22 - It is written on page 414 of the la-madhhabi book:
"It is grave polytheism to pray to anyone other than Allah, to ask anyone other than Him for help to relieve him of troubles, to expect what one needs from anyone other than Him, to esteem graves as great, to deify or to build domes over them, to perform salat at tombs, to worship those buried in graves, or to want anything from the dead by heart or in words or by worshiping. All these will cause one to stay in Hell forever. Those who do not fear to lie while swearing by Allah's Name do fear to lie when they swear by Ahmad al-Badawi's name, which shows that they esteem him more than they do Allah and know him as more powerful."
The author of this book confuses the right with the wrong. He wants to burn the innocent with the guilty. It is polytheism and disbelief, of course, to expect anything from any dead or living person other than Allahu ta'ala or to swear by somebody else's name whether it be a lie or truth. But, by showing the unbecoming actions of a few people to claim that visiting graves, performing salat at tombs for Allah's sake towards the Kaba while intending its thawab for the dead and making mediators of Allahu ta'ala's beloved servants for Allah's creating are polytheism and to destroy tombs and graves for this reason are slanderous actions against Islam and Muslims. He who says "kafir" for a Muslim becomes a kafir himself if he says so out of enmity and obstinacy. If he says do depending on his misinterpretation (tawil) of ambiguous nasses, he, though does not become a disbeliever, becomes a man of bidat. The above quotation from his book is similar to the argument: "There is much theft in mosques. And some people go to mosques to make propaganda. la-madhhabism. Some others go there to calumniate and report about preachers or to curry favor or for ostentation. Therefore, mosques should be demolished." However, mosques are not built to serve such evil causes but to perform salat, to preach and to listen to the Qur'an al-karim in them. Instead of abolishing mosques under the pretext of such evil misuse, it is necessary to prevent such evil people from entering mosques and penetrating into the society of good people. It indicates enmity against Islam to say, on the pretext of preventing evil heretics, that the pure Muslims of the Ahl as-Sunnat are polytheists and to commit disrespect towards the tombs of Rasulullah (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam), the awliya' and 'ulama' (rahimahum-Allahu ta'ala).
The great alim 'Abd al-Ghani an-Nabulusi (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala) wrote:
"Al-adillat ash-Shariyya (the sources of Islamic knowledge) are four: the Book, the Sunnat, qiyas and ijma'. Qiyas and ijma' were derived from the Book and the Sunnat. Therefore, the main sources of Islamic knowledge are the Book and the Sunnat. Any action or idea taken from elsewhere is a bidat. Bidats, whether of belief, teaching or practice, are all heretical and lead man to disasters. For example, some people who claim to be men of tasawwuf or Tariqa commit a munkar (something inconsistent with the knowledge of ijma') and then say, 'We know the hidden, spiritual knowledge. This action is halal for us. You learn from books, but we speak with Muhammad ('alaihi 's-salam) and understand the truth. And if we do not trust his words, we ask Allah and learn the truth from Him. Our shaikh's help makes us attain the ma'reefat-Allah (Divine Knowledge). We do not need to learn anything from a book or a master. To attain the knowledge about Allah, it is not necessary to read a book nor to go to school. If our way were corrupt, none of the spiritual light, prophets or souls would have shown themselves to us. When we make a mistake or commit a haram, we are informed of it and corrected in our dreams. Things considered bad by the men of knowledge were said not to be bad in our dreams. We do them because we know them to be good.'
"Men who utter such nonsensical words are zindiqs and heretics who ridicule Islam and insult and distrust the Qur'an al-karim and Hadith ash-Sharif, and who allude that there are mistakes or inadequate teachings in the Qur'an al-karim and Hadith ash-Sharif. We should not believe such hypocritical words.
