I would respond by looking to see how traditional ulama or Islamic scholars have viewed it. For the longest period of Islamic history–from Umayyad times to Abbasid, to Mameluke, to the end of the six-hundred-year Ottoman period–Sufism has been taught and understood as an Islamic discipline, like Qur’anic exegesis (tafsir), hadith, Qur’an recital (tajwid), tenets of faith (ilm al-tawhid) or any other, each of which preserved some particular aspect of the din or religion of Islam. While the details and terminology of these shari’a disciplines were unknown to the first generation of Muslims, when they did come into being, they were not considered bid’a or “reprehensible innovation” by the ulema of shari’a because for them, bid’a did not pertain to means, but rather to ends, or more specifically, those ends that nothing in Islam attested to the validity of. 

To illustrate this point, we may note that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) never in his life prayed in a mosque built of reinforced concrete, with a carpeted floor, glass windows, and so on, yet these are not considered bid’a, because we Muslims have been commanded to come together in mosques to perform the prayer, and large new buildings for this are merely a means to carry out the command. 

In the realm of knowledge, books of detailed interpretation of the Qur’an, verse by verse and sura by sura, were not known to the first generation of Islam, nor was the term tafsir current among them, yet because of its benefit in preserving a vital aspect of the revelation, the understanding of the Qur’an, when the tafsir literature came into being, it was acknowledged to serve an end endorsed by the shari’a and was not condemned as bid’a. The same is true of most of the Islamic sciences, such as ilm al-jarh wa tadil or “the science of weighing positive and negative factors for evaluating the reliability of hadith narrators”, or ilm al-tawhid, “the science of tenets of Islamic faith”, and other disciplines essential to the shari’a. In this connection, Imam Shafi’i (d. 204/820) has said, “Anything which has a support (mustanad) from the shari’a is not bid’a, even if the early Muslims did not do it” (Ahmad al-Ghimari, Tashnif al-adhan, Cairo: Maktaba al-Khanji, n.d., 133). 

Similarly ilm al-tasawwuf, “the science of Sufism” came into being to preserve and transmit a particular aspect of the shari’a, that of ikhlas or sincerity. It was recognized that the sunna of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) was not only words and actions, but also states of being: that a Muslim must not only say certain things and do certain things, but must also be something. The shari’a commands one, for example, in many Qur’anic verses and prophetic hadiths, to fear Allah, to have sincerity toward Him, to be so certain in ones knowledge of Allah that one worships Him as if one sees Him, to love the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) more than any other human being, to show love and respect to all fellow Muslims, to show mercy, and to have many other states of the heart. It likewise forbids us such inward states as envy, malice, pride, arrogance, love of this world, anger for the sake of one’s ego, and so on. Al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi relates, for example, with a chain of transmission judged rigorously authenticated (sahih) by Ibn Main, the hadith “Anger spoils faith (iman) as [the bitterness of] aloes sap spoils honey” (Nawadir al-usul. Istanbul 1294/1877. Reprint. Beirut: Dar Sadir, n.d., 6). 

If we reflect upon these states, obligatory to attain or to eliminate, we notice that they proceed from dispositions, dispositions not only lacking in the unregenerate human heart, but acquired only with some effort, resulting in a human change so profound that the Qur’an in many verses terms it purification, as when Allah says in surat al-Ala, for example, “He has succeeded who purifies himself” (Qur’an 87:14). Bringing about this change is the aim of the Islamic science of Sufism, and it cannot be termed bid’a, because the shari’a commands us to accomplish the change. 

At the practical level, the nature of this science of purifying the heart (like virtually all other traditional Islamic disciplines) requires that the knowledge be taken from those who possess it. This is why historically we find that groups of students gathered around particular sheikhs to learn the discipline of Sufism from. While such tariqas or groups, past and present, have emphasized different ways to realize the attachment of the heart to Allah commanded by the Islamic revelation, some features are found in all of them, such as learning knowledge from a teacher by precept and example, and then methodically increasing ones iman or faith by applying this knowledge through performing obligatory and supererogatory works of worship, among the greatest of latter being dhikr or the remembrance of Allah. There is much in the Qur’an and sunna that attests to the validity of this approach, such as the hadith related by al-Bukhari that: 

Allah Most High says: “. . . . 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 (Sahih al-Bukhari. 9 vols. Cairo 1313/1895. Reprint (9 vols. in 3). Beirut: Dar al-Jil, n.d., 5.131: 6502) 

–which is a way of expressing that such a person has realized the consummate awareness of tawhid or “unity of Allah” demanded by the shari’a, which entails total sincerity to Allah in all one’s actions. Because of this hadith, and others, traditional ulama have long acknowledged that ilm or “Sacred Knowledge” is not sufficient in itself, but also entails amal or “applying what one knows”–as well as the resultant hal or “praiseworthy spiritual state” mentioned in the hadith. 

