1 - On page 75 of the Wahhabite book Fat'h al-majid, it is written:
"Abd al-Wahhab ash-Sharani's books and 'Abd al-'Aziz Dabbagh's book Ibreez and Ahmad at-Tijani's books are full of shirk [polytheism] that Abu Jahl and the like could not have conceived."
Ahmad at-Tijani (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaih, may Allahu ta'ala bless him), who was born in Algeria in 1150 A.H. (1737) and died in Morocco in 1230 (1815), was the rehber (guide, leader) of the Tijaniyya way, which was a branch of Khalwatiyya. The book Jawahir al-ma'ani fi faid-i Shaikh Tijani written about this way is famous.
The Wahhabi, too, writes that the superior ones among men, that is, the prophets (salawat-Allahi ta'ala wa taslimatuhu 'Alaihim ajmain) are higher than the superior angels and believes in angels' power and effect, but does not believe that Allahu ta'ala has given the power of disposition and effectiveness to His awliya' (rahimahum-Allahu ta'ala) as a karama, and calls the people who believe so "mushriks" (polytheists). The scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat (rahimahum-Allahu ta'ala), as a karama, realizing even then, refuted them years beforehand. Muhyiddin ibn al-'Arabi, Sadr ad-din al-Qonawi, Jalal ad-din Rumi and Sayyid Ahmad al-Badawi and the aforementioned awliya (rahimahum-Allahu ta'ala) were the leading ones who, as a karama, foretold these things. This is the reason why the Wahhabis do not like these awliya'.
Hadrat al-Imam ar-Rabbani Ahmad al-Faruqi as-Sirhindi (quddisa sirruh) wrote in the fiftieth letter of the second volume of his Maktubat:
"Islam has a surface and a real, inner essence. The surface of Islam is firstly to believe and then to obey the orders and prohibitions of Allahu ta'ala. The nafs al-ammara (the headstrong, unregenerate self) of a person who has attained the surface of Islam is in denial and disobedience. The belief (iman) of this person is on the surface of belief. The salat he performs is the appearance of salat. His fast and other kinds of worship ('ibada) are also of that grade. The reason is that the basis of the existence of man is the nafs al-ammara. When he says 'I,' he refers to his nafs. So his nafs has not attained iman, has not believed. Could the belief and worship of such people be real and right? Since Allahu ta'ala is very merciful, He accepts the attainment of the facade. He announces the good news that He will put into Paradise those with whom He is pleased. It is a great benevolence of His that He accepts the belief of the heart and does not lay down a condition that the nafs also should believe. However, there are the surface and also the real essence of the blessings of Paradise. Those who attain the surface of Islam will get a share from what is the facade of Paradise, and those who attain the reality of Islam in this world will get the reality of Paradise. Both the one who attains the facade and the one who attains the reality of Islam will eat the same fruit of Paradise, but each will get a different taste. Rasulullah's (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam) blessed wives (radi-Allahu ta'ala 'anhunna) will be with him in Paradise and eat the same fruit, but the taste they will get will be different. If it would not be different, then these blessed wives should have necessarily been higher than all human beings, and, since a wife will be with her husband in Paradise, the wife of every superior person should have been superior like him.
"The one who attains the surface of Islam, if he obeys it, will be saved in the next world. In other words, he has attained the status of common wilaya, that is, the pleasure and love of Allahu ta'ala. The one who has been honored with this status is the one who can join the way of tasawwuf and reach the special wilaya called "Wilayat khassa." He can make his nafs ammara develop into an-nafs al-mutmainna (the tranquil self). It should be known for certain that, in order to make progress in this wilaya, or in the reality of Islam, the surface of Islam should not be abandoned.
"It is the very frequent dhikr of Allahu ta'ala's Name that makes one progress on the way of tasawwuf. The dhikr, too, is an 'ibada ordered in the religion of Islam. It is commended and ordered in ayats and hadiths. It is essential to avoid the prohibitions of Islam to make progress on the way of tasawwuf. Performing the fard (those kinds of worship ordered in the Qur'an al-karim) enables one to make progress on this way. It is an order of Islam, too, that one should look for a rehber who knows tasawwuf and who is able to guide the salik (wayfarer). It is declared in the thirty-eighth ayat of Surat al-Ma'ida, 'look for a wasila [In the 18th article it is clearly explained that a perfect guide is a wasila] to approach Him.' Both the surface and the real essence of Islam are necessary for winning the approval of Allahu ta'ala, because all the excellences of wilaya can be attained by obeying the surface of Islam. And the excellences of prophethood (nubuwwa) are the fruits of the reality of Islam.