"The 'ulama' of Ahl as-Sunnat (rahimahum-Allahu ta'ala) declared that the ah'kam (religious rules) could not be determined through ilham (inspiration). In other words, knowledge revealed to the hearts of awliya' (rahimahum-Allahu ta'ala) by Allahu ta'ala cannot be documents for halals or harams. The ilham to Rasulullah's (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam) blessed heart, however, is a document for every Muslim and must be obeyed by every Muslim. If a wali's ilham is in agreement with Islam, it can be a document only for him, but not for other Muslims. Ilham is helpful in comprehending the meaning of the Book and the Sunnat, and it is inspired to the pious (salih) believers. What dawns upon the hearts of holders of bidat and heresy is Satan's waswasa. Knowledge that occurs to the heart is called "al-'ilm al-ladunni," which may be either heavenly or satanic. The former kind is called ilham and the latter is waswasa. Ilham is concordant with the Book and the Sunnat, while waswasa does not. A dream, too, is either heavenly or satanic. Rasulullah (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam) practiced according to his dreams for six months before he was informed of his prophethood. Al-Junaid al-Baghdadi, one of the leading men of tasawwuf and a high wali (rahimahum-Allahu ta'ala), declared, 'The only way that leads men to Allahu ta'ala's love is Muhammad's ('alaihi 's-salam) way. Other religions, sects or ways and others' dreams are all blind alleys that do not take men to bliss. Anyone who has not learned the rules in the Qur'an al-karim and does not obey the Hadith ash-Sharif is ignorant and negligent. Such people should not be obeyed. Our knowledge and madhhab are based on the Book and the Sunnat.' Muhyiddin ibn al-'Arabi (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala) [who passed away in Damascus in 638 A.H. (1240)] declared, 'A wali makes progress and his ilhams increases as he lives up to Islam. Yet the ilhams of wali cannot surpass the Book or the Sunnat.' Sirri as-Saqati (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala) said, 'There are three meanings of tasawwuf. In the first one, the sufi's marifa about Allahu ta'ala in his heart does not extinguish the light of his wara'. By means of the light of the marifa in his heart, [on the one hand,] he comprehends the truth and essence of substances and of their energies and attains the tajalis of Allahu ta'ala's Names and Attributes; by means of the light of wara' of his body, [on the other hand,] he understands the subtle knowledge of Islam. His actions are always consistent with the rules of Islam. In the second meaning, the sufi's heart bears no knowledge in disagreement with the Book and the Sunnat. The existence of disagreement can be distinguished only by the 'ulama' of profound learning in Zahiri (exterior) and batini (interior, hidden) knowledge, who are able to understand the words used by the superiors of tasawwuf. In the third meaning of tasawwuf, the sufi's karamat do not contradict any teaching of Islam. Things discordant with the rules of Islam are not called karamat, but istidraj.'
"Not every learned man can understand whether the words and deeds of awliya' are in accordance with the rules of Islam or not; for this, it is necessary to know the teaching of tasawwuf thoroughly and have a good knowledge of the words of the great men of tasawwuf. For example, Bayazid al-Bastami (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala) [who passed away in Bistan on the southern coast, of the Caspian sea in 261 A.H. (875)] said, 'Subhani ma azama shani,' which may be interpreted by those who have only Zahiri knowledge as, 'I am free of the imperfections creatures have; my honor is very great.' However, Muhyiddin ibn al-'Arabi (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala) commented on this statement that it expressed in the best sense that Allahu ta'ala is the Greatest and can never be imperfect. He said: 'This is a tanzih (glorifying Allahu ta'ala, saying that He is free of any unworthy thing) of a higher grade. In other words, he saw that he was incapable of glorifying Allahu ta'ala properly. As Allahu ta'ala manifested (tajalli) in a complete munazzah (free from any unworthy thing) state, there also occurred those tajallis concordant with the tanzih and tasbih (glorifying Allah) he did to the extent of his ability and power. He regarded his tasbih of these manifestations as tasbih of his own ability and said he glorified himself (subhani). Then, seeing the tajallis concordant with the tanzih of other people and concluding that their tasbih was inferior and that his own tasbih was more suitable, he said his ability was great.' As it is seen, he wanted to explain something which was in agreement with Islam in this statement. Because he was in a state of sakr, he could not find some other expression for this subtle knowledge and said it in those words, which the ordinary man cannot understand. This great wali, again, took his students to visit a wali in the town of Bistam. He saw that the wali, whose zuhd and taqwa was the subject of conversation in those days, spit in the direction of the qibla. Thereupon, he did not greet him and went away. 