It was perceived in all Islamic times that when a scholar joins between these aspects, his words mirror his humility and sincerity, and for that reason enter the hearts of listeners. This is why we find that so many of the Islamic scholars to whom Allah gave tawfiq or success in their work were Sufis. Indeed, to throw away every traditional work of the Islamic sciences authored by those educated by Sufis would be to discard 75 percent or more of the books of Islam. These men included such scholars as the Hanafi Imam Muhammad Amin Ibn Abidin, Sheikh al-Islam Zakaria al-Ansari, Imam Ibn Daqiq al-Eid, Imam al-Izz Ibn Abd al-Salam, Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulsi, Sheikh Ahmad al-Sirhindi, Sheikh Ibrahim al-Bajuri, Imam al-Ghazali, Shah Wali Allah al-Dahlawi, Imam al-Nawawi, the hadith master (hafiz, someone with 100,000 hadiths by memory) Abd al-Adhim al-Mundhiri, the hadith master Murtada al-Zabidi, the hadith master Abd al-Rauf al-Manawi, the hadith master Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti, the hadith master Taqi al-Din al-Subki, Imam al-Rafii, Imam Ibn Hajar al-Haytami, Zayn al-Din al-Mallibari, Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri, and many many others.

Imam al-Nawawi’s attitude towards Sufism is plain from his work Bustan al-arifin [The grove of the knowers of Allah] on the subject, as well as his references to al-Qushayri’s famous Sufi manual al-Risala al-Qushayriyya throughout his own Kitab al-adhkar [Book of the remembrances of Allah], and the fact that fifteen out of seventeen quotations about sincerity (ikhlas) and being true (sidq) in an introductory section of his largest legal work (al-Majmu: sharh al-Muhadhdhab. 20 vols. Cairo n.d. Reprint. Medina: al-Maktaba al-Salafiyya, n.d., 1.1718) are from Sufis who appear by name in al-Sulami’s Tabaqat al-Sufiyya [The successive generations of Sufis]. Even Ibn Taymiyya (whose views on Sufism remain strangely unfamiliar even to those for whom he is their “sheikh of islam”)  devoted volumes ten and eleven of his Majmu al-fatawa to Sufism, while his student Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya wrote his three-volume Madarij al-salikin as a detailedcommentary on Abdullah al-Ansaris Manazil al-sairin, a guide to the maqamat or “spiritual stations” of the Sufi path. These and many other Muslim scholars knew firsthand the value of Sufism as an ancillary shari’a discipline needed to purify the heart, and this was the reason that the Umma as a whole did not judge Sufism to be a bid’a down through the ages of Islamic civilization, but rather recognized it as the science of ikhlas or sincerity, so urgently needed by every Muslim on “a day when wealth will not avail, nor sons, but only him who brings Allah a sound heart” (Qur’an 26:88). 

And Allah alone gives success.

By Shaikh Nuh Ha Mim Keller

www.masud.co.uk

Recite durood shareef for sultan-ul-ambiya and rehmat-ul-lil-alameen

Syedna Muhammad Mustafa (peace and blessings be upon him) 

Allah  sent His final messenger, Prophet Muhammad(Peace and blessings be upon him) , as a source of knowledge for the entire ummah. He (Peace and blessings be upon him)was the fountain of Quran, Hadith, tafsir, rhetoric, fiqh, and so on. After the Prophet, the scholars of this ummah carried and propagated each of these branches of knowledge. Because no one person can attain the perfection of the Prophet (Peace and blessings be upon him), who single handedly assumed all of these roles, various branches of the Islamic sciences developed. For example, Imam Abu Hanifah preserved the science of fiqh and after him thousands of scholars continued in his footsteps. Hence these scholars preserved the fiqh of the Prophet (Peace and blessings be upon him). Similarly Imam Bukhari and the other famous scholars of Hadith, preserved the words of the Prophet. The scholars of tajweed preserved the recitation of the Prophet (Peace and blessings be upon him). And, the scholars of Arabic grammar preserved the language of the Prophet (Peace and blessings be upon him).