"The way leading to wilaya is tasawwuf. It is necessary to extract from the heart the love for everything except Allahu ta'ala to make progress on the way of tasawwuf. If the heart becomes oblivious of everything by the benevolence of Allahu ta'ala, fana' results, and the sair-i ila'llah is completed. Then the journey called 'sair-i fi 'illah' begins, at the end of which occurs the desired status of baqa'. Thus the reality of Islam is attained. The noble person who attains this status is called 'wali,' which means the person whom Allahu ta'ala is pleased with and loves. An-nafs al-ammara becomes mutmainna (tranquil, subdued) at this stage. The nafs gives up kufr and resigns itself to the qada' and qadar of Allahu ta'ala and pleases Him. It begins to comprehend itself. It gets redeemed from the illness of haughtiness and arrogance. Most of the superiors of tasawwuf said that the nafs could not become free of disobedience to Allahu ta'ala even after attaining tranquillity. Rasulullah (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam) said on his return from a ghaza, 'We return from the small jihad. We begin the great jihad.' The 'great jihad' has been interpreted as jihad against an-nafs al-ammara. This faqir, myself [al-Imam ar-Rabbani], does not take it in that sense. I say no disobedience or evil is left when the nafs attains tranquillity. The nafs, too, like the heart, forgets everything, sees nothing but Allahu ta'ala. It becomes indifferent to position, rank, property and even to their sweet and sour tastes. It has been crushed and has become sort of nonexistent. It has sacrificed itself for Allahu ta'ala. The 'great jihad' mentioned in the hadith ash-Sharif is probably the jihad against the physical, chemical and biological desires of the substances constituting the body. Both shahwa, that is, lust or violent desire, and ghadab, that is, fright or scruple, are material passions. Animals do not have nafs, but these malignant inclinations exist in animals, too. It is due to the properties of substances in the body that animals have lust, anger and inordinate inclinations [all called natural inclinations or instincts]. Human beings should perform jihad against these inclinations. The tranquillity of the nafs does not rescue man from these evils. Jihad against them is very beneficial. It helps the purification of the body.
"Al-Islam al-haqiqi (the Real Islam) falls to one's lot when one's nafs gets subdued. Then real iman is attained. Any kind of worship performed is real: salat, fast and hajj are all in their real value.
"As it is seen, tasawwuf (or 'way') or haqiqa (reality) is the passage between the surface and the inner part of Islam. The one who has not attained Wilayat khassa cannot get redeemed from being a metaphoric Muslim, cannot attain the Real Islam.
"The one who has attained the reality of Islam and has been honored with the Real Islam begins to take shares from the excellences of prophethood. He becomes an object of the good news declared in the hadith, 'The Ulama' are the Prophets' heirs.' The excellences of prophethood are the fruits of the reality of Islam as the excellences of wilaya are the fruits of the surface of Islam. The excellences of wilaya are the appearances of the excellences of prophethood.
"The difference between the surface and the reality of Islam, consequently, arises from the nafs. And the difference between the excellences of wilaya and those of prophethood comes from the substances in the body. In the excellences of wilaya, substances obey what their physical, chemical and biological properties dictate; extra energy causes excessiveness, and substances long for food. For obtaining these needs, insolent absurdities are committed. In the excellences of prophethood, such absurdities come to an end. In the hadith ash-Sharif, 'My devil became Muslim,' probably this state of consciousness is expressed, for there is a devil in man as there is one outside of him. Excess energy leads man astray and makes him arrogant, and this is the worst of the bad habits. By getting rid of these evils, nafs becomes Muslim. In the excellences of prophethood, there is belief both by heart and by nafs, and also regularity and equilibrium of the substances present in the body. It is after the establishment of the equilibrium of matter and energy in the body that nafs gets subdued completely. After tranquillity, it cannot return to malignity. All these superior qualities are based on Islam. A tree cannot be without roots no matter how much it branches out or how fruitful it is. Obedience to Allahu ta'ala's orders and prohibitions is essential in every excellence."
It is seen that the author of the book, because he knows nothing of tasawwuf, maligns the awliya' (qaddas-Allahu ta'ala asrarahum al-'aziz) and thinks that they are outside of Islam.
