Tasawuf, The Six Answer

Shaikh Hisham Muhammad Kabbani ar-Rabbani

THE SIX ANSWERS
www.mevlanasufi. blogspot. com

Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Raheem, was-sallaat was-salaam

'ala Nabiyyina Muhammad, wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wa
salaam. Our respected Shaikh Adly, As-salaam alaykum
wa rahmatullah.

Please excuse the brevity of this answer, because we

feel the subject deserves a much more thorough
discussion. However, this is adequate treatment for a
WWW site. We will list a number of references which
the interested reader can go to, in order to increase
his understanding of the Islamic Science of Tasawwuf.

Answer to the First Question: "What is Tasawwuf?"

In response to the first question: 1. What is

Tasawwuf? Please give a detailed definition and
explanation of the meaning of this terminology and the
word itself?

We say: To answer your first question, from our point

of view, we see here that you are referring in your
question "what is Tasawwuf" to your wanting a detailed
explanation of the term and the word. This means you
accept that it is only a TERM, which has been used to
explain a STATE that WAS MENTIONED in the time of the
Prophet (s). You then ask to define the word
itself--implying that you understood that Tasawwuf is
a TERM used to express a concept.

We shall try to be very precise in defining this term,

because after receiving so many accusations, from here
and from there, we have decided to give a concise and
short definition, though we would prefer to spend more
time to build up a background for the readers. But due
to the number of accusations that we are running away
from answering these questions, we are making it very
concise at this time.

It is obvious and well-known to everyone that in this

century people have differences in understanding the
subject of Tasawwuf. Some people believe it is against
Islam and is not mentioned in Shari'ah, Qur'an or
Sunnah. On the other hand, followers of Ibn Taymiyya's
school, followers of the four Imams schools' and
followers of many other Imams who came later, such as
as-Subki , as-Suyuti, Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, and many
many others, accepted it and knew that Tasawwuf has
its roots deep in Qur'an and Sunnah and the Shar'iah.
These great scholars accepted Tasawwuf because they
knew the reality of the meaning of that term.

The term Tasawwuf was not known in the time of the

Prophet (s). However, ["wa in kanat at-tasmiyyatu
muhdathan,"] even though the name is new, the essence
of it is part and parcel of the religion and cannot be
separated out from it. The purpose of Tasawwuf is to
purify the heart from all kinds of bad desires and
inclinations and the dirtiness that accumulates upon
it due to sins and wrongdoing, either externally or
internally, and to remove these bad manners and sins
and to clean the self and to dress and decorate the
heart with the good behavior and good manners that are
demanded by the Holy Qur'an and the Holy Sunnah of the
Prophet (s). Its purpose is to create the state of
Ihsan, perfection of character, which was the
state of the Prophet (s), and the state which each of
his Companions (s) was striving to acheive.

Tasawwuf = Tazkiyyat an-Nafs

The term Tasawwuf was used to identify the way of

cleansing the heart, originally called Tazkiyyat
an-Nafs in the Qur'an, but which became known later as
the Science of Tasawwuf. Originally this 'ilm science
was known by the terms the Scinece of Austerity
(Zuhd), the Science of Purification (Tazkiyyah) and
the Science of Perfection of Character (Ihsan). The
terms Zuhd, Tazkiyyat and Ihsan were the terms used in
the time of the Prophet (s).

Later these terms were defined in extensive detail and

were refined as were the other sciences of Islam such
'Ilm al-Hadith, 'Ilm al-Kalaam, 'Ilm an-Nahu, and the
many other sciences, including 'Ilm at-Tasawwuf. These
Sciences were defined and their schools were
established, based on what the Prophet (s) was doing,
explaining and speaking in his time.
The Necessity of the Development of Islamic Sciences
After the Prophet (s) We see that in the time of the
Prophet (s) there was no need for 'Ilm an-Nahu to be
taught, even to a child. Because in their natural
state (fitra), raised in the land of Hijaz , even a
child could read a poem or Arabic text without any
need for diacritical marks (tashkil). It came
naturally as they were raised knowing it. But later,
when many non-Arabs entered Islam, they were reading
the Qur'an incorrectly. It therefore became necessary
to create new disciplines to assist new Muslims in
reading Quran, so 'Ilm an-Nahu and 'Ilm at-Tashkil
were established.

Similarly the State of Perfection (Ihsan), the State

of Austerity (Zuhd), the State of God-fearingness
(Wara') and the State of God-consciousness (Taqwa)
were naturally practiced by the Sahaba because
they were in the company of the Prophet (s) and those
states were a direct result of that association. It
was for this reason that they were called Sahaba,
because they were the Associates of the Prophet
(s) and it was that association with him which allowed
them to become purified.

Similarly after the Sahaba, as many impure people

entered Islam, who did not have the opportunity to
meet the Prophet (s) nor the Sahaba, and many new
Muslims of that time left the true path of Islam, it
became necessary to establish a school with its
foundation, just as 'Ilm an-Nahu was established with
its schools. It was necessary to establish schools
through which were developed the disciplines 'Ilm
at-Taqwa, 'Ilm al-Wara', 'Ilm al-Ihsan, 'Ilm az-Zuhd,
and these matters were combined under the main
discipline 'Ilm at-Tasawwuf, the Science of Tasawwuf.

It is obvious and well-known that any term may be used

to name a science and one is free to define or use any
term one wishes. Similarly 'Ilm al-Ihsan is not
changed by giving it a different name.

What I wish from all my heart is that no one will be

prevented or forbidden from learning this important
science, as mentioned in Qur'an and in Hadith, due to
prejudice against the term Tasawwuf. If the term is
problematic to someone, let him give it a different
name, but let him learn the science, by whatever name
he wishes to call it. We must know that Tasawwuf is
not something new in Islam nor something innovated.
Rather it is something taken from the Prophet (s) and
from the Sahaba and its roots are in Islam. It is not
as some enemies of Islam--Orientalists and their
students--have said. they have innovated many new
names for tasawwuf in order to attack the science and
state of Ihsan which the Prophet mentioned in his Holy
Hadith. They attempted to apply the term
"superstition" (shawwaza) to the Science of Tasawwuf.

The Linguistic Roots of the Word 'Tasawwuf' There are

four roots given to the word "tasawwuf." The first of
the roots of the word tasawwuf is from the Arabic word
"safa." This word means "pure like crystal,
transparent like water." It is used to refer to the
purity and transparency of a clean heart.

