What is the Sufi path, and what does it rely on? Are all Sufi paths the same in ruling? And what is your belief regarding existence?

The questioner : What is the reality of the Sufi call or path, what does it rely on, and do all Sufi paths have the same ruling?

The Shaykh : Sufism is undoubtedly a specific methodology that originally concerned a person's conduct in his life. It then developed into a philosophy with specific ideas. This philosophy, and that conduct, contradict Islam in many of its affairs, ideas, and behaviors. The simplest aspect of Sufism is that it resembles the monasticism that the Christians invented in their religion, which Allah did not prescribe for them. Then Islam came to affirm the invalidity of monasticism in Islam, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . In reality, Sufism is like being influenced by the monasticism that some Christians invented and then committed to, as Allah the Exalted said: . Some Muslims were influenced by the monasticism of the Christians and imitated them. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) warned us about some of this in the generality of his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): . Among the things the Christians practiced was monasticism, so some Muslims were influenced by it and imitated them in it, to the extent that the traces of monasticism began to appear in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). This is because monasticism is, in reality, something to which the human soul inclines, as it is drawn away from the adornments of this world, and the soul beautifies such monasticism for its owner. Therefore, its traces appeared in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in the person of some of his Companions (peace and blessings be upon him). For example, what came in Sahih al-Bukhari that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) established brotherhood between Abu al-Darda and Salman al-Farisi. That brotherhood has no parallel in the entire world, and it was a means to strengthen the bonds between the Muhajireen and the Ansar, the people of Madinah. Among those between whom the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) established brotherhood were Abu al-Darda, an Ansari, and Salman al-Farisi. By virtue of this brotherhood, or as one of its requirements, was the frequenting of each other's homes. . So Abu al-Darda took the path of monasticism, which is turning away from his wife, and from enjoying her lawful pleasures, and from food and drink except in small amounts. Its effect also appeared in a young Companion of small age, but who grew up in obedience to Allah and in His worship, namely Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As. His father, Amr ibn al-As, married him to a young woman from Quraysh. After a few days, he asked her about her marriage to his son, and she said: "He has not yet lain with us in a bed," meaning he married her but did not consummate the marriage. She mentioned to Amr that he stands in prayer at night and fasts during the day. By his nature, Amr was not pleased with this situation, so he went to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), as if complaining about his son to him. Abdullah ibn Amr said: "Either the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) met me, or he sent for me, and he said to him: . He said: "That has happened, O Messenger of Allah." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . The hadith is long, and we have mentioned it more than once. The point is that this also inclined toward some monasticism, so the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) invalidated it with such personal treatments, and then with his general hadith: . This type is the simplest thing in Sufism, but with time, Sufism developed until it reached disbelief, which is less than the disbelief of the Jews and Christians all together. They reached the claim of the unity of existence, which means that there is no Creator and created, but rather it is one thing. This is as the materialists, naturalists, and all the atheists, such as communism and its followers, say that there is nothing but nature. And what they reached in the claim of the unity of existence is, in reality, more dangerous than open atheism. This is because those who claim the unity of existence use some texts from the Book and the Sunnah as evidence for it, and naturally, by manipulating the texts, interpreting them figuratively, and even distorting them. For example, Allah the Exalted says: . They use such a verse as evidence that the archer is Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, so they say Muhammad is a manifestation of the manifestations of Lordship. The point is that a Muslim should not get involved in anything called Sufism, because its easiest and lightest part is misguidance, and its worst part is disbelief and denial of all the heavenly laws. This is what is available to us as an answer to the previous question regarding the Sufis, knowing that resulting from this are the known paths, numerous in their number and differing in their methods, traditions, and acts of worship. All of that is not from Islam in any way. Yes.