The Imam's Advice
Do not forsake your duties, family and life for something that may lead you down to corruption.
They will resemble them; they will use their titles; they will replicate their words.
Whoever is inclined to them, is not of us. We reject those ones; whoever denies them and responds to their words will be
granted the status of striving with the prophet (peace be upon him and his family).
Bismillah al-Rahman al-Raheem
The words, advice and order of a God-appointed authority (The Imam) must always be heeded by us, the Shias, we who claim to follow the teachings of Ahlul Bayt (peace be upon them), we who claim the love for them, sometimes we let ourselves be carried away by the conformities of our time and this is a mistake that many of us make on a daily basis simply to fit within the social norms of today's world, but what is wrong will always be wrong even if a thousand people do it and what is right, it will always be right even if only one individual does it.
With that in mind, I decided to bring some words of advice from our Imams (peace be upon them) regarding a certain group, those called "Sufis".
Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: They sufis are our enemies. Whoever is is inclined to them is of them and will be gathered with them on judgement day.
There will be people who claim that they love us, but will be inclined to the Sufis.They will resemble them; they will use their titles; they will replicate their words.
Whoever is inclined to them, is not of us. We reject those ones; whoever denies them and responds to their words will be
granted the status of striving with the prophet (peace be upon him and his family).
[Safinat al bihar, by al-Qumi, vol. 2, page 57 and Mustadrak al Wasail, volume 12, page 323]
"While we were standing, a group of sufis came into the mosque. They sat in a corner of the mosque and started saying 'there is no God but Allah'.
Imam Al-Hadi (peace be upon him) turned towards his companions and said to them: Do not pay attention to these deceivers, for they are allies of the devils and destroyers of the foundations of the religion.
They become ascetic to relieve their bodies and watch to hunt cattle... They do not practice rites except to deceive people
and do not decrease food except to cheat the fool.
Their acts of worship are but dancing and clapping, and their praises and
tributes to Allah almighty are but singing and chanting. None follows them except the draft and harebrained, and none believes them
except the loopy.
and do not decrease food except to cheat the fool.
Their acts of worship are but dancing and clapping, and their praises and
tributes to Allah almighty are but singing and chanting. None follows them except the draft and harebrained, and none believes them
except the loopy.
[Haqidatul Shia, by al-Ardabili, page 602, taken from al-Mufid]
And below, important sayings by Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib (peace be upon him) and a huge commentary by Sayyid Razi (r).
Sermon 207
Amirul Mumineen (peace be upon him) went to enquire about the health of his companion Ala bin Ziyad al-Harisi and when he noticed the vastness of his house he said: 'What will you do with this vast house in this world, although you need this house more in the next world. If you want to take it to he next world you could entertain in it guests and be regardful of kinship and discharge all obligations according to their accrual. In this way you will be able to take it to the next world.'
Then Ala said to him: 'Oh Amirul Mumineen (peace be upon him), I want to complain about my brother, Asim bin Ziyad."
Amirul Mumineen (peace be upon him) enquired: 'What's the matter with him?'
Ala said: 'He put on a woolen coat and cut himself away from the world.'
Amirul Mumineen (peace be upon him) asked Ala to bring Asim to him, when Asim arrived, Amirul Mumineen (peace be upon him) said:' Oh enemy of yourself, certainly satan has misguided you. Do you feel no pity for your wife and your children? Do you believe that if you use those things which Allah has made lawful for you, He would dislike you? You are unimportant for Allah to do so."
Asim said: 'Oh Amirul Mumineen, you also put on a woolen coat and eat rough food.'
Then he (peace be upon him) said: 'Woe be to you, I am not like you! Certainly Allah has made obligatory of just leaders that they should maintain themselves at the level of (common) people so that the poor do not cry over their poverty.'