There are many other explanations for the word

"tasawwuf." Another one is that it is derived from
"Ahl as-Suffa," (the People of the Bench), who were
the people who lived in the Mosque of the Prophet
(s) during his life and who were mentioned in the
Qur'an in thefollowing verse: "WASBIR NAFSAKA MA'A
AL-LLADHEENA YAD'UNA RABBAHUMMBIL- GHADAATI
WAL-'AASHIYI YUREEDUNA WAJHAHU WA LAA TA'DUW 'AYNAAKA
'ANHUM, TUREEDU ZEENAT AL-HAYAAT ID-DUNYA, WA LAA
TUTI' MAN AGHFALNA QALBAHU 'AN DHIKRINA WAT-TABBA'A
HAWAAHU WA KAANA AMRUHU FURUTA. " (Kahf, 28).

"[O Muhammad,] keep yourself content with those who

call on their Lord morning and evening seeking His
Face; and let not your eyes pass beyond them, seeking
the pomp and glitter of this life; nor obey any whose
hearts whom We have permitted to neglect the
remembrance of Us, the one who follows his own
desires, whose case has gone beyond all bounds." This
verse emphasizes how much the believers have to keep
themselvesin the state of Dhikr, Recollection of God
on the tongue, in the mind and through the heart.

The third of these roots is the word "as-siffa"-- "the

characteristics or attributes of carrying goodness and
leaving badness" The fourth linguistic root is from
"Souffattul- kaffa" which means "a soft sponge" as the
Sufi, which is the noun derived from that word, is
like a sponge, whose heart is very soft due to its
purity. That is why the Prophet (s) was always showing
such concern for his Sahaba, in order to purify their
hearts and to show them that improvement of the self
is based on the improvement of the heart and its being
cured of all diseases, internal and external.

The Prophet Mentions the Condition of the Heart

Therefore the Prophet said, as Bukhari narrated: "alaa
wa inna fil-jassadi mudghattan, idhaa saluhat
saluhal-jassadu kulluh wa idha fassadat fassad
al-jassadu kulluhu, alaa wa hiya al-qalb." This means:
"Surely there is in the body a small piece of meat; if
it was good the whole body is good and if it is
corrupted the whole body is corrupted and that is the
heart." And he said in a hadith narrated by Muslim in
the Chapter of al-Birr, "Inn-Allah laa yandhuru ila
ajsaadikum wa laa ila suwarikum wa lakin yandhuru ila
qulubikum" which means "Surely Allah does not look at
your bodies nor at your faces but He looks at your
hearts."

So we see here that the Prophet (s) was tieing

everything to the good condition of the heart. When we
leave bad manners and dress good manners, then we will
have a perfect and healthy heart. That is what Allah
mentioned in the Qur'an: "YAWMAN LAA YANFA'U MAALUN WA
LAA BANOON ILLA MAN ATT-ALLAHA BI-QALBIN sALEEM.
(Shu'ara, 88, 89). "the Day wherein neither wealth nor
sons will avail but only he will prosper who brings to
Allah a sound heart."

Imam Suyuti said, "the Science of the Heart

[at-Tasawwuf] , and to know the heart's diseases such
as jealousy, arrogance and pride, and to leave them is
an obligation on every Muslim." Muffassirun said that
jealousy (hasad), ostentation (ar-riya), hypocrisy
(an-nifaq) and hatred (al-hiqd) are the bad manners
which Allah mentioned in Qur'an "QUL INNAMAA HARAMMA
RABBI AL-FAWAAHISHA MAA DHAHARA MINHA WA MAA BATAN"
(al-'Aaraaf, 33) "say the things that my Lord has
indeed forbidden are: shameful deeds whether open or
secret;" Al-fawaahisha here means hatred (hiqd), envy,
jealousy and hyprocisy.

And Allah's mentioning 'whether open or SECRET' is the

daleel for the need to not simply make the exterior
actions correct, but to cleanse that which is hidden
by a person in his heart and is known only to his
Lord. And the Prophet (s) said, as narrated in Muslim
in Kitab al-Iman: "laa yadkhulul-jannata man kana fi
qalbihi mithqaala dharratin min kibar." "No one will
enter Paradise who has even an atom of pride in his
heart."

Tasawwuf is the science and knowledge whereby one

learns to purify the self of the bad desires of the
ego, such as jealousy, cheating, ostentation, love of
praise, pride, arrogance, anger, greediness,
stinginess, respect for the rich and disregard of the
poor, just as one must purify the external self. The
Science of Tasawwuf teaches one to look at one's self
and to purify oneself according to the Holy Qur'an and
the Sunnah of the Prophet and teaches one to dress
oneself with the perfect attributes (as-siffat
ul-kamilah), such as Repentance (tawba),
God-Consciousness (taqwa) , keeping to the Straight
Way (istiqaama), truthfulness (sidq), sincerity
(ikhlaas),
Abstention (zuhd), Piety (war'a), Reliance on Allah
(tawakkul), contentment with the decree (ar-ridaa'),
surrender to Allah (at- tasleem) , good manners
(al-adab), love (muhabbat), remembrance (Dhikr),
watchfulness (muraqaba), and many, many other
qualities too numerous to mention in detail here.

So we see that just as the Science of Hadith,

mentioned in our introduction to this answer, has 35
classifications of hadith, so too does the Science of
Tasawwuf have numerous classifications of both the
good characteristics (akhlaaqan hassana) which are
obligatory for the believer to develop, and the bad
characteristics (akhlaaq idh-dhameema) which it is
obligatory to eliminate, in order to attain the state
of Ihsan--i.e. to become a Doer of good muhsin.

From here we can see the importance of the Scinece of

Tasawwuf and its benefit. It manifests to us clearly
the essence of Islam and its lifeblood, (ruh al-islam
wa qalbahu an-naabid). Islam in not only an external
practice, but it also has an internal life. This is as
Allah says: "WADHARU DHAAHIRAL-ITHMI WA BAATINAH"
Leave the outwardness of sin and its inwardness."
Allah also says in the Qur'an: "MIN AL-MU'MINEENA
RIJAALUN SADAQU MAA 'AHAD-ALLAH 'ALAYH" (al-Ahzab,
23). "Among the Believers are men who have been true
to their Covenant with Allah" Not all believers are
included in this selected group of "those who kept
their covenant with Allah." It means one can be a
believer, but will not be among 'those who have kept
their covenant' until one has reached the state of
"an-nafs az-zakkiyya" the cleansed self, and the state
of Ihsan, Perfection of Behavior, which the Holy
Prophet mentioned in the Holy Hadith. As we have
repeated many, this is what became well-known later as
the Science of Tasawwuf.

