The Other Side Of Sufism

In Defiance of the Qur'an and Sunnah The following are excerpts and quotations from well-known Sufi works presented along with corresponding beliefs from outside the fold of Islam. Relevant texts from the Qur'an and the Sunnah are also quoted for the sake of comparison, so that Muslims may judge for themselves whether Sufi beliefs are Islamic or not. Each quotation is footnoted with the reference from which it is taken. The Sufis claim:

"The ways unto God are as numerous as the number of creatures in the world."⁽⁷⁷⁾

Ibn Mas'ood, may Allah be pleased with him, said:

"The Messenger of Allah  made a straight line on the ground with his hand, then he said, 'This is the straight way of Allah.' Then he made (short) line on each side of the straight line; then he said, 'These (short) lines, each one has a shaitan inviting people to it.' Then he recited the verse: meaning,

'And this is My path straight. So follow it, and do not follow (other) ways, lest they lead you away from My path.'"(6.153) ⁽⁷⁸⁾

Allah the Exalted says: 

"His footstool encompasses the heavens and the earth."(2.255)

The Prophet  said:

"The seven heavens by the side of the kursi (footstool) are naught but as a ring thrown down in a desert land, and such is the Kursi with respect to the Arsh (the Divine Throne)."⁽⁷⁹⁾

The sufis say:

"When you unite with the Beloved (God), then there is neither command nor prohibition in matters of religion."⁽⁸⁰⁾

Sufis habitually reject the doctrine of "the fear of God, the wrath of the Day of Judgment, the fury of the Hell-Fire and the promise of Jannah." Faith based on coercion, they say, is slavery, and God has created man with mind, free will and love. Therefore, the mainspring of Sufism is love not fear and obedience to the religious laws. Allah the Supreme describes His Prophets, saying: meaning,

"They used to vie with one another in good deeds, and they called on Us in hope (for rewards) and in fear (of punishment)."(21.90)

Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet  said:

"When one of you finishes reciting the last tashah-hud (in prayer, and just before making tasleem), let him seek Allah's protection from four things: from the torment of Hell-Fire, from the torture of the grave, from the afflictions of life and death, and from the affliction of the pseudo-Christ (ad-Dajjal)." ⁽⁸¹⁾

Abu Hurairah also said:

"The Messenger of Allah  said to a man, 'What do you say, (ask Allah for) in your prayer?' The man said, 'I recite tashah-hud, then I ask Allah for Jannah and seek protection of Him from the Fire; by Allah, I do not know you dendeneh (making du'a in a low and faint voice) nor the dendaneh of Mu'aadth.' The Prophet  replied, 'We make dendeneh about these two things.'" ⁽⁸²⁾

Allah the Exalted describes His believers thus: meaning,

"Verily those who fear their Lord with reverence, and those who believe in the signs of the Lord, and those who ascribe no partners to their Lord, and those who give what they give while their hearts are full of fear, because to their Lord they will return."(23.57-61)

Aa'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, inquired about the verse, "Those who give what they give..." saying, "O Messenger of Allah! Is it those who steal and commit fornication are fearful?" He said, "Nay, daughter of (Abu Bakr) As-Siddiq, rather, those who fast and pray who are afraid (that their acts of worship may not be accepted by Allah)."⁽⁸³⁾ Allah the Exalted says: meaning,

"Say (to men, O Muhammad!), 'If you love Allah, then follow me; Allah will love you and forgive your sins." (3.31)

Thus the love of Allah necessitates following the commands of the Messenger of Allah with hope for reward and fear of punishment in the Hereafter. Jalal-uddin al-Rumi (d. 1273), an infamous Sufi philosopher, in his book Masnawi, confirms his belief in the theory of evolution. The following lines are recognized as the central theme of Rumi's work:

"I died as mineral and became a plant, I died as a plant and rose to an animal, I died as an animal and I was a man."⁽⁸⁴⁾

What became the darwinian theory states that the origin of species is derived by descent, with variation from parent forms. In other words, man, according to the theory of Darwin and contrary to what Allah confirms in the Qur'an, was not created as a separate species. Allah the Exalted says: meaning,

"Verily, We created man from an extract of clay. Then We placed him as a drop of sperm in a safe depository." (23.12,13)

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Footnotes:

77. Fatemi, op. cit.

78. Ibn Katheer, Exegesis, Vol. II, p.315 79. Ash-Shaikh Nassir al-Deen al-Albani, Silsilatul-Ahaadith as-Saheeheh, Hadeeth # 109 Vol.I 80. Attar, op. cit. 81. Ibn Majeh 82. Ibid. 83. Sh. Al-Albani, as-Silsileh 84. R.A. Nicholson, Mystic of Islam, Bill, London, 1914, p.164