The Origin of the Sufis and Their Creed
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Fatwa No. ( 19521 )
Q: I hope you will graciously write to us briefly about: the Sufis and the Sufis , what Sufism is, and what their creed is , what the people of the Sunnah and the community think of them, and what a person from among the people of the Sunnah and the community should do, or how he should deal with them, if these Sufis are insistent on their creed, and they believe that they are on the right, even after the truths have become clear and evident to them? And I hope that Allah will make your knowledge beneficial to many people who are in urgent need of this matter being clarified by you, especially. And may Allah guide us all to what He loves and is pleased with. And may Allah reward you with the best reward.
A: The Sufis are named after wool; for it was their emblem in their clothing, and this is closer to the language and to their reality. As for what was said that the Sufis are named after
the *Sifah* (the porch) because of their resemblance to the poor among the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) who used to take shelter in the *Sifah* of the Prophet’s Mosque, or named after *Safwah* (the elite) because of the purity of their hearts and deeds, all of that is wrong and not correct; because the name derived from *Sifah* is *Saffiyy* with a shaddah on the fa and the ya, and the name derived from *Safwah* is *Safawi*, and because these two meanings do not apply to their characteristics, due to the prevalence of corrupt belief and the abundance of religious innovations among them. All the Sufi paths, or what is called Sufism today, are predominantly characterized by the practice of shirk-based innovations, the means leading to them, corrupt beliefs, and contradicting the Book and the Sunnah, such as calling for aid from the dead and the *Aqtub* (poles) by saying: “Help, O my master, help, O my mistress” Zaynab , “Help, O Badawi” or “O Dawsqi,” and the like of calling for aid from the shaykhs and *Aqtub*, and their belief that they are spies of the hearts who know the unseen, what hearts conceal, and that they have secrets by which they act behind the ordinary causes, and naming Allah with what He has not named Himself, such as: “He is He” and “Ah, ah, ah.” The Sufis have invented *awrad* (recitations) and supplications that are not prescribed, so they take a pledge from their followers to remember Allah in their worship and devotion with specific singular names from the names of Allah in a collective manner, such as “Allah, the Living, the Self-Subsisting,” which they repeat every day and night and do not go beyond them to other names except by the permission of
their shaykhs, otherwise they would be sinners and feared for them from the servants of the names, all of this accompanied by swaying, bowing, rising from it, dancing, singing, clapping, and other things that have no basis and are not known in the Book of Allah or the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). It is obligatory for every Muslim not to sit in their gatherings, and to stay away from associating with them; so that he is not affected by their corrupt beliefs and falls into what they have fallen into of shirk and innovations, and that he should advise them and clarify the truth to them, perhaps Allah will guide them through his hand, while affirming for them what they agreed with in the Book and the Sunnah, and denying to them what they contradicted in them, while adhering to the methodology of the people of the Sunnah and the community so that his religion is safe, and whoever wants to know the conditions and beliefs of the Sufis in detail, let him read the book (*Madaraj al-Salikin*) by Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah , and the book (*Hadhihi al-Sufiyyah*) by Abd al-Rahman al-Wakil . And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and his Companions.
Q: I hope you will graciously write to us briefly about: the Sufis and the Sufis , what Sufism is, and what their creed is , what the people of the Sunnah and the community think of them, and what a person from among the people of the Sunnah and the community should do, or how he should deal with them, if these Sufis are insistent on their creed, and they believe that they are on the right, even after the truths have become clear and evident to them? And I hope that Allah will make your knowledge beneficial to many people who are in urgent need of this matter being clarified by you, especially. And may Allah guide us all to what He loves and is pleased with. And may Allah reward you with the best reward.
A: The Sufis are named after wool; for it was their emblem in their clothing, and this is closer to the language and to their reality. As for what was said that the Sufis are named after
the *Sifah* (the porch) because of their resemblance to the poor among the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) who used to take shelter in the *Sifah* of the Prophet’s Mosque, or named after *Safwah* (the elite) because of the purity of their hearts and deeds, all of that is wrong and not correct; because the name derived from *Sifah* is *Saffiyy* with a shaddah on the fa and the ya, and the name derived from *Safwah* is *Safawi*, and because these two meanings do not apply to their characteristics, due to the prevalence of corrupt belief and the abundance of religious innovations among them. All the Sufi paths, or what is called Sufism today, are predominantly characterized by the practice of shirk-based innovations, the means leading to them, corrupt beliefs, and contradicting the Book and the Sunnah, such as calling for aid from the dead and the *Aqtub* (poles) by saying: “Help, O my master, help, O my mistress” Zaynab , “Help, O Badawi” or “O Dawsqi,” and the like of calling for aid from the shaykhs and *Aqtub*, and their belief that they are spies of the hearts who know the unseen, what hearts conceal, and that they have secrets by which they act behind the ordinary causes, and naming Allah with what He has not named Himself, such as: “He is He” and “Ah, ah, ah.” The Sufis have invented *awrad* (recitations) and supplications that are not prescribed, so they take a pledge from their followers to remember Allah in their worship and devotion with specific singular names from the names of Allah in a collective manner, such as “Allah, the Living, the Self-Subsisting,” which they repeat every day and night and do not go beyond them to other names except by the permission of
their shaykhs, otherwise they would be sinners and feared for them from the servants of the names, all of this accompanied by swaying, bowing, rising from it, dancing, singing, clapping, and other things that have no basis and are not known in the Book of Allah or the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). It is obligatory for every Muslim not to sit in their gatherings, and to stay away from associating with them; so that he is not affected by their corrupt beliefs and falls into what they have fallen into of shirk and innovations, and that he should advise them and clarify the truth to them, perhaps Allah will guide them through his hand, while affirming for them what they agreed with in the Book and the Sunnah, and denying to them what they contradicted in them, while adhering to the methodology of the people of the Sunnah and the community so that his religion is safe, and whoever wants to know the conditions and beliefs of the Sufis in detail, let him read the book (*Madaraj al-Salikin*) by Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah , and the book (*Hadhihi al-Sufiyyah*) by Abd al-Rahman al-Wakil . And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and his Companions.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.