What Ibn Taymiyya Says About the Term `Tasawwuf' And

now permit us to mention what Imam Ibn Taymiyya, (ra)
mentioned about the definition of Tasawwuf.
"Alhamdulillah, the pronunciation of the word tasawwuf
has been thoroughly discussed. From those who spoke
about it were not just the the Imams and Shaikhs, but
also included were Ahmad bin Hanbal, Abi Sulayman
ad-Daarani, As-Sirr as-Saqati, al-Junayd, M'aruf
al-Karkhi, Abdul Qadir Jilani, Bayazid al-Bistami and
many others. This is a term that was given to those
who were dealing with that kind of science [tazkiyyat
an-nafs and Ihsan]. And it is like when one uses the
term "from the Quraishi family" or from the Madani
people or from the Hashemi family.

It is a lineage (nasab), just as we say Hashemi for

the descendants of the Prophet (s) or Quraishi for his
tribe and Madani for those of his city, we say Sufi
(/i>nisbatan) indicating the relationship of those
people to that science."

He continues, "the majority of the scholars (jumhour

al-'ulama), did not deny that science since it
complies with the shari'ah and the Sunnah and they
were supporting it." Imam Ibn Taymiyya says: "thumma
at-tasawwuf 'indahu haqaiqun wa ahwaalun...[ man saffa
min al-qadari wa amtala'a min al-fikri wasstawa
'indahu adh-dhahab wal- hajjar. At-tasawaffu kitmaanul
ma'ani wa tarku-da'awi' " "Tasawwuf has realities and
states of experience which they talk about in their
science. Some of it is that the Sufi is that one who
purifies himself from anyting whihc distracts him from
the remembrance of Allah and who will be so filled up
with knowledge of the heart and knowledge of the mind
to the point that the value of gold and stones will be
the same.to him. And tasawwuf is safeguarding the
precious meanings and leaving behind the call to fame
and vanity in order to reach the state of
Truthfulness, because the best of humans after the
prophets are the Siddiqeen, as Allah mentioned them in
the verse: 'FA-ULA'IKA MA'A ALLADHEENA AN'AAM-ALLAHU
'ALAYHIM MIN AN-NABIYYIN WAS-SIDDIQEEN WASH-SHUHADAI'
WAS-SAALIHEENA WA HASSUNA 'ULA'IKA RAFEEQA' (an-Nisa',
69,70)

'(And all who obey God and the Apostle) are in the
company of those on whom is the grace of Allah: of the
prophets, the sincere lovers of truth, the martyrs and
the righteous; Ah! what a beautiful fellowship.' " Ibn
Taymiyya continues: "as-Sufi hua fil-haqiqa naw'un
min as-siddiqeen. Fahua as-siddiq alladhee ikhtassa
bil-zuhadiwal- 'ibada." This translates: "And the Sufi
is in reality a kind of Siddiq (Truthful One), that
Siddiq who specialized in zuhd and worship."

Ibn Taymiyya continues, "some people criticised

Sufiyya and Tasawwuf and they said they were
innovators, out of the Sunnah, but the truth is they
are striving in Allah's obedience[ mujtahidin fi
ta'at-illahi] , as others of Allah's People strove in
Allah's obedience. So from them you will find the
Foremost in Nearness by virtue of his striving
[as-saabiq ul-muqarrab bi hasab ijtihadihi]. And some
of them are from the People of the Right hand [Ahl
al-Yameen mentioned in Qur'an in Sura Waqi'ah], but
slower in their progress. For both kinds, they might
make ijtihad and in that case they might be correct
and they might be wrong. And from both types, some of
them might make a sin and repent. And this is the
origin of tasawwuf. And after that origin, it has been
spread and (tasha'abat wa tanawa'at) has its main line
and its branches. And it has become three kinds:

1. Sufiyyat il-Haqa'iq - the True Sufis

2. Sufiyyat il-Arzaaq - the Professional Sufis
(those who use Sufism for personal gain)
3. Sufiyyat il-Rasm - the Caricature Sufis. (Sufi by
appearance only). "

'Abdullah bin Muhammad bin 'Abdul Wahhab On Tasawwuf

Here we would like to quote for you from his eminence
Mohammed Manzour Nu'mani in his letter, page 85, from
his book "Ad-Dia'aat Mukathaffa Di'd ash-Shaikh
Muhammad bin 'Abdal Wahhab" where he says: Shaikh
Abdullah, the son of shaikh Muhammad bin 'Abdul
Wahhab, said about Tasawwuf: "laa nunkiru at-tariqat
as-sufiyyata. .." "My father and I, we don't deny or
criticise the Science of Sufism, but on the contrary
we support it becasue it cleans the external and the
internal of the hidden sins which are related to the
heart and the veins and the outward form, even though
the individual might externally be on the right way,
but internally he might be on the wrong way. And that
is why tasawwuf is necessary. But we don't expect and
we don't like to see some of those using the name of
Tasawwuf speak from a state of unconsciousness. "

We are going to stop here, because it will be too

lengthy for our readers and our time is limited, since
we said we needed more time people accused us of
avoiding the issue. And what we have said here
is only a drop in an ocean of what can be said about
this subject. And we are still addressing only the
first question.

Answer to The Second Question "Are there any

*dhaleels*

You see from the first question that we have answered

it in brief. And if you carefully read our first
answer, you will find that most of your other five
questions are already answered there.

You asked: 2. "Are there any *dhaleels* (proofs &

evidences) from the Quran in regards to Tasawwauf? If
there are, then please state them expilicitly? "

Allah Describes Tazkiyyat an-Nafs as One Duty of the

Prophet (s) As we mentioned previously, the daleel
from the Qur'an: "HUA-ALLADHEE BA'ATHA FI UMMIYYIN
RASULAN MINHUM, YATLU 'ALAYHIM AYAATIHI WA YUZAKKIHIM
WA YU'ALLIMAHUM AL-KITAABA WAL-HIKMATAHA WA IN KANU
MIN QABLU LAFEE DALAALIN MUBEEN" (Jumu'a,2) "He is the
one Who raised among the inhabitants of Mecca an
Messenger from among themselves, who recites to them
His communications and PURIFIES THEM, and teaches them
the Book and the Wisdom, although they were before
certainly in clear error."

That term 'wa yuzakkihim' (PURIFIES THEM) we have

explained above and in the preceding introduction
yesterday. Then Allah mentioned in another verse, "WA
NAFSIN WA MAA SAWAAHA, FA-ALHAMAHA FUJURAHA WA
TAQWAHA. QAD AFLAHA MAN ZAKAAHA WA QAD KHAABA MAN
DAS-SAAHA" (Shams, 7-10) "By the nafs and the
proportion and order given to it, and its inspiration
as to its wrong and its right; Truly he succeeds who
purifies it, and he fails that corrupts it." We see
here that verse of Qur'an stating the necessity of
purifying and cleaning the nafs (tazkiyyat an-nafs) in
order to succeed, in this life and the next.