Commentary: From old days asceticism and abandonment of worldly attachments has been regarded as a means of purification and important of character. Consequently, those who wished to lead a life of abstemiousness and meditation used to go out of cities and towns to stay in the forests and caves of mountains and lay there concentrating on Allah according to their own conception. They would eat only if a casual traveler or the inhabitant of nearby habitations gave them anything to eat, otherwise they remained contented with fruits of wild trees and water of streams and thus passed their life. This way of worship commenced in this way that compelled by the oppression and hardships of rulers, certain people left their houses in order to avoid their grip, hid themselves in some wilderness or cave of a mountain, engaging themselves in Allah’s worship and devotion. Later on, this forced asceticism acquired voluntary shape and people began to retire to caves and hollows by their own volition. Thus, it became an accepted way that whoever aimed at spiritual development retired to some corner after severing himself from all worldly ties. This method remained in vogue for centuries and even now some traces of this way of worship is found among the Buddhists and Christians. The moderate views of Islam do not however accord to monastic life because for attaining spiritual development it does not advocate abandonment of worldly enjoyments and successes, nor does it view with approbation that a Muslim should leave his house and fellow men and busy himself in formal worship hiding in some corner. The conception of worship in Islam is not confined to a few particular rites but it regards the earning of livelihood through lawful means, mutual sympathy and good behavior, and co-operation and assistance also to be important constituents of worship. If an individual ignores worldly rights and obligations, and does not feel his responsibility towards his wife and children, nor occupies himself in efforts to earn livelihood but all the time lies in meditation he ruins his life and does not fulfill the purpose of living. If this were Allah’s aim what was the need for creating and populating the world when there was already a category of creatures who were all the time engaged in worshipping and adoration. Nature has made man to stand on the crossroads wherein the mid-way is that is the center of guidance. If he deviates from this point of moderateness even a bit, this way or that way, there is shear misguidance for him. That mid-way he should neither bend towards this world to such an extent as to ignore the next life devoting himself entirely to this one nor should be abstain from this world so as to have any connection with anything of it confining himself to some corner leaving everything else. Since Allah has created man in this world, he should follow the code of life for living in this world, and should partake the comforts and pleasures bestowed by Allah within moderate limits. The eating and using of things made lawful by Allah is not against Allah’s worship but rather Allah has created these things for this very purpose that they should be taken advantage of. This is why those who were the chosen of Allah lived in this world with others and ate and drank like others. They did not feel the need for turning their faces away from people of the world and adopting wildernesses or caves of mountains as their abodes or living in distant spots. On the other hand, they remembered Allah, remained disentangled from worldly affairs, and did not forget death despite comforts and pleasures of life. The life of ascetism sometimes produces such evils which ruin the next life also along with this one and the individual proves to be the true picture of “the loser in this life as well as the next”. When natural impulses are not satisfied in the lawful and legal way the mind turns into the center of evil ideas and becomes incapable of performing worship with peace and concentration; and sometimes passions so overcome him that, breaking all moral fetters, he devotes himself completely to their satisfaction and consequently falls in an abyss of ruin from which is impossible to get out. That is why religious law accords greater position to the worship performed by a family man than that by a non-family man, because the former can exercise, because the former can exercise mental peace and concentration in the worship and rituals. The individuals who put on the cloak of Sufism and make loud show of their spiritual greatness are cut off from the path of Islam and are ignorant of its wide teachings. They have been misled by Satan and, relying on their self-formed conceptions, tread on wrongful paths. Eventually their misguidance becomes so serious that they begin to regard their leaders to attain that their word is word of Allah and their act is act of Allah. Sometimes they regard themselves above all bounds and limitations of religious law and consider every evil act to be lawful for them. This deviation from faith and irreligiousness is named Sufism (complete devotion to Allah). Its unlawful principles are called ‘Tariqat’ (ways of achieving communion with Allah) and the followers of this cult are known as ‘Sufis’. First of all, Abu Hashim al-Kufi and Shami adopted this nickname. He was of Umayyad descent and a fatalist (believing that man is bound to act as pre-ordained by Allah). The reason for giving him name was that in order to make a show of his asceticism and fear of Allah he had put on a woolen cloak. Later on, this nickname became common and various grounds were put forth as the basis of this name. For example, one ground is that ‘Sufi’ has three letters ‘Swad’, ‘Wao’ and ‘Fa’. ‘Swad’ stands for ‘Sabr’ (endurance), ‘Sidq’ (truthfulness) and ‘Safa’ (purity of heart), ‘Wao’ stands for ‘Wudd’ (love), ‘Wird’ (repeating Allah’s name) and ‘Wafa’ (faithfulness to Allah), and ‘Fa’ stands for ‘Fard’ (unity), ‘Faqr’ (destitution) and ‘Fana’ (death or absorption in Allah’s self). The second view is that it has been derived from ‘Suffa’ which was a platform near the Prophet’s Mosque which had a covering of date-palm leaves. Those who stayed there were called ‘Ashab e Suffa’ (people of the platform). The third view is that the name of the progenitor of an Arab tribe was ‘Soofa’ and this tribe performed the duties of serving the pilgrims and the Kaaba, and it is with reference to their connection with this tribe that these people were called ‘sufis’. This group is divided among various sects but the basic sects are seven only...