'This man did not care for one of the adabs necessary for having respect towards Rasulullah (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam), so he could not observe the adabs necessary for being a wali, either,' he said. Being immodest towards the qibla is a misbehavior. The 'ulama' of Ahl as-Sunnat declared that it was makruh to stretch out one's legs towards the qibla when lying down or sitting. Allahu ta'ala ordered us to visit the Kaba and to be clean during the visit. Muhyiddin ibn al-'Arabi (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala) declared, 'A person who says that his prayers are accepted is not to be believed if he fails to observe one of the adabs of Islam, even if many karamat occur on him.' Bayazid al-Bastami (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala) declared, 'If somebody says he is a wali, do not believe him before having a look at his performance of 'ibadat, abstention from harams and obedience to Islam, even if he sits in the air.' [Today, one should scrutinize, in these respects, the present-day writers of books on the religion. One should not read the books written by those who do not obey Islam.]
" 'Abd ar-Ra'uf al-Manwawi (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala) [who passed away in Egypt in 1031 A.H. (1621)] wrote in his commentary on Al-jami' as-saghir, 'The 'ulama' unanimously have reported that it is not permissible for the awam, that is, those who are not mujtahids, to follow [directly the ijtihads of] as-Sahabat al-kiram. Imam Abu Bakr ar-Rdadi (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala) reported this unanimity. It is permissible for the mujtahid to follow ijtihads other than those of the four madhhabs. But he has to observe all of the related conditions in the act he does by following.' Abu Sulaiman ad-Darani (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala) [who passed away in Damascus in 205 A.H. (8210)] declared, 'Many a time thoughts occur to my heart. I accept them only if I find them to be in agreement with the Book and the Sunnat.' Dhu 'n-Nun al-Misri (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala) [who passed away in 245 A.H. (860)] said, 'The sign of love for Allahu ta'ala is to follow His beloved Prophet, Muhammad ('alaihi 's-salam), in all morals and deeds.' " [Summarized from (page 153 and on) Abd al-Ghani an-Nabulusi's Al-hadiqat an-nadiyya, Istanbul, 1290.]
'Abd al-Ghani an-Nabulusi quotes al-Imam al-Qastalani as writing in Al-mawahib al-ladunniyya, "Love for Allahu ta'ala is of two types: fard and non-fard. With the fard love, one obeys His orders, abstains from prohibitions and resigns oneself to His qada' and qadar. Committing harams and not performing fards are indications of slackness in this love. The non-fard love makes one perform nafila (the supererogatory) and abstain from mushtabihat. A hadith qudsi reported by Al-Bukhari on the authority of Abu Huraira (radi-Allahu ta'ala 'anh) says, 'Allahu ta'ala declared, "My human servants cannot approach Me through anything as close as they approach Me through the fard. If My human creatures do the supererogatory 'ibadat, I like them so much that they hear with Me, see with Me, hold everything with Me and walk with Me, and I give them whatever they ask of Me. If they trust in Me, I protect them." ' This hadith ash-Sharif shows that the worship Allahu ta'ala likes most is the fard. The supererogatory 'ibadat mentioned here are those that are to be performed along with the fard and that compensate for the deficiencies in performing the fard. 'Umar ibn 'Ali al-Faqihani [al-Iskandari al-Maliki, who passed away in 734 A.H. (1334),] said, 'This hadith ash-Sharif shows that the one who performs nafila along with the fard gains Allahu ta'ala's love.' Abu Sulaiman Ahmad al-KhattAbi [al-Bustee, who passed away in 388 A.H. (998),] said, 'This hadith ash-Sharif shows that the prayers of those mentioned in the hadith will be accepted.' Those for whom they pray will attain their wishes." [Summarized from (page 182) Abd al-Ghani an-Nabulusi's Al-hadiqat an-nadiyya, Istanbul, 1290. Saying, "It is polytheism to expect prayer and help of awliya and to entreat them for this," indicates disbelieving this hadith sharif.]
