What is your opinion regarding Sufism and the Sufis, and are all Sufis to be criticized, like al-Ghazali and others?
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The questioner : Through my constant following of your noble program, and during the answers to questions specifically about Sufism, I have heard different answers from distinguished scholars. They have almost unanimously agreed to criticize this matter without exception. I am greatly astonished by this, because in my belief—and Allah knows best—rulings in our great religion do not come in a generalized manner regarding matters of religion. For example, if there is a bad person in a certain place, I cannot rule that everyone in that place is wicked. So, when we rule that Sufism is bad, does that mean Sufism as a principle is bad, or is there someone who claims Sufism but is not among its people? And if Sufism is such, what do we say about the imams of Sufism who benefited us in the religion with the greatest benefit through their knowledge and practice, such as Imam al-Ghazali, and Ibn 'Ata Allah, and 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani, and Shaykh al-Sanusi, whose lodges are well known, and in the modern era, Dr. 'Abd al-Halim Mahmud (may Allah have mercy on him)? And what does the religion say about Sufism in its simplest meanings, which we understand, and which is represented by asceticism in this world without abandoning what Allah has made lawful for His servants, and sincerity of action and intention for Allah the Exalted, and frequent remembrance of Him, seeking His forgiveness, and praising Him, while rejecting all superstitions, religious innovations, and things that lead to disbelief that are attached to the religion and Sufism? I seek refuge in Allah from that.
The Shaykh : This question is long and complex, and it contains something that requires detail.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Those who heard them criticizing Sufism and making general statements intend to establish a specific method that is distinct from the method of the people of the Sunnah and the community. This is, in itself, to be criticized without doubt. What is required of all Muslims is that they be one group, namely the group of the righteous Salaf, the people of the Sunnah and the community, whether in creed or in the apparent actions of the limbs. What is absolutely criticized is the establishment of a specific method called "the method of the people," because every path or method that contradicts what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was upon is criticized, whatever it may be. As for the actions that this group innovates, it is looked at: if they agree with what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) brought, then they are truth. But it should not be said that they are from the path of the Sufis, or from the doing of the Sufis, or from the organization of the Sufis, or the like. Rather, it should be said that this is the Sunnah of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and it should not be attributed to this specific group. In that case, we escape the title that may necessitate criticism.
As for what concerns asceticism in this world, there is no doubt that asceticism in this world that does not include abandoning what Allah the Mighty and Majestic has made lawful, or does not include abandoning what benefits in the Hereafter, is undoubtedly praiseworthy. And a person should have this world as a means to the Hereafter, not that his entire concern and aim is for this world only. If a person aims for this world only, he may lose both this world and the Hereafter, as Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Isra 17:18-19].
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : As for the dhikr and daily recitations that were innovated by those who innovated them among the people of Sufism, there is no doubt that whatever of them contradicts the Shari'ah in its manner, or its time, or its number, or its cause, is a religious innovation (bid'ah) that is to be denounced against its doer. Because worship does not become worship following the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) until there is a legal proof for the following matters: "its cause, its genus, its species, its form, its time, its place, and its amount" . If there is no proof for these matters, then it becomes a religious innovation, and the person becomes among the innovators or among the people of innovation to the extent that it deviates from the Sunnah.
The Shaykh : This question is long and complex, and it contains something that requires detail.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Those who heard them criticizing Sufism and making general statements intend to establish a specific method that is distinct from the method of the people of the Sunnah and the community. This is, in itself, to be criticized without doubt. What is required of all Muslims is that they be one group, namely the group of the righteous Salaf, the people of the Sunnah and the community, whether in creed or in the apparent actions of the limbs. What is absolutely criticized is the establishment of a specific method called "the method of the people," because every path or method that contradicts what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was upon is criticized, whatever it may be. As for the actions that this group innovates, it is looked at: if they agree with what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) brought, then they are truth. But it should not be said that they are from the path of the Sufis, or from the doing of the Sufis, or from the organization of the Sufis, or the like. Rather, it should be said that this is the Sunnah of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and it should not be attributed to this specific group. In that case, we escape the title that may necessitate criticism.
As for what concerns asceticism in this world, there is no doubt that asceticism in this world that does not include abandoning what Allah the Mighty and Majestic has made lawful, or does not include abandoning what benefits in the Hereafter, is undoubtedly praiseworthy. And a person should have this world as a means to the Hereafter, not that his entire concern and aim is for this world only. If a person aims for this world only, he may lose both this world and the Hereafter, as Allah the Exalted said:
(18) Whoever should desire the immediate - We hasten for him from it what We will to whom We intend. Then We have made for him Hell, which he will [enter to] burn, censured and banished. (19) But whoever desires the Hereafter and exerts the effort due to it while he is a believer - it is those whose effort is ever appreciated [by Allah].
من كان يريد العاجلة عجّلنا له فيها ما نشاء لمن نريد ثم جعلنا له جهنم يصلاها مذموما مدحورا * ومن أراد الأخرة وسعى لها سعيها وهو مؤمن فأولئك كان سعيهم مشكوراًThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : As for the dhikr and daily recitations that were innovated by those who innovated them among the people of Sufism, there is no doubt that whatever of them contradicts the Shari'ah in its manner, or its time, or its number, or its cause, is a religious innovation (bid'ah) that is to be denounced against its doer. Because worship does not become worship following the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) until there is a legal proof for the following matters: "its cause, its genus, its species, its form, its time, its place, and its amount" . If there is no proof for these matters, then it becomes a religious innovation, and the person becomes among the innovators or among the people of innovation to the extent that it deviates from the Sunnah.