Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem
Wa'alaykum 'Assalam wa Rahmatullahi wa BarakatuhuAll Praise be to Allah who is the Lord of the Worlds, and may Endless Blessings be showered upon His Most Beloved, and Final Messenger of Islam, Hadrat Muhammad Mustafa Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam First of all the accusation that Sufis, or the people who follow Sufis are not Muslims, are absurd. The accusation itself shows the lack of knowledge some people have in relation to Sufi'ism. As mentioned in previous posts, this is an elevated position, which is granted to those complete Muslims, who have high and lofty ranks with Allah the Almighty.
In relation to the quotation that you have made with regard to Mawlana Rumi
Rahmatullahi ’alayh, he is speaking from a point of view which is beyond that of your average Muslim.
First of all, his level of Iman should be understood. Do the Muslims of this day and age have a level of Iman similar, or even in comparison to His?
Here he talks about the unity of Allah, that although the people of his time worship One God, they nevertheless do not recognise Him, as Allah, they still know that there is a creator, and that they are no different to us, although the names of their religion, t5here prophets and their books differ. That every religion mentioned in that quotation refers to their God, which is Allah, in the eyes of the Muslim.
However, much confusion can be caused, when the language of Rumi
Rahmatullahi ’alayh is transferred from Arabic or Persian, towards English, as the original text no longer remains the same. It also depends on whom the translation is also written by.
The level of knowledge in relation to the Arabic and Persian also has an effect on the translation. The best translation therefore emerges, when the translator himself has a complete hand, and authority of the 2 languages.
Most of Rumis works, are targeted at those people who have a genuine interest in the Unity of One God, therefore, his works are no longer aimed just at Muslims, but at non-Muslims alike.
You also quote that Rumis 2nd wife was Christian. There is no hard and fast rule in the shar'iyyah which states that a man with such calibre as Rumi, or even the common Muslim, is not allowed to marry a woman of Christian faith. What would have been her religion towards the end of her life? There is no mention of that!
How are Sufi and Hindu teachings fused. This is the most pathetic assertion one could make. The example concerning Dara Shikwah which relates again to what is ideas were in relation to God, and had nothing to do with Sufi'ism. What Sufis may have done is use his language or his approach of that idea, as an example, for those who didn't follow, not that they made his religion theirs!
Sufi'ism was established from the People of 'Saf', also known as the Ashab-e-Suffah, I didnt know that Dara Shikwah was one of them, or even lived to teach any of them! (na'udhu billahi min dhalik!).
Nuruddin Nurani
Rahmatullahi ’alayh was a Muslim. Lets face it. The name says it itself. Had he said anything which was contrary to the shar'iyyah, then that was according to his level of understanding of God, something which is beyond the understanding of me and you, so who are we to criticise, when the fault of not being bestowed with what they had, lies with us?
Again, Bayazid Bistami was taught by elite Muslims who had lofty positions not only in this world, but also the hereafter. He was a great complete saint (kamil wali), and appears in most spiritual lineages of the majority of Muslims until this day. We have no time to discuss doubts by minorities, who are to idol to undertand the position, rank, or status they had, and still have, with Allah the Almighty.
In relation to His practice, then there is nothing wrong in holding ones breath, continuing in the practice of dhikr, purely for Allah. There are many forms of worship besides salah, refraining from eating, drinking, sex, even breathing I would assume. Was Allah the Almighty not pleased with the actions of His Beloved's
Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam Companions, or His other Prophets, even though they seemed wrong on the outset? A perfect example of this is Zayd
Radi Allahu anhu who was mentioned in the Qur'an for his marriage, which on the outset was though to be his mother. Another example is the taking life of a man by Hadrat Musa
alayhis 'salam, who later spoke with Allah the Almighty, on the mountain of Tur.
The assertion that the Sufi Orders has had Christian desciples is also a myth. Were they Christian when they achieved descipleship, or had they become Muslim, and then recieved descipleship. Again the reference of such a remark is also important. Is it Christian based which has been relied upon, or is it from an Islamic source?
Never has Islam intermingled with another religion. Whether it has been Sufi'ism, or any other branch of Islam. If someone ever tried, then severe action was always taken by the 'ulama'. This indeed was the case of king Akbar, who for the first time tried to copmbine Hindu and Islamic practices, both for Hindus and Muslims. Maybe this could serve as a starting point for the critic.
The fundamental principles of Islam, had long been established, followed, and obeyed upon completely by all of its personalities. Those who hadnt were indeed thrown out of the fold of Islam, as is stated in most of the history books.
A lack of knowledge in relation to some of the most elite personalities of Islam therefore suggests that the reader has only looked at the statements made from one dimension. Had the biographys of such personalities been first studied, along with their history, then there would have been no room for such counter productive tarnish.
Jazak'allah for your question.
Wallahu A'lamu BiththawaabM. Waseem Ashrafi