Sufism a way to call others to Islam?

[suhayb]

Assalamu 'Alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu,

Before my reversion to Islam as I have already said I had problems with drugs and alcohol. I knew what I was doing was wrong and was searching for something spiritual to help me out of my addictions. I tried everything and finally Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta'ala) guided me to Islam the Truth. I used to attend chanting groups with Hare Krishna's, I was a Sai Baba devotee for a while. I read every type of new age book that was published. None of this helped me only Islam. Alhamdolillah.

There are so many others in today's world who are lost and searching for the truth and I think the spiritual aspect of Islam, Sufism is the way to reach them. If you go to your local bookshop and look under the New Age/Inspirational section you will be lucky to find anything in there about Islam. Possibly you will find poetry by that great Sufi poet Mowlana Jalaluddin Rumi.
This great poet from my understanding is one of the best selling poets in the western world, now why is this?

I think it is words like these that make his poems best sellers, words that are recognized as truth by all who believe.

Make yourself free from self at one stroke!

Like a sword be without trace of soft iron;

Like a steel mirror, scour off all rust with contrition.

After all aren't we all born believers?

My point of this post is, I think we should use Sufism as a means of Dawah. There are so many "lost souls" in this world searching for the truth and Sufism is the tool to guide them to the Straight Path.

May Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta'ala) bless us all with the wisdom and knowledge, and the love of His Most Beloved Messenger Muhammed Mustafa (Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam) to be guiding lights to all those who are lost in the illusion of this world, through the Wasila of The Best of Creation Muhammed Mustafa (Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam)

Jazak Allah Khair,

Fi Amanillah.

[mehboob]

Brother Suhayb, an excellent point, and the 'inner-beauty' and 'spiritual satisfaction' Islam offers is one of it's many miracles, but there is a saying:

Tariqat is the flesh that clothes the bones of sharia'h

That is to say, sufism isn't a stand alone branch of Islam, its part and parcel of the whole package, 'tasawwuf' - and all that is related to spirtuality, the soul etc can only be 'properly' practiced when hand-in-hand with learning the essential shariah. In fact, isnt 'Sufism' a term created by wahhabism to smear those who don't follow their stale, lifeless interpretation of Deen. What's more, the tale of Al-Hallaj is a warning to the dangers of those that become immeresed in the pursuit of tariqat without the guidance of a suitably qualified Murshid.

There are some excellent articles in the 'Tasawwuf' section on the main homepage of this site.

[suhayb]

Assalamu 'Alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu,

Point taken Brother, in no way did I mean we forget about the basics of our religion. I wasn't aware that the term Sufism was coined by the Wahabi's.

I just think we could show the more spiritual aspect of Islam to people as a means of Dawah. I wouldn't dream of asking people to become Muslims without them believing in the Kalimah and having them understand the Shariah.

I guess the point I am trying to get across is Non Muslims don't see the spiritual side of our religion. I think if more people understood Islam is a very spiritual religion they would be drawn towards it.

You are right though you would have to be cautious in presenting this to people so as not to detract from the essence of Islam.

Jazak Allah Khair,

Fi Amanillah ;D

[simnani]

mehboob said:

Brother Suhayb, an excellent point, and the 'inner-beauty' and 'spiritual satisfaction' Islam offers is one of it's many miracles, but there is a saying:

Tariqat is the flesh that clothes the bones of sharia'h

That is to say, sufism isn't a stand alone branch of Islam, its part and parcel of the whole package, 'tasawwuf' - and all that is related to spirtuality, the soul etc can only be 'properly' practiced when hand-in-hand with learning the essential shariah. In fact, isnt 'Sufism' a term created by wahhabism to smear those who don't follow their stale, lifeless interpretation of Deen. What's more, the tale of Al-Hallaj is a warning to the dangers of those that become immeresed in the pursuit of tariqat without the guidance of a suitably qualified Murshid.

There are some excellent articles in the 'Tasawwuf' section on the main homepage of this site.

An excellent post br Mehboob, some v.good points.

Tariqat is the flesh that clothes the bones of sharia'h

alhamdolilah!!

Very similar to Ala Hazrat Imam Ahmad Rida Khan's Rehmatullahi ’Alaih quote;
'Remember that Shariah is food and Tariqah is energy'.

All the principles that underlie the instructions of Sufis are based on the Quran sharif, it is impossible to relate Sufism to any religion outside of Islam.

Regarding the origin of the word Sufism, it was first used to describe those mystical followers of Islam many centuries before wahabism even originated. The term sufi comes from the word suf, which is derived from wool, as the first 'sufis' wore simple woolen garments.

