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Posted - Friday, January 26, 2007 - 3:31 AM
quote:
This must be the Hadith Qudsi some of them began like the above hadith.
Again you are doubtful?
Here is the Hdith Qudsi under reference.
Observe the begining... and note the changes you have made in your quote...make taubah...
"On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: Allah (mighty and sublime be He) said:
Whosoever shows enmity to someone devoted to Me, I shall be at war with him. My servant draws not near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties I have enjoined upon him, and My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works so that I shall love him. When I love him I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him, and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it. I do not hesitate about anything as much as I hesitate about [seizing] the soul of My faithful servant: he hates death and I hate hurting him.
It was related by al-Bukhari."
Please also understand the usage of the terms "Allah said" and "Allah says"
The latter is used only for the verses of the Qur'an because they are the Word of Allah (and not something created) |
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usmani790
PAKISTAN
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Posted - Friday, January 26, 2007 - 10:23 AM
Quote:-Again you are doubtful?
Here is the Hdith Qudsi under reference.
Observe the begining... and note the changes you have made in your quote...make taubah...
Again you are doubting on mine intention and doing guess work that I have made some changes.Do you have some special power to see things from far away and the power of to see in some one's heart.This hadith is also mentioned in other ahadith books.Do your home work correctly first then come here please.
Ground on which you are blaming to Sufism but you your self doing the same (very funny actually).Sorry the Tasawwuf which I know have no place where people can know the things from far away and can see what is in the hearts of others. |
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aboosait
INDIA
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Posted - Saturday, January 27, 2007 - 4:17 AM
quote:
Quote:-...
As it appears from your recent post, it was not your own wordings. Therefore kindly post the link to the site from where you have copied and pasted this.
As a rule most of the members including myself do this whenever it becomes necessary to copy and paste. |
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usmani790
PAKISTAN
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Posted - Saturday, January 27, 2007 - 5:37 AM
Brother I have copied it from the article which link I have mentioned in my opening post.First I have posted the hole article there but according to new rules brother Imran ask me to shorten my post.
Brother as yours self I also don't want to deviate from Quran and Sunnah.We are here to share our knowledge of our deen with each other.If any thing is there found in the article agaisnt the Quran and Sunnah, please high light it me we will discuss it and if we found any part of it agaisnt Quran and Sunnah, I am not going to follow it.
But If we found any thing well according to Quran and Sunnah and if it can bring us closer to Allah,we should follow it.
At the end I apologize If I heart you in any way.
Edited by: usmani790 on Saturday, January 27, 2007 9:32 AM |
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aboosait
INDIA
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Posted - Saturday, January 27, 2007 - 9:45 AM
quote:
........
Assalamualaikum w.r.w.b. Thanks for the post.
The following are excerpts and quotations from well-known Sufi works presented along with corresponding beliefs from outside the fold of Islam.
Relevant texts from the Qur'an and the Sunnah are also quoted for the sake of comparison, so that Muslims may judge for themselves whether Sufi beliefs are Islamic or not. Each quotation is footnoted with the reference from which it is taken.
The Sufis claim:
"The ways unto God are as numerous as the number of creatures in the world.
Ibn Mas'ood, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
"The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) made a straight line on the ground with his hand, then he said,
'This is the straight way of Allah.'
Then he made (short) line on each side of the straight line; then he said,
'These (short) lines, each one has a shaitan inviting people to it.' Then he recited the verse: meaning,
'And this is My path straight. So follow it, and do not follow (other) ways, lest they lead you away from My path.'
Allah the Exalted says:
"His footstool encompasses the heavens and the earth."
The Prophet (s.a.w) said:
"The seven heavens by the side of the kursi (footstool) are naught but as a ring thrown down in a desert land, and such is the Kursi with respect to the Arsh (the Divine Throne).
The sufis say:
"When you unite with the Beloved (God), then there is neither command nor prohibition in matters of religion."
Sufis habitually rejectthe doctrine of "the fear of God, the wrath of the Day of Judgment, the fury of the Hell-Fire and the promise of Jannah
Faith based on coercion, they say, is slavery, and God has created man with mind, free will and love. Therefore, the mainspring of Sufism is love not fear and obedience to the religious laws.
Allah the Supreme describes His Prophets, saying: meaning,
"They used to vie with one another in good deeds, and they called on Us in hope (for rewards) and in fear (of punishment)."
Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet (s.a.w) said:
"When one of you finishes reciting the last tashah-hud (in prayer, and just before making tasleem), let him seek Allah's protection from four things: from the torment of Hell-Fire, from the torture of the grave, from the afflictions of life and death, and from the affliction of the pseudo-Christ (ad-Dajjal)."
Allah the Exalted describes His believers thus: meaning,
"Verily those who fear their Lord with reverence, and those who believe in the signs of the Lord, and those who ascribe no partners to their Lord, and those who give what they give while their hearts are full of fear, because to their Lord they will return."
Aa'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, inquired about the verse, "Those who give what they give..." saying,
"O Messenger of Allah! Is it those who steal and commit fornication are fearful?" He said,
"Nay, daughter of (Abu Bakr) As-Siddiq, rather, those who fast and pray who are afraid (that their acts of worship may not be accepted by Allah).
Allah the Exalted says: meaning,
"Say (to men, O Muhammad!), 'If you love Allah, then follow me; Allah will love you and forgive your sins."
Thus the love of Allah necessitates following the commands of the Messenger of Allah with hope for reward and fear of punishment in the Hereafter.
www.AHYA.ORG - Authentic Islamic Resources and Information |
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usmani790
PAKISTAN
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Posted - Thursday, February 1, 2007 - 7:04 AM
Brother I am only a small student of Quran and Sunnah. I have learned lots of things from the paticipants here.The purpose is only what good I know I wish to share with my friends here.If any one finds some where I am wrong,so please correct me.Thanks
Quote:-The Sufis claim:"The ways unto God are as numerous as the number of creatures in the world.
Brother I can not find who said so and in which contex.What I can say that there is only one way to God.Having said this God have given many kinds of blessing to His people.Like one could reach to God by giving his life in His cause,one could attained success for God has given him the knowledge and he rightly made use of it and get closer to Him.One fellow may be given lots of wealth and he use it in the way where He pleases.
Quote:-The sufis say: "When you unite with the Beloved (God), then there is neither command nor prohibition in matters of religion."
It could be interpreted like the person is not going to miss any command neither prohibition in the matter of religion. The context is not there so very hard for me to say any thing on that.
Quote:-Sufis habitually rejectthe doctrine of "the fear of God, the wrath of the Day of Judgment, the fury of the Hell-Fire and the promise of Jannah
This is not correct to say that they reject it, how can they reject it when it is from Allah to fear Him.How they take this fear like if our father ask us to do any thing and some how we find that we are not doing it .So the kind of fear we use to have that when our father will come to know this so he will heart and how we are going to face him.We don’t have the fear that he will punish us.If he really going to punish us for that(Normally father never punish to the son who is already young) so what, let him punish any way he is our father.But we never have this fear of punish.
On the other side if we put the same to our boss in the office then the fair will be different kind.We will expecting him some insulting remarks or loss of job etc.
Now we have to decide how we wish to take God, Like Father or like Boss this entirely upto us.
In the society many kind of people use to live.The one who used to break the laws oftenly, he always live in the fear and the person who abide by the laws have no fear.Because he in his hearts he like to have a good society and he love to abide by the laws.He know if these laws not exist and if there is no rule of law so the society will be a miserable place to live.
So the kind of fear you are talking of, is for those who going follow the path of Allah for this kind of fear only. |
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