'Abd al-Ghani an-Nabulusi (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala) continues: "Beginning with [the quotation from] al-Junaid al-Baghdadi up to here, I have quoted from Ar-risaha of the great sufi 'Abd al-Karim al-Qushairi (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala). Study the preceding writings impartially! See how those above-mentioned superiors of tasawwuf and walis had clung to Islam! They always tested their kashfs, karamat, knowledge of heart and inspirations in view of the Book and the Sunnat. Is it appropriate for a Muslim to slander the 'ulama' of Ahl as-Sunnat and the superiors of tasawwuf under the pretext of blaming the vile words of ignorant people who have departed from the way of Rasulullah (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam)? Is he to be believed when he says mushrik for those walis and Muslims who love these men of Allah? The karamat of awliya' are true. The things that Allahu ta'ala grants outside His usual custom [that is, outside the known physical, chemical and physiological laws] to those who have the faith (itiqad) of the Ahl as-Sunnat and are seen to obey Islam are called karamat. A wali does not say that he possesses karamat. Nor does he wish to possess it. The karamat of a wali can be witnessed both when he is alive and when dead. When they die, walis are not deprived of their wilaya just as prophets are not deprived of prophethood after they die. Walis know Allahu ta'ala and His Attributes. The karamat of many walis are narrated in the Qur'an al-karim. [For example,] the karamat witnessed Hadrat Mariam [Miriam, Mary] when she gave birth to 'Isa ('alaihi 's-salam) without a father can be mentioned. Zakariyya ('alaihi 's-salam) would see food in Hadrat Mariam's room whenever he came to her room and, knowing that no one other than him would go in her room, would ask, 'Where did you get it from?' 'Allahu ta'ala created it,' she would answer. The Qur'an al-karim also relates the karamat of Ashab al-khaf who had stayed in a cave without eating and drinking for years. Asaf ibn Barkhiya's taking the throne of Belqis [the Queen of Sheba] to Sulaiman ('alaihi 's-salam) is also reported in the Qur'an al- Karim. Thousands of the karamat of as-Sahabat al-kiram and the Tabiin have been reported in books and spread from mouth to mouth. One should wonder why some people do not believe karamat. The reason is obvious: no karamat has ever occurred on them, nor have they ever heard that such things have been seen to occur on their masters and those whom they highly esteem. When he was asked about karama, Imam [Najm ad-din 'Umar] an-Nasafi [(rahimah-Allahu ta'ala), who passed away in Samarkand in 537 A.H. (1143)] said, 'According to Ahl as-Sunnat, it is jaiz that Allahu ta'ala, changing His custom, may offer endowment to His awliya', that is, His beloved servants.' This is written at the end of the subject on 'murtad' in Ibn 'Abidin's Radd al-mukhtar.
"It is written also at the end of the chapter about Thubat an-nasab in Ibn 'Abidin's work that some awliya' traveled long distances in a short time. As a matter of fact, this became the subject of masalas (matters) in books of fiqh in the Shafi'i and Hanafi madhhabs. Ibn Hajar al-Haitami [(rahimah-Allahu ta'ala), who passed away in Mecca in 974 A.H. (1567)] wrote in his Fatawa, 'The number of those who said that if a wali goes to a very distant place in the west [in a short time] after he has performed the evening salat and if the sun has not set there yet, he need not perform the evening salat for the second time at that place are many.' Shams ad-din Muhammad ar-Ramli [(rahimah-Allahu ta'ala), d. 1004 A.H. (1596)-] said that he should perform it. It has also been often seen that food, drink or clothing have come about when needed. Books of history record that Jafar Tayyar (radi-Allahu ta'ala 'anh), Rasulullah's (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam) cousin, flew in the air. It is also widely known that Luqman as-Sarahsi and many others flew. Extraordinary events such as walking on water, talking with trees, stones and animals have been seen many times, too. Such an event, created by Allahu ta'ala outside His usual custom and laws, is called a mujiza when it occurs to a prophet. Allahu ta'ala bestows mujizas upon prophets ('alaihimu 's-salawatu wa 't-taslimat) even after they die. Likewise, He grants karamat to walis after their death, too. No wali can ever reach the status of a prophet. A wali, no matter how high his status may be, has to obey Allahu ta'ala's orders and prohibitions.