Allah Orders Believers to Accompany Sadiqeen And Allah

says: "BISMILLAH IR-RAHMAN IR-RAHEEM, ..." "YA
AYYUHALLADHEEN AAMANU ITTAQULLAHA WA KUNU MA'A
AS-SAADIQEEN" (Tawba, 119).

"O ye who believe, fear Allah and keep company with

those who are rue to their word" The Sadiqeen
mentioned here are the ones mentioned above in Ibn
Taymiyya's quotations. And the verse above is a daleel
for the need o accompany and to associate with Allah's
Near Ones, the Sadiqeen, ho are the highest-level of
awliya, (saints), as mentioned in ur'an: "ALAA
AWLIYA-ULLAHI LAA HAWFUN 'ALAYHIM WA LAA HIM YAHZANUN.
(Yunus, 62) "Nay they are the Friends of God, no fear
shall come upon them neither shall they greive."

The Sadiqeen are the ones who reached one of the

highest stations of faith and they are mentioned again
in Qur'an: "MIN AL-MU'MINEENA RIJAALUN SADAQU MAA
'AHADU-ALLAHA 'ALAYH" (al-Ahzab, 23). "Among the
Believers are men who have been true to their Covenant
with Allah" this verse continues: "FA MINHUM MAN QADA
NAHBAHU WA MINHUM MAN YANTATHIR WA MAA BADDALU
TABDEELA" "and of them some have died and some still
wait but they have never changed their determination
(in the least.)"

This means that in every time there are people who are
holding fast to the Covenant of Allah. Allah Describes
Someone Who Learns Directly From His Presence Here we
will mention some of the verses, when Sayiddina Musa
(as) met with Sayiddina Khidr. Allah describes this
meeting eloquently: "FAWAJADA 'ABDAN MIN 'IBAADINA,
ATAYNAAHU RAHMATAN MIN 'INDINA WA 'ALLAMNAAHU MIN
LADUNNA 'ILMA. QALA LAHU MUSA, HAL ATTABI'UKA 'ALAA
AN-TU'ALIMMANEE MIMMA 'ULLIMTA RUSHDA? QALA INNAKA LAN
TASTATI' MA'AYA SABRA." (Kahf, 66,67).

"So they found one of Our servants on whom we had

bestowed mercy from Ourselves and whom we had taught
knowledge from Our Own Presence. Moses said to him,
'may I follow you on the condition that you teach me
something of the Higher Truth which you have been
taught?' The other said, 'Surely you will not be able
to have patience with me.'" From these verses, we see
that even though Sayiddina Musa (as) was a prophet,
and was the only prophet to speak with Allah directly
(Kalimullah) , nevertheless Sayiddina Khidr possessed
knowledge which Musa did not have, and which Musa
sought to obtain from him, because Sayiddina Khidr was
receiving knowledge directly from the Presence of
Allah ('allamnaahu min ladduna 'ilma). And that person
was one of Allah's Friends, as described in the verse
above. From these verses, as well as the ones
mentioned above, we see one of the many daleels for
following a guide, or shaikh at-tarbiyya, in the
technical terminology of Tasawwuf.

Allah Almighty Promises to Guide Aright The Muhsineen

And Allah says: "WALLADHEENA JAAHADU FEENA
LA-NAHDI-ANNAHUM SUBULANA WA ANNA ALLAHA LA-MA'A
AL-MUHSINEEN (al-'Ankabut, 69) "those who are striving
in Our Way, we will guide them to Our paths, for
verily Allah is with those who do right." Most of the
great scholars of Islam were practicing tazkiyyat
an-nafs and trying to reach the state of Ihsan.

They are the ones who spread Islam in Central Asia,

India, Pakistan, Turkey, Bosnia, Indonesia, Malaysia,
China, Indo-China, Spain, Eastern Europe, and MOST of
Africa. All of these scholars who were practicing
Tasawwuf spread Islam through these countries through
their states of zuhd, wara', taqwa and tazkiyya, which
made them so attractive and so appealing to the people
with whom they associated, that they were
automatically drawn to Islam.

Allah Mentions the Hearts of the 'Ulama And Allah

mentioned: "BAL HUM AYAATUN BAYYINATTUN FI
SUDUR-ILLADHEENA UTUL 'ILMA..." (al-'Ankabut, 49)
"know here are signs self-evident in the hearts of
those who have been endowed with knowledge, and none
but the unjust reject our signs." And Allah says:
"WAT-TAB'I SABEELA MAN ANAABA ILAYA" (Luqman,
15)."follow he path of those who have turned to Me"
That is the way of those who love Allah (commentary of
Yusuf Ali). That is the state of love mentioned which
is related to the heart, not to the mind.

Allah Orders Believers to Find a Means of Approach to

Him "YA AYUHALLADHEENA AAMANU IT-TAQQULLAHA WABTAGHU
ILAYH IL-WASEELATA WA JAAHIDU FEE SABEELIHI LA'ALAKUM
TUFLIHOON." (al-Ma'idah, 35) "O Believers, be wary of
Allah and find a means to approach Him and strive in
His Way that perhaps you may be of the successful."
That means that one must strive in Allah's way--not in
the ego's way, or towards the ego and desires, if
anyone wishes to be successful. And it indicates the
necessity to follow the footsteps of the Prophet as
the wasilah (the means of approach) to Allah
Almighty.

Allah Mentions Tazkiyyat an-Nafs

Allah says: "YATLU 'ALAYHIM AYAATIKA WA YU'ALLIMAHUM

UL-KITAABA WAL-HIKMATA WA YUZAKIHIM" (Baqara, 129) "(a
Messenger) who shall rehearse Your signs to them and
instruct them in the Book and wisdom and SANCTIFY THEM
[tazkiyyat an-nafs]." and "KAMA ARSALNA FEEKUM
RASULAN MINKUM, YATLU 'ALAYKUM AYAATINA WA YUZAKIKUM
(Baqara, 151). "A similar (favour have you already
received), in that we have sent among you an Messenger
of your own, rehearsing to you Our signs, and
SANCTIFYING YOU [SCIENCE OF TASAWWUF]... " and "QAD
AFLAHA MAN TAZZAKA WA DHAKAR ASMA RABBIHI FA-SALLA"
(al-'Aala,14) "those will prosper who PURIFY
THEMSELVES and glorify the Name of their Lord and
pray." Here, Allah Almighty is mentioning the
characteristics of the mutassawwifs, those who are
PURIFYING THEMSELVES, that they are always remembering
their Lord, by recalling His Names and Attributes and
they are attentive to their prayers. and "WA MAN
TAZZAKA FA-INNAMA YATAZAKA LI-NAFSIHI WA
ILA-ALLAH-IL- MASEER" (Faatir, 18)

"and whoever PURIFIES HIMSELF does so to his own

soul's benefit; and to Allah is the Journeying" We
find here the deep essence of Tasawwuf, the Science of
the Purifying the Self. We remind the reader here that
this is only a technical term, which can be replaced
by any other word. This is Islam. If someone is
claiming to follow or practice Islam, then they must
partake in this struggle to purify the self, as it is
so clearly ordered in these verses. Indeed it is
meaningless to claim that there could be any Islam
[surrender to Allah] without this pursuit of self-
purification. Whether one is successful or not in this
pursuit, is not the question, but its necessity is
incumbent on every Muslim, man or woman.

