A Muslim asks a scholar
In the suburb where I live there is a Mosque that belongs to Sufis and another smaller one belongs to them as well. Is it permissible to pray in it?
And the scholar replies
Do not pray with these Sufis and beware of keeping company with them and mixing with them, lest you be affected by what has affected them.
Try to pray in the mosque of a congregation who seek to follow the Sunnah (Sunni version of Hadith) and are keen to do so.
Would this mean that the Sunni sect of Islam will not be praying at this Mosque? Saudi Arabia is a Sunni country they fund most of the mosques in the USA. Will they drop their dislike for the Sufi and contribute money for the mosque anyway? It will be interesting to see if these two sects of Islam will come together to build the New York mosque/community center.
A Muslim asks a scholar
What is a sufi and are they part of Islam as the prophet saw them? Is Sufism recognised as a sect?
And the scholar replies
Praise be to Allaah.
We must understand that the word Sufism refers to wearing woollen clothes [the Arabic word soof means “wool”] and nothing else.
Sufism did not appear until after the first three generations which the Messenger of Allah said, “The best of mankind is my generation, then those who come after them, then those who come after them…” narrated by Bukhari
I wonder if Muhammad knew his generation would kill off his family after he died.
A Muslim asks a scholar
What is the place of sufism in Islam? What truth is there in 'religious experiences', contacts with the divine, etc? Some people hold such phenomena in high regard, claiming the similarities between experiences of people from different religions and from opposite corners of the globe, to be proof.
How should people who claim to be sufis or believers/followers of sufism be seen? Isn't prayer and remembrance also a form of contact with the Almighty?
And the scholar replies
Praise be to Allaah.
The word “Sufism” was not known at the time of the Messenger. It arose at the time when a group of ascetics who wore wool (“soof”) emerged, and this name was given to them. It was also said that the name was taken from the word “soofiya” (“sophia”) which means “wisdom” in Greek.
The emergence of this new name and the group to whom it is applied exacerbated the divisions among Muslims.
More than the division that the Sunni and Shia produced? No, not even close. The Sufi are the most spiritual sect of Islam, they are far less intolerant than those of the Sunni or Shia sect...and they don't have a laughing law, either!
Sufism is a name for the inner dimension of Islam. A surrender to God in love that embraces love at each moment the content of one's consciousness (one's perceptions, thoughts, and feelings, as well as one's sense of self) as gifts of God or, more precisely, as manifestations of God. Philip Jenkins
Compared to the Sunni and Shia the Sufi are more like religious hippies who know how to use a gun. But they are certainly disliked by their elder brothers.
The early Sufis differed from the later Sufis who spread bid’ah (innovation) to a greater extent and made shirk in both minor and major forms commonplace among the people, as well as the innovations against which the Messenger warned us when he said, “Beware of newly-invented things, for every newly-invented thing is an innovation and every innovation is a going-astray.”
The following is a comparison between the beliefs and rituals of Sufism and Islam which is based on the Qur’aan and Sunnah.
Sufism has numerous branches, the followers of which all claim that their particular branch or view on Islam is on the path of truth whilst the others are following falsehood. Islam forbids such sectarianism. Allah says:
“… and be not of al-mushrikoon (the disbelievers in the Oneness of Allaah, polytheists, idolaters, etc),
The Sufi are none of the above. They believe in one God. But instead finding God only in a book, they see God everywhere and in everything. And they can still kick ass.
Of those who split up their religion (who left the true Islamic monotheism), and became sects, they invented new things in the religion and followed their vain desires, each sect rejoicing in that which is with it.” Quran 30:31-32
Sunni’s started the first sect and added the apostasy law, stoning law, no music, no dancing, no mingling, forbidding what Allah had not, allowing what Allah had not, kill those who won’t convert and all the horrors we see in Sharia law. They have nothing to brag about.
The Sufis worship others than Allah, such as Prophets and saints, living or dead. They say, “O Messenger of Allah, help and save” or “O Messenger of Allah, our dependence is on you”, etc. But Allah forbids us to call on anyone except Him in matters that are beyond the person's capabilities.
If a person does this, Allah will count him as a shrik, as He says; 10:106 Thus, do not invoke, side by side with God, anything that can neither benefit thee nor harm thee: for, behold, if thou do it, thou wilt surely be among the evildoers
To be a Sufi does not harm anyone but does seem to offer more benefits, especially to the west. ..the Sufi do not wear Fruit of the Boom undies.
The Sufis believe that there kinds of “saints” to whom Allah has given the power to run the affairs of the universe.
And the Sunni and Shia believe they have to hate Jews and Christians because Hadith and their scholars say it’s Islamic.
The Sufis turn to other than Allah when calamity strikes, but Allah says: “And if Allah touches you with harm, none can remove it but He, and if He touches you with good, then He is Able to do all things.” [6:17]
Well if that’s true then the Sunni and Shia have no need to worry about the Sufi.