"Abd al-Wahhab ash-Sharani's books and 'Abd al-'Aziz Dabbagh's book Ibreez and Ahmad at-Tijani's books are full of shirk [polytheism] that Abu Jahl and the like could not have conceived."
Ahmad at-Tijani (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaih, may Allahu ta'ala bless him), who was born in Algeria in 1150 A.H. (1737) and died in Morocco in 1230 (1815), was the rehber (guide, leader) of the Tijaniyya way, which was a branch of Khalwatiyya. The book Jawahir al-ma'ani fi faid-i Shaikh Tijani written about this way is famous.
The Wahhabi, too, writes that the superior ones among men, that is, the prophets (salawat-Allahi ta'ala wa taslimatuhu 'Alaihim ajmain) are higher than the superior angels and believes in angels' power and effect, but does not believe that Allahu ta'ala has given the power of disposition and effectiveness to His awliya' (rahimahum-Allahu ta'ala) as a karama, and calls the people who believe so "mushriks" (polytheists). The scholars of Ahl as-Sunnat (rahimahum-Allahu ta'ala), as a karama, realizing even then, refuted them years beforehand. Muhyiddin ibn al-'Arabi, Sadr ad-din al-Qonawi, Jalal ad-din Rumi and Sayyid Ahmad al-Badawi and the aforementioned awliya (rahimahum-Allahu ta'ala) were the leading ones who, as a karama, foretold these things. This is the reason why the Wahhabis do not like these awliya'.
Hadrat al-Imam ar-Rabbani Ahmad al-Faruqi as-Sirhindi (quddisa sirruh) wrote in the fiftieth letter of the second volume of his Maktubat:
"Islam has a surface and a real, inner essence. The surface of Islam is firstly to believe and then to obey the orders and prohibitions of Allahu ta'ala. The nafs al-ammara (the headstrong, unregenerate self) of a person who has attained the surface of Islam is in denial and disobedience. The belief (iman) of this person is on the surface of belief. The salat he performs is the appearance of salat. His fast and other kinds of worship ('ibada) are also of that grade. The reason is that the basis of the existence of man is the nafs al-ammara. When he says 'I,' he refers to his nafs. So his nafs has not attained iman, has not believed. Could the belief and worship of such people be real and right? Since Allahu ta'ala is very merciful, He accepts the attainment of the facade. He announces the good news that He will put into Paradise those with whom He is pleased. It is a great benevolence of His that He accepts the belief of the heart and does not lay down a condition that the nafs also should believe. However, there are the surface and also the real essence of the blessings of Paradise. Those who attain the surface of Islam will get a share from what is the facade of Paradise, and those who attain the reality of Islam in this world will get the reality of Paradise. Both the one who attains the facade and the one who attains the reality of Islam will eat the same fruit of Paradise, but each will get a different taste. Rasulullah's (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam) blessed wives (radi-Allahu ta'ala 'anhunna) will be with him in Paradise and eat the same fruit, but the taste they will get will be different. If it would not be different, then these blessed wives should have necessarily been higher than all human beings, and, since a wife will be with her husband in Paradise, the wife of every superior person should have been superior like him.
"The one who attains the surface of Islam, if he obeys it, will be saved in the next world. In other words, he has attained the status of common wilaya, that is, the pleasure and love of Allahu ta'ala. The one who has been honored with this status is the one who can join the way of tasawwuf and reach the special wilaya called "Wilayat khassa." He can make his nafs ammara develop into an-nafs al-mutmainna (the tranquil self). It should be known for certain that, in order to make progress in this wilaya, or in the reality of Islam, the surface of Islam should not be abandoned.
"It is the very frequent dhikr of Allahu ta'ala's Name that makes one progress on the way of tasawwuf. The dhikr, too, is an 'ibada ordered in the religion of Islam. It is commended and ordered in ayats and hadiths. It is essential to avoid the prohibitions of Islam to make progress on the way of tasawwuf. Performing the fard (those kinds of worship ordered in the Qur'an al-karim) enables one to make progress on this way. It is an order of Islam, too, that one should look for a rehber who knows tasawwuf and who is able to guide the salik (wayfarer). It is declared in the thirty-eighth ayat of Surat al-Ma'ida, 'look for a wasila [In the 18th article it is clearly explained that a perfect guide is a wasila] to approach Him.' Both the surface and the real essence of Islam are necessary for winning the approval of Allahu ta'ala, because all the excellences of wilaya can be attained by obeying the surface of Islam. And the excellences of prophethood (nubuwwa) are the fruits of the reality of Islam.