"WA MAA YUDREEKA LA'ALAHU YAZZAKA AW YADHDHAKARA

FA-TANFA'AHU DHIKRA" (Abasa, 3,4) "but what could tell
you that perchance he might grow in PURITY? or that he
might receive admonition and the teaching might profit
him." and, "FA AAARADNA AN YUBDILLAHUM RABBAHUMA
KHAIRAN MINHU ZAKAATAN WA AQRABU RUHMA" (Kahf, 81).

"and We desired that the Lord would give them in

exchange (a son) better in PURITY and closer in
affection." and "LI-AHHABA LAKI GHULAMAN ZAKIYYA"
(MARYAM, 19) "...to give as a gift to you a PURE son"
[here the word zakiyya is mentioned again, referring
to Sayiddina 'Isa (as)]. and "KHUDH MIN AMWAALIHIM
SADAQATAN TUTAAHIRHUM BIHA WA TUZAKKIHIM fHA WA SALLI
'ALAYHIM INNA SALAATUKA SAKANUN LAHUM" (Tawba, 99) of
their wealth take alms so you might SANCTIFY THEM and
pray on them, verily your prayers are a source of
security for them."

"WA LAW LAA FADLULLAHI 'ALAYKUM WA RAHMATUHU MA ZAKKA

MINKUM MIN AHADIN ABADAN WA LAKIN-ALLAH YUZZAKI MAN
YASHA'U WALLAHU jAMI'UN 'ALEEM." (Nur,21) "if not for
the Grace and Mercy of Allah on you, not one of you
would ever have been PURE. But Allah PURIFIES whom He
pleases. And Allah is One who Hears and Knows all
things." These are some of the verses in the Holy
Qur'an that mention the need to purify the self. And
purification of the self, Tazkiyyat an-Nafs, is one of
the essentials of the Science of Tasawwuf.

The Dictionary Meaning of Tazkiyya

If we take the dictionary and look up the meaning of

the word tazkiyya, in all its meanings, we see 'zaka'
means "was clean", yuzakki means"to clean," and "to be
purified." Also 'zaka' means cleansed." 'Tazkiyya' is
defined as "to purify, clean." 'Yuzakki' means
"cleanseth and purifieth"

The word 'Zakaatun' is translated "an Islamic tax,

poor-due, poor-rate or charity, but none of them
renders the full meaning of the term. Thus it is
reasonable to use the term as such: purity, piety."
The word 'Azkaa' translates as "the purest.
Zakiyyatan' means "pure, innocent" The above
definitions are found in "Vocabulary of the Holy
Qur'an," page 243.

Verses of Qur'an About the State of Perfected

Character, Ihsan

Those were some of the verses addressing the

discipline of Tazkiyyat an-Nafs, purification of the
self. Now we wish to quote some of the verses
addressing the state of Ihsan. We are not yet quoting
the very important hadith, in which Jibril (as) asked
about Ihsan in Umm ul-Hadith in Bukhari. Ihsan is
mentioned in Holy Qur'an in many places and we will
mention some of them here: "INNA RAHMATULLAHI QAREEBUN
MIN-AL MUHSINEEN." (al-'Aaraaf, 56) "For the Mercy of
God is near to those who are good (muhsineen)"

and, "INNA ALLAHA MA'A-ALLADHEENA 'TTAQAW WALLAHDHEENA

HUM MUHSINUN" (Nahl, 128) "For Allah is with those who
restrain themselves and who are good." and "HAL JAZA'
UL-IHSANI ILLA AL-IHSAN" (Rahman, 60)

"Is there any reward for Goodness other than Good?

[the word Ihsan, translated here as Good or goodness,
is not adequately conveyed by these English terms, as
it is a much more comprehensive meaning.]
and "WA YAJZILLADHEE AHSANU BIL-HUSNA" (Najm, 31) "and
He rewards those who do good with what is best." and
we all have memorized the ayat, read at every khutbat
il-Juma': "INN-ALLAH YA'MURU BIL 'ADLI WAL-IHSAANI WA
'ITTA'I DHIL QURBA..." (Nahl, 90)

"Allah command justice, the doing of good [ihsan], and

giving to kith and kin and he forbids all indecent
deeds and evil and rebellion: He instructs you that
you may receive admonition." and "BALAA MAN ASLAMA
WAJAHAHU LILLAHI WA HUA MUHSINUN FALAHU AJRAHU 'INDA
RABBIHI" (Baqara, 112) "nay, whoever who submits his
whole self to Allah and is a Muhsin (in the state of
Ihsan), his reward is with His Lord, on those shall be
no fear nor shall they grieve"

and "WA MAN YUSLIM WAJHAHU ILL-ALLAHI WA HUA MUHSINUN

FAQAD ASTAMSAKA BIL 'URWATUL-WUTHQA" (Luqman, 21)
"whoever submits his whole self to Allah and is in a
state of Ihsan has grasped indeed the firmest
handhold, and to Allah will all things return."
and "WA MAN AHSANU DINNAN MIMMAN ASLAMA WAJHAHU
LILLAHI WA HUA MUHSINUN" (Nis'a, 125) who can be
better in religion than one who submits his whole self
to Allah and does good in the way that
Allah likes ..."

The Dictionary Meaning of Ihsan and its Derivatives

Verses about the state of Ihsan are so numerous that
what we have quoted is sufficient. The true meaning of
Ihsan, as the Prophet (s) defined it, which we will
mention in the hadith we are coming to later, is to
worship Allah in such a way that you strive and
progress to make that worship perfect in both its
outward form and its inward reality. One example of
this is praying with humility and submission, (khudhu
and khushu) as if you are seeing Allah and are aware
that He is seeing you.