Some Sufis believe in the unity of existence. They do not have the idea of a Creator and His creation, instead they say that everything is creation and everything is God.
They also don’t believe in stoning women or making it a crime to sing or dance or play music.
The Sufis advocate extreme asceticism in this life and do not believe in taking the necessary means or in jihad, but Allah says: Quran 28:77 "But seek, with the wealth which Allah has bestowed on thee, the Home of the Hereafter, nor forget thy portion in this world: but do thou good, as Allah has been good to thee, and seek not occasions for mischief in the land: for Allah loves not those who do mischief."
Does that aya say anything about Jihad? So I ask you, when was the last time you heard of a Sufi causing mischief? How about a Sunni? Shia? Nuff said.
The Sufis refer the idea of perfection to their shaykh and tell their followers to have a picture of their shaykh sheik in mind when they remember Allah and even when they are praying.
Some of them even put a picture of their shaykh in front of them when they are praying.
The Prophet said: “perfection is when you worship Allah as if you can see Him, and although you cannot see Him, He can see you.” (Reported by Muslim).
Sounds like Muhammad was a Sufi.
The Sufis allow dancing, drums and musical instruments, and raising the voice when making dhikr, but Allah says:
“The believers are only those who, when Allah is mentioned, feel a fear in their hearts…” [ 8:2}
It’s irritating when these scholars use part of an aya to justify their hate. Here is the complete aya. See if you can find drums, musical instruments or dancing hidden in the aya
8:2 Believers are only they whose hearts tremble with awe whenever God is mentioned, and whose faith is strengthened whenever His messages are conveyed unto them, and who in their Sustainer place their trust
Find any of the items listed? No? And it’s not tremble with fear, it’s tremble with awe. The Sufi understand this better than the Islamists.
For Islamists and the hard-line conservatives like the Saudi Wahhabis or the terrible Taliban, the Sufis are serious enemies.
Moreover, you see some of them making only pronouncing the Name of Allah, saying, “Allah, Allah, Allah.”
This is bid’ah (an Arabic word for something made up—think Hadith) and has no meaning in Islam. They even go to the extreme of saying, “Ah, ah” or “Hu, Hu.”
The Sunnah (Sunni) is for the Muslim to remember his Lord in words that have a true meaning for which he will be rewarded.
And Allah, Allah, Allah. Ah, ah, Hu Hu? I prefer that over...Kill the Infidels.
The Sufis recite love poems mentioning the names of women and boys in their dhikr gatherings, and they repeat words such as “love”, “passion”, “desire” and so on…
Oh my Allah that’s terrible….I love it!
…as if they are in a gathering where people dance and drink wine and clap and shout. All of this has to do with the customs and acts of worship of the mushrikeen (shirk or those who make others partners with Allah, like those who follow Hadith).
Allaah says:
43:36 If anyone withdraws himself from remembrance of Allah Most Gracious, We appoint for him an evil one, to be an intimate companion to him.
Hmmm….how intimate? The Sufi sees Allah in all things.
Some Sufis pierce themselves with rods of iron, saying, “O my grandfather!” So the shayten come to them and help them, because they are seeking the help of someone other than Allah.
The Sufis claim to have knowledge of the unseen, but the Qur’aan shows them to be liars. Allah says:
27:65 None in the heavens and the earth knows the unseen except Allah…’
The unseen is what is in your heart.
The Sufis claim that Allah created the world for the sake of Muhammad and that they can see Allah in this life and that they take knowledge directly from Allah, without the mediation of the Prophet and in a conscious state.
The Sufis hold gatherings for sending blessings on the Prophet, but they go against his teachings by raising their voices in dhikr and religious songs and poems that contain blatant shirk.
They celebrate the birthday of the Prophet. But did Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthman, or anyone else celebrate his birthday?
The Sufis travel to visit graves and seek blessings from their occupants or to make sacrifices at these sites, all of which goes against the teachings of the Prophet.
But none of these things go against the teachings of the Quran. Too many scholars and Muslims focus on the violent stories in the Quran, which are all about the difficulites the prophets had in delivering the message of one God. Non Muslims now believe that all of the Quran is about violence.
The Prophet said “Do not travel to visit any place but three mosques: al-Masjid al-Haraam [in Mecca], this mosque of mine [in Medina] and al-Masjid al-Aqsa [in Jerusalem].”
Fine. Sharia Muslims should never visit ANY place other than those 3 mentioned.
The Sufis are blindly loyal to their shaykhs, even when they go against the words of Allah and His Messenger.
The messenger’s message was the Quran and only the Quran. Most Sharia Muslims know more about Hadith than Quran.
The Sufis use talismans, letters and numbers for making decisions and for making amulets and charms and so on.
The Sufis do not restrict themselves to the specific blessings on the Prophet that were narrated from him. They invented new formulas that involve seeking his blessings and other kinds of blatant shirk which are unacceptable to the one on whom they are sending blessings.