(1) Wahdatia (unitarian): This sect believes in the oneness of all existence (Wahdatul Wujood). Its belief is that everything of this world is Allah, so much that they assign even polluted things the same godly position. They liken Allah with the river and the waves rising in it and argue that the waves which sometimes rise and sometimes fall have no separate existence other than the river, but their existence is exactly the existence of the river. Therefore, nothing can be separated from its own existence.
(2) Itehhadia (the unitists): They believe that they have united with Allah and Allah has united with them. They liken Allah with fire and themselves with iron that lies in fire and acquires its shape and property.
(3) Huloolia (the formists): Their belief is that Allah takes the form of those who claim to know Him and the perfect ones, and their bodies are places of His stay. In this way seemingly men but really Allah.
(4) Waseliah (the combiners): This sect considers itself to have combined with Allah. Their belief is that the laws of Shariat are a means of development of human personality and character and when human self combines with Allah it no more needs perfection or development. Consequently, for the ‘waseleen’ worship and rituals become useless, because they hold that when truth and reality ais achieved Shariat remains of no avail. Therefore they can do anything and they cannot be questioned.
(5) Zaraqiah (the revellers): This sect regards vocal and instrumental music as worship and earns pleasures of this world through show of asceticism and begging from door to door. They are ever engaged in related concocted stories of miraculous performances of their leaders to over-awe the common persons.
(6) Ushshaquiah (the lovers): The theory of this sect is that apparency is the means to reality meaning that carnal love is the means to achieve the love of Allah. That is, in order to reach the stage of Allah’s love it is necessary to have love with some human beauty. But the love which they regard as love for Allah is just the product of mental disorder through which the lover inclines to one individual with all his attention and his final aim is to have access to the beloved. This love can lead to the way of evil and vice but it has no connection with the love of Allah.
(7) Talqiah (the encounterers): According to this sect reading sciences and books of scholarship is thoroughly unlawful, but rather the position by an hour of spiritual effort of the ‘sufi’ cannot be achieved by seventy years of reading books.
According to Shia Ulema all these sects are on the wrong path and out of the fold of Islam. In this connection numerous sayings of Imams are related. In this sermon of Amirul Muminin (peace be upon him) has regarded the severance of Asim bin Ziyad from this world as the mischief of Satan, and he forcefully dissuaded him from adopting that course.
[Nahjul Balagha, Ansaryan Publications Edition (Qom, Iran), translation from Arabic to English by Sayyid Ali Raza, 1971.]
Hopefully the words of our beloved Imams (peace be upon them) can reach the reader's hearts and minds so that they can act upon the orders of Ahlul Bayt (peace be upon them), even more in the time we are living, we need guidance more than anything else, we need to safeguard our next life and follow the straight path as it's expected from us, the ones who claim to be Shias.
May Allah bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, hasten the appearance of al-Qa'im and expose the liars inside the religion.