If we take the dictionary we find that the word Ihsan

and its derivatives has many meanings and they are:
'hasuna': "become excellent, to make good, to seem
good, to be beautiful" [To be beautiful means to
decorate oneself with good attributes, to beautify
inwardly and outwardly]. Other derivatives are:
'Ihsanan' means "to do excellently" 'aahsanu': "they
did good" 'ahsantum': "thou did good" 'ahsin': "thou
do good!" 'ahsinu': "you do good!" 'ihsaanun':
"kindness" 'husna': "reward" 'hisaanun': "beautiful
ones" We see here the difference in the meaning.

When used as an adjective, it means kindness and an

internal attitude and composure. So the state of Ihsan
mentioned in the Holy Qur'an is a very high state,
which Jibril (as) showed to be an intrinsic part of
the Din, and which he placed at the same level as the
states of Islam and Iman. Din consists of three
states, Islam, Iman and Ihsan, each of which has its
own complete definition. That is why it was mentioned
in the Holy Qur'an in so many places and why the
Prophet (s) when asked about it by Jibril, gave it the
same importance as he gave to Islam and Iman.

This is the meaning of the whole Science of Tasawwuf.

You can change that term if you don't like it, but we
like because it is a well-known and well-used term. In
Arabic we say "mustallahat laa talghi al-ahkaam wal
haqaa'iq" "terms don't change the basic nature or the
fundamental reality of a thing." In English we say "a
rose by any other name would smell as sweet." If we
continue quoting, we can present many verses, but we
will stop now as we didn't want to make it a long
answer, but we may return to this subject at a
later time.

Answer to the Third Question: What are Daleels from

Hadith on Tasawwuf?

The third question of our esteemed brother, Shaikh

Muhammad Adly is:

3. Are there any *dhaleels* (proofs & evidences) from

the Ahadeeths of our Prophet (saw) on Tasawwuf and its
practices? If there are, then please verify their
authenticity and state them explicitly?

We say: Yes of course without a doubt there are

daleels and proofs from the Sunnah of the Prophet (s)
on Tasawwuf and its practices. As we said before, the
term Tasawwuf is a technical term, which originated
from the various meanings we quoted in the first and
second answers. It has deep roots in the Sunnah of the
Prophet (s) as well. And its origin is Ihsan, the
state of Excellence, that is mentioned in the Sunnah
of the Prophet, in the hadith of Jibril (as) which is
known to all scholars as Source of the Sunnah (Umm
as-Sunnah and Umm al-ahadith) and the Source of all
hadith. It is considered that all hadith took their
root from it. It is one of the most important hadiths
in Islam, and therefore needs no additional support:
Umm ul-ahadith, The Hadith of Jibril (as) "'An 'Umar
(r), qala: baynama nahnu julus 'inda Rasul-Allahi (s),
dhaata yawmin dhtal'a rajulan shadeed bayaad
ith-thiyaab, shadeedu thawaad ash-sha'ari laa yuraa
'alayhi athar us-saffari wa laa ya'rifuhu minna ahadun
hatta jalasa ila an-Nabi (s), fa-athnada rukbatayhi
ila rukbatayhi, wa wada'a kaffayhi 'alaa fakhidhayhi,
wa qala 'Ya Muhammadu akhbirni 'an il-Islami?' Faqala
Rasul-allahi (s) 'al-Islam an tashhada an laa ilaha
illa-allah wa anna Muhammadan Rasul-Allah, wa tuqeem
as-salaat, wa tu'ti az-zakaat, wa tasuma Ramadana, wa
tahujj al-bayta in istata'a ilayhi sabila.'

Qala: 'sadaqta' Fa-'ajibna lahu yas'aluhu wa

yusadiquhu. Qala 'fa-akbirnee 'an il-imani.' Qala 'an
tu'mina billahi, wa malaa'ikatihi wa kutubih wa
rusulihi wal-Yawm il-Aakhiri wa tu'mina bil-qadari
khayrihi wa sharrihi.' Qala: 'sadaqta.' Qala:
'fa-akhbirni 'an il-Ihsaani?' Qala: 'an ta'budallaha
ka-annaka taraah. Fa in lam takun taraahu fa-innahu
yaraaka.' Qala: 'fa-akhbirni 'an is-saa'ati?'
Qala: 'maa al-mas'ulu 'anha bi-'aalama min as-sa'ili'
Qala: 'fa-akbirnee 'an aamaaraatiha? ' Qala: 'an talida
al-ammatu rabbataha, wa an tara al-hufaata al-uraata
al-'aalata riya' ash-sha'i yattataawaluna
fil-bunyani. ' thum antalaqa fa-labithtu malliyan.
thumma qala 'Ya 'Umar atadri man as-sa'il?' Qultu:
'Allahu wa Rasulahu 'aalam.' Qala: 'fa-innahu Jibril
ataakum yu'allimukum deenakum.' (Muslim, Bukhari and
others)

This translates:

Also from 'Umar () who said, 'while we were one day

sitting with the Messenger of Allah (s), no whom be
Allah's blessings and peace, there appeared before us
a man with a very white garment, and very black hair.
No traces of journeying wee visible on him and none of
us knew him. He sat down close by the Prophet (s),
rested his knees against his and put his palms on his
thighs and said, 'O Muhammad inform me about Islam.'
Said the Messenger (s): 'islam ist that you should
testify that there is no deity save Allah and that
Muhammad is His Messenger, that you should say the
prayers, pay the zakat, fast during Ramadan and go on
Hajj to the House if you can find a way to do so.'
Said he, 'You have spoken truly.'

We were astonished at his first questioning him and

telling him that he was right, but he went on to say:
'Inform me about Iman.' Muhammad (s) answered: 'It is
that you believe in Allah and His angels, and his
books and his messengers and in the last Day and that
you should believe in the Decreeing of both good and
evil.' He said: 'You have spoken truly.' Then he said:
'Inform me about Ihsan [best behavior.]' The Messenger
answered: 'It is that you should serve Allah as though
you could see Him, for though you cannot see Him, yet
He sees you.' He said: 'Inform me about the Hour.' the
Prophet (s) said: 'About that the one questioned knows
no more than the questioner.' So he said: 'Inform me
about the signs of its coming.' Said the Prophet (s):
'They are that the slave-girl will give birth to her
mistress, and that you will see the barefooted, naked,
estitute herdsman of sheep building arrogantly high
buildings.'

Thereupon the man went off. I waited a while and then

the Prophet (s) said: 'O 'Umar do you know who that
was?' I replied: 'Allah and His Messenger know
better.'He said: 'That was Jibril. He came to teach
you your religion.'(related by Muslim).