"The highest of awliya' is Hadrat Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (radi-Allahu ta'ala 'anh). The highest after him is Hadrat 'Umar al-Faruq (radi-Allahu ta'ala 'anh). There were thirty-nine Muslims before he embraced Islam. They used to perform 'ibada secretly. When he became Muslim, he said, 'From now on, we shall not perform 'ibada secretly.' The first Muslim who performed 'ibada publicly was 'Umar (radi-Allahu ta'ala 'anh). The highest wali after these two is Hadrat 'Uthman Dhi 'n-Nurain (radi-Allahu ta'ala 'anh). He was honored with the name 'Dhi 'n-Nurain' (Possessor of Two Lights) for he married, one after the other, Rasulullah's (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam) two daughters, Ruqiyya and Umm Ghulsum (radi-Allahu ta'ala 'anhunna). Rasulullah (sallAllahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam) declared, "If I had a third unmarried daughter, I would marry her to 'Uthman, again," after Umm Ghulsum died. The next highest wali is Hadrat 'Ali Al-Murtada (radiAllahu ta'ala 'anh). Because Rasulullah (sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam), when he started for the Ghaza of Tabuk, appointed him as his deputy in Medina to protect his Ahl al-Bait and said, 'You are related to me like Harun was to Musa, with the only difference that there will not be any prophet to come after me,' he was called 'Murtada.' The caliphate of these four had been in the order of their superiorities. The highest awliya' after them are all the other Sahabis (radi-Allahu ta'ala 'anhum ajmain). Our hearts and tongues have to be respectful and good towards them when mentioning their names and talking about the wars between them. The cause of the wars between them was the difference of their ijtihads. They deserved thawab or such deeds of theirs, too. Those who were mistaken were given one thawab, and two thawabs were given to those who were right. Rasulullah said that the ten persons called al-'Asharat al-mubashshara would go to Paradise. They were the Four Caliphs, Talha, Zubair, Sad ibn Abi Waqqas, Said ibn Zaid, Abu 'Ubaida ibn Jarrah and 'Abd ar-Rahman ibn Awf. We believe that Hadrat Fatima az-Zahra, Rasulullah's blessed daughter, her two sons, Hadrat Hasan and Hadrat Husain, Khadijat al-kubra and 'Aisha as-Siddiqa (radi-Allahu ta'ala 'anhum ajmain) are the people of Paradise, too. We cannot mention anybody else's name as someone who will certainly go to Paradise. We may have a fairly certain opinion (zann) that the 'ulama' and awliya' will go to Paradise, but we cannot say it as a certainty. The highest awliya' after as-Sahabat al-kiram are the superiors of the Tabiin, after whom comes the superiors of Taba' at-Tabiin (ridwan-Allahi ta'ala 'alaihim ajmain)." [Extended summary from Al-hadiqa.]
The la-madhhabi author says,
"There are ten things that cause one to love Allahu ta'ala. The ninth thing is to be together with the people who love Allah, to collect the sweet fruits uttered by them, and to talk only when necessary in their presence. The stages of love may be traversed one after the other by clinging to these ten causes. And the Beloved may be approached."
We believe so, too. We love the superiors of tasawwuf for this reason. It is for this that we gather in crowds around walis whom Allahu ta'ala loves. We praise them because of this. We do not understand the reason why he regards the Muslims who do so as polytheists.
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