[mehboob]

simnani said:

Regarding the origin of the word Sufism, it was first used to describe those mystical followers of Islam many centuries before wahabism even originated. The term sufi comes from the word suf, which is derived from wool, as the first 'sufis' wore simple woolen garments.

Apologies, what I meant is that it is generally the wahabis/salafis categorise certain muslims as 'sufis' as though they are a different sect. The practice of Sufism of course goes right back to the ahl as-suffa (people of the bench) those poor Sahaba Radi Allahu anhu Ajmain who practiced asceticism and lived at the Masjid e Nabi. The term 'sufi' is also belived to be related to safa' (purity).

Br suhayb is right that Islam has an inherent spiritual beauty, a secret beauty if you like, that is most attractive to every wanting soul.

[Jamil]

Assalamu 'Alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu

this is the call of Sufism ... from Maulana Jalaluddin Rume [Radi Allahu anhu]

"Come, come, whoever you are,
Wanderer, worshipper, lover of leaving,
Ours is not a caravan of despair.
Even if you have broken your vows a thousand times
It doesn't matter
Come, come yet again, come"

Sufism is purity of the heart, an ordinary muslim cannot reach the same level heights of taqwa, than an ordinary muslim with a tariqah.

[Hafeez]

Sallams all
Sufism is the way it is because of these peaple that Islam "spread" look @ the example of Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani (RadiAllah u anhu) and the Kafila he was on when he was child,the moral of the story is that the thiefs/bandits became true believers through this one small action.........they became Qutubs. It was for great Sufi' like Khwaja Ghareen Nawaz Moindeen Chisti Ajmeri (rahma tullah alhei) who brought the beautifull religion of Islam to 400,000 peaple in the Pak-Indo region. It is these people who are and where trully blessed by the grace of Allah and these wonderfull people are great examples to follow

[Surriya]

Assalamu 'Alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu

I agree with you br.suhayb I think Sufism should be recognised in Islam not only for those who are still seeking Islam but even for our young Muslim youth today.

When I was first told about Sufism I was truly amazed, I wasn't much aware of the spiritual side of Islam and finding out about it definitely helped me, alhamdulillah.

Reading about great Sufi saints and their love and affection for Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta'ala) is truly enlightening and as ordinary Muslims our only chance of experiencing a very small amount of spirituality is through zikr.

Therefore remember Me, I shall remember you (Surahe Al-Baqarah(2) Ayat 152 of 286)

[muzaffar]

Assalamu 'Alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu

Imam Malik Rehmatullahi ’Alaih in his famous saying said, "man tasawaffa wa lam yatafaqa faqad tazandaqa, wa man tafaqaha wa lam yatasawaf faqad tafasaq, wa man tasawaffa wa tafaqaha faqad tahaqaq."

which means: " Whoever studied Tasawwuf without Fiqh is a heretic, and whoever studied Fiqh without Tasawwuf is corrupted, and whoever studied Tasawwuf and Fiqh will find the Truth and Reality of Islam."

[aabassi]

Assalamu 'Alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu

Mashallah, some great quotes and posts. Heres my addition.

The beloved Prophet (may the blessings and peace of Allah be with him) is reported to have said: "The shariah is my speech and the tariqah is my behaviour and the haqiqah is my station."

Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (may the mercy of Allah be upon him) reports in his musnad that 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-Aas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "If a slave is on a straight path (tariqatin hasanatin) of 'ibadah and he falls sick, the Angel that is assigned to him is told: "Write down an equivalent to his good deeds ...".

The Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said: He who walks a path (tariqah) in pursuance of knowledge Allah will open up a path (tariqah) for him to paradise."

[Hafeez]

Assalamu 'Alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu

Subhanallah a truely great post...........May Allah azawajal give you the tawfiq to post more posts like this (amin)

[simnani]

aabassi said:

Assalamu 'Alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu

Mashallah, some great quotes and posts. Heres my addition.

The beloved Prophet (may the blessings and peace of Allah be with him) is reported to have said: "The shariah is my speech and the tariqah is my behaviour and the haqiqah is my station."

Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (may the mercy of Allah be upon him) reports in his musnad that 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-Aas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "If a slave is on a straight path (tariqatin hasanatin) of 'ibadah and he falls sick, the Angel that is assigned to him is told: "Write down an equivalent to his good deeds ...".

The Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said: He who walks a path (tariqah) in pursuance of knowledge Allah will open up a path (tariqah) for him to paradise."

The shariah is my speech and the tariqah is my behaviour and the haqiqah is my station

Mashallah brother for sharing these great hadiths with us.