In this hadith, Jibril (as) has divided Din (religion)

into categories or main branches, from which all
religion, all ahadith and all Sunnah flow. And he
emphasized each branch by asking each question
separate from the other. The first branch was related
to his question "what is Islam?" the second was
realted to the question "what is Iman?" and the third
is related to the question "what is Ihsan?" We cannot
say the Din is only Islam, or only Iman or only Ihsan.
We say that each of these branches is essential to the
Din, and none can be left out. The Prophet (s) in his
answers to these questions confirmed this and said to
his Sahaba after Jibril left, "Jibril came to teach
you your religion."

We see from this hadith of Jibril (as), that he

categorized religion into three pillars or essential
components. The first is the pillar of Islam. The
second is the pillar of Iman and third is the pillar
of Ihsan. The first pillar, Islam, is the practical
side of the religion, including worship, deeds and
other obligations. The state of that pillar is the
external side of the self, which is related to the
body and the community. Scholars call that pillar
Shari'ah. Scholars specialized in this and it was
given the name Science of Fiqh (Jurisprudence) . The
second pillar, Iman is the aspect of Belief through
the mind and heart. This means belief in Allah, His
Messengers, His Books, the Angels, the Last Day, and
Destiny. And this was known to scholars as 'Ilm
at-Tawhid.

The Third Component of Din al-Islam - Ihsan

(Perfection of Character) The third aspect of the Din
is known as the spiritual aspect of the heart, to make
one aware when combining the first pillar--which is
worship, and the second--which is belief, to keep the
state that you are in the Presence of Allah, as if
seeing Him, in all your actions and thoughts. And if
you cannot see Him--because no one can see Allah in
this life--then it means you must keep the continuous
awareness of Allah's Presence in your heart, knowing
that He is Aware of every atom and every particle in
your worship and in your belief--the states and
qualities of your 'Ibadaat and Iman. As a result it
will produce in you a state of excellence, a state of
high quality, by keeping awareness of Allah's vision
on oneslef and making one taste the spiritiual
pleasure and that spiritual light of knowledge that
Allah will direct to your heart from His favors and
His grants. That is what scholars have termed the
Science ofTruth, 'ilm al-Haqiqat, and it was known by
this name in the time nearest to the Prophet, during
the lives of the Sahaba, as as-Siddiqiyya, the Path of
the Siddiqs. Only later did it become known by the
name of Tasawwuf.

We can summarize this by saying, Islam prescribes the

behaviour of a Muslim, Iman relates to his beliefs and
defines them, and Ihsan refers to the state of the
heart which determines whether one's Islam and Ihsan
will bear fruit in this life and the next. The
evidence (daleel) for this is found in the hadith
mentioned above: "alaa wa inna fil-jassadi mudghattan,
idhaa saluhat saluhal-jassadu kulluh wa idha fassadat
fassad al-jassadu kulluhu, alaa wa hiya al-qalb."
which means; "Surely there is in the body a small
piece of meat; if it was good the whole body is good
and if it is corrupted the whole body is corrupted and
that is the heart."

So from the hadith of Jibril (as), known as Umm

al-ahadith, we see that Din consists of three states:
Islam, Iman and Ihsan. The first pillar, Islam is
divided into five components: shahada, salaat,
zakat, sawm, hajj. Iman is divided into six: al-Imanu
billahi,malaa' ikatihi, kutubihi, rusulihi, Yawm
al-aakhir, Qadar. Ihsan is divided into many parts,
including all good character and qualities of a
believer under its umbrella.

These parts include but are not limited to:

God-consciousness (taqwa), Fear of God (wara'),
Abstention (zuhd), reverence and humility, (khu'shu
and khudhu), patience (sabr), Truthfulness (sidq),
Trust in God (tawakkul), morality and good character
(adab) which the Prophet (s) emphasized when he said:
"adabanee Rabbi fa-ahsana ta'deebee," [My Lord taught
and trained my in good manners and He perfected my
manners],Forbearanc e (hilm), Compassion (ruhma),
Generosity (karam), Humbling one's self (tawada'a),
Modesty (haya), Courage (shuja'a) and many other
qualities which were dressed on the Prophet (s) by
Allah Almighty.

Hazrat 'Ayesha said, 'khuluquhul Qur'an' "His

character was the Qur'an" And the Prophet (s) in his
turn, dressed these qualities on all his Sahaba (r)
such that they became perfect and shining examples
to mankind of how human beings should exist in perfect
harmony with the Creator and with each other.

Later we intend to translate Imam Nawawi's explanation

of Umm ul- ahadith, which consists of over eight
pages. There he speaks at length on the subject of
Ihsan under the terms 'Ilm al-Mushahada (the Science
of Witnessing) and 'Ilm al-Haqiqa (the Science of
Reality) which are some of the branches of Tasawwuf.
However we don't have time or space here to do that
now.

The School of Ihsan and Tazkiyya

That school of which the Sahaba partook did not die

with the passing of the Prophet (s). No, on the
contrary, the methods and knowledge with which he was
endowed (peace be upon him), were by turn given to
his Companions, may Allah be pleased with them all,
and each of them in turn was a school from which the
Ummah derived its learning of these methods and
knowledge. With the passing of time, these schools
developed and formalized their methods and created a
distinct science termed the Science of Tasawwuf. Just
as the schools of Shari'ah formed in the first three
centuries of Islam, so too did distinct and clearly
visible schools of Tasawwuf form to pass on
this knowledge and science to the succeeding
generations of Muslims.

And just as the/ Shari'ah did not develop outside the

framework of Islam, the Qur'an and the Sunnah, even
though it branches and knowledge encompassed many
areas not mentioned verbatim in these sources, so too
did Tasawwuf develop based on the framework
established by the Book and the Sunnah and never did
it step out of the bounds of these parameters.

The Relationship Between Shari'ah and Haqiqat.

We give here an example for explaining what we said

here about the relationship between Sharia'ah, known
as Science of Jurisrudence and Fiqh, known as the
Science of Ihsan or Tasawwuf. Take prayer for example.
It is obligatory to offer the prayers with all its
requirements in the movements, its essentials and
rules, as mentioned in the Shari'ah, according to the
Science of Fiqh. This is known as jassad as-salaat,
the body of the prayer. On the other hand one of the
essentials of the prayer is to keep the heart in
Allah's Divine Presence and to know that Allah is
looking at you, during the entire salaat. That will
give you the Reality and Essence of the prayer. And we
can know from the practice of the salaat, that
people might do the outward essentials of salaat, but
their hearts may not be present.