"The way leading to wilaya is tasawwuf. It is necessary to extract from the heart the love for everything except Allahu ta'ala to make progress on the way of tasawwuf. If the heart becomes oblivious of everything by the benevolence of Allahu ta'ala, fana' results, and the sair-i ila'llah is completed. Then the journey called 'sair-i fi 'illah' begins, at the end of which occurs the desired status of baqa'. Thus the reality of Islam is attained. The noble person who attains this status is called 'wali,' which means the person whom Allahu ta'ala is pleased with and loves. An-nafs al-ammara becomes mutmainna (tranquil, subdued) at this stage. The nafs gives up kufr and resigns itself to the qada' and qadar of Allahu ta'ala and pleases Him. It begins to comprehend itself. It gets redeemed from the illness of haughtiness and arrogance. Most of the superiors of tasawwuf said that the nafs could not become free of disobedience to Allahu ta'ala even after attaining tranquillity. Rasulullah (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam) said on his return from a ghaza, 'We return from the small jihad. We begin the great jihad.' The 'great jihad' has been interpreted as jihad against an-nafs al-ammara. This faqir, myself [al-Imam ar-Rabbani], does not take it in that sense. I say no disobedience or evil is left when the nafs attains tranquillity. The nafs, too, like the heart, forgets everything, sees nothing but Allahu ta'ala. It becomes indifferent to position, rank, property and even to their sweet and sour tastes. It has been crushed and has become sort of nonexistent. It has sacrificed itself for Allahu ta'ala. The 'great jihad' mentioned in the hadith ash-Sharif is probably the jihad against the physical, chemical and biological desires of the substances constituting the body. Both shahwa, that is, lust or violent desire, and ghadab, that is, fright or scruple, are material passions. Animals do not have nafs, but these malignant inclinations exist in animals, too. It is due to the properties of substances in the body that animals have lust, anger and inordinate inclinations [all called natural inclinations or instincts]. Human beings should perform jihad against these inclinations. The tranquillity of the nafs does not rescue man from these evils. Jihad against them is very beneficial. It helps the purification of the body.
"Al-Islam al-haqiqi (the Real Islam) falls to one's lot when one's nafs gets subdued. Then real iman is attained. Any kind of worship performed is real: salat, fast and hajj are all in their real value.
"As it is seen, tasawwuf (or 'way') or haqiqa (reality) is the passage between the surface and the inner part of Islam. The one who has not attained Wilayat khassa cannot get redeemed from being a metaphoric Muslim, cannot attain the Real Islam.
"The one who has attained the reality of Islam and has been honored with the Real Islam begins to take shares from the excellences of prophethood. He becomes an object of the good news declared in the hadith, 'The Ulama' are the Prophets' heirs.' The excellences of prophethood are the fruits of the reality of Islam as the excellences of wilaya are the fruits of the surface of Islam. The excellences of wilaya are the appearances of the excellences of prophethood.
"The difference between the surface and the reality of Islam, consequently, arises from the nafs. And the difference between the excellences of wilaya and those of prophethood comes from the substances in the body. In the excellences of wilaya, substances obey what their physical, chemical and biological properties dictate; extra energy causes excessiveness, and substances long for food. For obtaining these needs, insolent absurdities are committed. In the excellences of prophethood, such absurdities come to an end. In the hadith ash-Sharif, 'My devil became Muslim,' probably this state of consciousness is expressed, for there is a devil in man as there is one outside of him. Excess energy leads man astray and makes him arrogant, and this is the worst of the bad habits. By getting rid of these evils, nafs becomes Muslim. In the excellences of prophethood, there is belief both by heart and by nafs, and also regularity and equilibrium of the substances present in the body. It is after the establishment of the equilibrium of matter and energy in the body that nafs gets subdued completely. After tranquillity, it cannot return to malignity. All these superior qualities are based on Islam. A tree cannot be without roots no matter how much it branches out or how fruitful it is. Obedience to Allahu ta'ala's orders and prohibitions is essential in every excellence."
It is seen that the author of the book, because he knows nothing of tasawwuf, maligns the awliya' (qaddas-Allahu ta'ala asrarahum al-'aziz) and thinks that they are outside of Islam.
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