Along these lines, the Prophet (Peace and blessings be upon him) was the model of spirituality for the world. His God-consciousness, deep spirituality, acts of worship, and love for Allah  were preserved and propagated by an Islamic science called Tasawwuf. The aim of the scholars of this science was purification of the heart, and development of consciousness of Allah  through submission to the shariah and sunnah.

How is Tasawwuf Related to Sufism?

Studying the life of the Prophet (Peace and blessings be upon him), the scholars who propagated the science of tasawwuf understood that a requisite for approaching Allah  was abandonment of the common pursuits of the world. They often wore wool because of its simplicity and low cost. In Arabic the word for wool is suf and thus, those who wore it became known as the Sufis. Another possible derivation of the word comes from the root word safa, which means “to clean.” Because the scholars of tasawwuf focused on cleansing the heart, they later became known as the Sufis.

What Do Our Scholars Say About Tasawwuf?

Traditional Islamic scholars have accepted Tasawwuf as an important branch of Islamic learning, so long as it remains within the guidelines of the Shariah and emphasizes following the Sunnah of the Prophet (Peace and blessings be upon him).

I Have Heard That Sufis Teach Praying At Graves, Dancing, Music, And Other Innovations?

It is true that there have been, and currently are, people who have deviated from the teachings of tasawwuf, thus misrepresenting this science. This is not unique to tasawwuf. Our history is full of examples of people who called themselves scholars of tafsir, or hadith while misrepresenting the essence of these sciences. Each of the Islamic sciences is interlinked and bounded by its sister sciences. For example, a scholar of tafsir cannot interpret the Quran by contradicting the hadith. Similarly a true shaykh of tasawwuf (sufism) never breaks even the smallest tenets of the shariah or the sunnah. Rather, he sees them as the means of his progress towards his Lord. In fact, he prefers death over falling into even a minute sin.

I saw a holy man on the seashore wounded by a tiger.
No medicine could relieve his pain; He suffered much,
but he nevertheless constantly thanked God, the most high, saying,
“Praise be to Allah that I have fallen into a calamity and not into sin.”

If Not All Sufis Are Authentic How Can I Judge Which To Learn From?

Many of our scholars have addressed this question by listing the “signs” of a true shaykh. Needless to say the common principle has always been submission to the shariah, by following the teachings of one of the four schools of fiqh, and a complete submission to the inner and the outer of the sunnah. This is based on the idea that the Prophet (Peace and blessings be upon him) is the nearest and most God conscious of Allah’s creation. His daily acts are an exemplification of how the most God-conscious of all of creation lived his life. For example, the Prophet’s treating others with kindness, soft speech, humility, preference for white clothing, growing of a lengthy beard, use of the tooth stick, etc are all intentional acts of service to Allah . If someone lacks these sunnan, while claiming they can help bring you closer to Allah, know that they will eventually lead you to a dead end.

What Is The Goal Of The Student Of Tasawwuf?

The goal is complete submission to the shariah and sunnah in order to attain purification of the heart and soul and to develop a true, deep, and lasting connection with Allah.

How Can A Shaykh Assist In These Goals?

A shaykh of tasawwuf spends years in training in order to develop his character, mannerisms, daily schedule, outer being, acts of worship, and knowledge under the guidance of a spiritual master. They learn the essence of worship and practical implications of abandonment of the mundane life of this world from those who are models of god-consciousness. Further, they often spend years mastering the Islamic sciences of Hadith, Quran, tafsir, fiqh, etc. Each aspect of their training further connects them through chains of scholars to the Prophet (Peace and blessings be upon him) who, of course, was sent to connect creation to their Lord.

When you enter the company of such a shaykh, their knowledge and extensive experience allows them to assess your spiritual state and hence, advise you on the best “medicine” to cure the diseases of your heart. Just as a doctor is trained to cure physical ailments, so the scholars of tasawwuf treat the maladies of the diseased heart.