What we mean by the state of Ihsan is to keep the

heart pure and clean from bad manners and attachment
to the distractions of the dunya. the Prophet (s) was
practicing that way, because he said that he came to
take people away from the attractions of dunya and its
distractions. So we see here that the external form of
the salaat is its body, and the humility and
self-effacement (khushu') is its soul (ruh). So what
is the benefit of the body without the soul? If salaat
is movement without presence, then it is like a
zombie. As the soul needs the body to be alive in it,
so too does the body need the soul to give it life.
From here we find the true relationship between
Shari'ah and Haqiqa, is like the relationship between
body and soul. The perfect believer who has reached
the state of Ihsan is the one who can cojoin Shari'ah
and Haqiqat. This is the essential understanding of
Tasawwuf--to combine soul and body, to combine
Shari'ah and Haqiqat.

What Great Imams Said About Tasawwuf

For that reason the Shaikh ul-Islam of his time, Imam

Malik--who was born in 95 H. and who was considered
from the Tabi'een--said in his famous aphorism: "man
tassawaffa wa lam yatafaqah faqad tazandaqa wa
man tafaqaha wa lam yatsawwaf faqad fasadat, wa man
tafaqaha wa tassawafa faqad tahaqqaq." which means:
"whoever studied tasawwuf without fiqh is a heretic
and whoever studied fiqh without tasawwuf is crrupted
and whoever studied tasawwuf and fiqh will find the
Truth and Reality of Islam." Imam Malik didn't accept
shari'ah without haqiqat and he never accepted haqiqat
without shari'ah, fiqh and truth, the state of Islam
and the state of Ihsan.
Imam Shafi'i said, "hubbaba ilaya min dunyakum
thalath: tark at-takkaluf, wa 'ishratul-khalqi
bit-tallatuf, wal-'iqtida' u bit-tareeqi Ahli
tasawwuf." Which means "I love from his life three
things: first to leave behind bad attitudes, and to
show kindness to
others, and to be guided by the way of Tasawwuf." Imam
Ahmad said to his son, advising him, "Ya walladee
'alayka bi-jallassati ha'ula'i as-Sufiyya. Fa innahum
zaadu 'alayna bikathuratil 'ilmi wal murqaba wal
khashiyyata waz- zuhda wa 'uluwal himmat." "O my son,
you have to keep the association with the Sufi people
because they acheived more than using knowledge, in
watchfulness, fear of Allah, austerity and intensity
of their devotion to reach the state of excellence."

Imam Ibn Taymiyya's Opinion of One Who Rejects the

Four Madhabs And these three Imams were from the
well-known Imams of Ahl as-Sunnah wal Jam'a whih Ibn
Taymiyya described in his book "al-Mukhtasir al-
Fawati al Masriyyah" Published by Madani Publisher,
1980, p. 45 when he was asked "what is your opinion if
someone doesn't accept the four Imams?" Imam Ibn
Taymiyya replied: "it is not necessary to keep one
madhab, but you can take from all of them and this is
good. But if you say 'we don't want to comply with the
four Madhabs and I want to practice according to my
own ijtihad,'then you are completely mistaken. Because
truth is in these four madhabs and complies with what
they have described."

From Ibn Taymiyya here we understand that to respect

the knowledge of the Four Imams is recommended and
that is why Ibn Taymiyya accepted them and took their
opinions. At the same time he was a mujhtahid and
therefore we, who are coming in the 20th Century are
accepting our Muslim scholars who came in the time of
the Tabi'een (i.e. the Four Imams) and those who came
later up to the time of Ibn Taymiyya and we are
accepting Ibn Taymiyya and those in his time. We are
quoting them, just as they have quoted each other.

We are stating here that we consider any disagreement

with us on a topic about which we refer to their
position as a disagreement with them and not with us.
Because we are only quoting what we learned
from them in their books, and which complies with the
Shari'ah and Sunnah. So if we are defining Tasawwuf
from the point of view of Ibn Taymiyya or other
scholars, then any decision one makes must be
rendered on their opinions. So we say: may Allah
protect us and make us students for such great Imams
and let us learn from them, because they derived their
knowledge from Quran and Sunnah of the Prophet
(s). From here one can go deeper and deeper into what
scholars said on this topic. Because this is a vast
science, for which reason we asked for more time to
define and explain that science. The Answers to the
Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Questions The remaining three
questions are:

4. Was our Prophet(saw) a Sufi? If yes, then please

give vivid evidences from the Quran and the Sunnah
only?

5. Did the Prophet(saw) practice Sufism or Tasawwuf?

If yes, then please give evidences from the Quran and
Sunnah only?

6. Did the Prophet(saw) tell/order or even recommend

this, meaning Sufism and Tasawwuf? If yes, then please
give us evidences from the Quran and Sunnah of the
Prophet(saw) only?

The fourth, fifth and sixth questions you asked, have

already been answered in our answers to the first
three questions. And as we know that our audience is
intellectual, we are sure they will immediately
understand that the fourth, fifth and sixth questions
have been answered in the responses to the first three
questions. Additionally, Mateen Siddiqui, in his
posting yesterday, examined the fourth question in
detail and gave an adequate reply to it.

We hope that we have given the reader and our dear

brother Shaikh Adly, the answer they expected,
although we were very brief in our answers. We had
originally intended to give each question a complete
and detailed answer. But due to the shortage of time,
due to the pushing of people from here and there, we
have curtailed our answer. This will show how vast a
subject Tasawwuf is, which now they have tried to
minimize in six questions.

And may Allah forgive us any mistakes we made as we

are simply human beings and we are asking that all our
brothers and sisters to extend their hands with our
hands together, as Allah ordered in the Holy
Quran:"hold fast altogether to the rope of Allah and
do not separate." (Aali-'Imraan, 103) Your brother in
Islam,

Shaikh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani

References

1. Majmu'a Fatawi Shaikh ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyya, Imam

Ibn Taymiyya, published in Egypt by Dar ar-Rahma,
1984. page 190, volume 11.

2. al-Mukhtasar al-Fatawa al-Masriyya, Imam Ibn

Taymiyya, published by al-Madani Publishing House,
1980, page 603.

3. [1], page 314 ,Tazkiyatun Nafs

4. 'Ilm as-Sulook [the Science of Travelling the Way
to God], volume 10 Majmu'a Fatawa Ibn Taymiyya , Imam
Ibn Taymiyya, page 516.

5. Majmu'a Fatawa Ibn Taymiyya, published by Dar

ar-Rahmat, Cairo, Vol, 11, Book of Tassuwuf, p. 497.
6. Majmu'a Fatawi Ibn Taymiyya, published by Dar
ar-Rahmat, Cairo,Book 2, volume 2, pages 396-397.