But that’s all based on Hadith not Quran. What does the Quran say about Hadith? It says not to follow hadith.
With regard to the question of the whether the Sufi shaykhs have some kind of contact, this is true, but their contact is with the shayten, not with Allah, so they inspire one another with adorned speech as a delusion (or by way of deception)
Boy does this scholar have a lot of nerve talking about deception!
When some of these Sufi shaykhs disappear suddenly from the sight of their followers, this is the result of their contact with the shaytan, who may even carry them to a distant place and bring them back in the same day or night, to mislead their human followers.
So the important rule here is not to judge people by the extraordinary feats that they may do. We should judge them by how closely or otherwise they adhere to the Qur’aan and Sunnah.
The true friends of Allah are not necessarily known for performing astounding feats. On the contrary, they are the ones who worship Allah in the manner that He has prescribed.
The true friends of Allah are those whom our Lord has described in the hadith narrated by Bukhari.
This scholar believes that Bukhair was a prophet and that Muslims should follow Hadith over Quran. Many Muslims will be following these scholars to the hellfire....I have to make more fruit...
A Muslim asks a scholar.
Is it permissible to build mosques and schools from charity funds?
And the scholar replies
Praise be to Allaah.
That is not permissible, because the action mentioned is not included in the eight categories on which zakaah (charity) may be spent.
Interesting.
A Muslim asks a scholar
When a new mosque is built and they want to start praying in it, they invite people from the neighbouring countries and they gather for what they call the opening of the mosque. What is the ruling on their doing this? Does the hadith “Do not travel to visit any mosque except three…” indicate that this is haraam?
And the scholar replies
On this basis, these celebrations should not be held. It is not recommended to invite people to such events or to help with them by giving money or in other ways.
All good resides in following those who went before and evil resides in following those who came later.
Travel to attend this celebration or to pray in that mosque comes under the general meaning of the prohibition on traveling to pray in mosques other than the three famous mosques [ al-Masjid al-Haraam in Makkah, al-Masjid al-Nabawi in Madeenah and Masjid al-Aqsa in al-Quds/Jerusalem].
So we should shun this innovated practice and be content with regard to mosques and other matters – with the things that were done at the time of the Messenger of Allah and the guided imams who followed him.
I take that to mean No mosque at Ground Zero as Muhammad never came to the US!. Hey, they twist it up, why can’t I?
In the time of Muhammad there was only one way to practice Islam. After Muhammad died there was a battle over who would lead the Muslims. Some believed the leader should be Ali who was a blood relative. But the majority believed it should be Muhammad’s best friend and father in law, Bakr. Those who followed Ali became Shia. Those who followed Bakr became Sunni.
The Sufi came from the Shia and then spread into the Sunni sect. The Sufi were interested in feeling Allah rather than just the ritual prayer to Allah. They became the mystics of Islam.
There is a Sufi saying: “Ignorance is pride, and pride is ignorance. The man who says ‘I don’t have to be taught how to learn’ is proud and ignorant.”
Nasrudin says; “In Sufism, a person cannot learn until he is in a state in which he can perceive what he is learning, and what it means.”
His messages were often combined with simple humor.
What do you know?
Once Nasreddin was invited to deliver a sermon. When he got on the pulpit, he asked, "Do you know what I am going to say?" The audience replied "no", so he announced, "I have no desire to speak to people who don't even know what I will be talking about!" and left.
The people felt embarrassed and called him back again the next day. This time, when he asked the same question, the people replied "yes". So Nasreddin said, "Well, since you already know what I am going to say, I won't waste any more of your time!" and left.
Now the people were really perplexed. They decided to try one more time and once again invited the Mullah to speak the following week. Once again he asked the same question - "Do you know what I am going to say?" Now the people were prepared and so half of them answered "yes" while the other half replied "no". So Nasreddin said "Let the half who know what I am going to say, tell it to the half who don't," and left.
Who do you trust?
A neighbour came to the gate of Mulla Nasreddin's yard. The Mulla went to meet him outside.
"Would you mind, Mulla," the neighbour asked, "lending me your donkey today? I have some goods to transport to the next town."
The Mulla didn't feel inclined to lend out the animal to that particular man, however. So, not to seem rude, he answered:
"I'm sorry, but I've already lent him to somebody else."
All of a sudden the donkey could be heard braying loudly behind the wall of the yard.
"But Mulla," the neighbour exclaimed. "I can hear it behind that wall!"
"Who do you believe," the Mulla replied indignantly. "The donkey or your Mulla?"
For those of you who have followed my Friday Freaky Fatwa’s, you may think I am channeling the spirit of Nasreddin and perhaps I am. The Sufi are not afraid of the Sunni or the Shia as they believe that God will always guide them and protect them. Maybe we should all take a page from the Sufi Nasreddin and use humor as a weapon against the oppressor.
Maybe they’ll die laughing.
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