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Bismillahi ta'ala wassalatu wassalamu ala rahmatullil aalameen A Small Introduction to SufismWith the Knowledge and Power of Allah, the exalted, majestic, benevolent and merciful, I start this small step to let the world know what I have been learning and experiencing with the mercy of Allah, in Sufism. As Allah has destined by His mercy, I gave Bay'ath (testimony of truth) to my Sheikh (Religious Guide) (May Allah prolong his life and service to Islam). The Sheikh accepted me as a salik (seeker) in the Chisti-Qadhiri order, which is very prominent in India and Pakistan. Many people are giving many explanations on Sufism and some are even debating its very relevance in Islam. You can learn about what the different people say on Sufism, from the link pages I have given below. For the person who are questioning the relevance of Sufism in Islam, I would say, that either their understanding of Sufism or Islam is wrong. To this simple young man of 23, Sufism is love towards Allah; the love that could not be explained but only experienced. The love for Allah, as preached by the great Awliyas (Friends of Allah), should burn in our hearts, and it should burn our own self. Our very existence is from Him which Insha Allah, one can comprehend only with the help of the Faiz (blessing) of a Sheikh. My Sheikh uses to say one story, which would explain what Sufism is all about, Insha Allah. Three men were talking to each other and they were strictly following Islam. Suddenly, the talk about the Paradise came up. They started discussing who are all the people who would be entering paradise. The first person was very pleased with himself and his amals (actions) that he proclaimed, " Only if I go, anyone else can go inside Paradise." This statement angered the second one, as he thought that in no way was he inferior to the first person in following Islam. He said, "No, no, only if I go, anyone else can go inside paradise." The third person who was watching this said, "You both are correct. If only the 'I' (thought of the self) goes, you can enter paradise. Yes, the thought of the self, which some say as the ego or nafs, is our first enemy. And nafs always gives us our thought. Allah wants us to think of Him. Sufism is the way, which teaches us to think of Allah, so much that we should forget ourselves. Our Prophet (Peace be upon Him), who is the Habib of Allah, asked us to remember Allah, so much that others would start to call us as insane people. We hear of Rumi, Manzoor ibn Hallaj, Muhyaddeen Abdul Qadir, Khaja Muyinuddin, Amir Khusroe and praise their life and way of living but, what made them so great and so different from others. Insha Allah, we will try to sort them out but, one thing I want to underline is, Allah is our sustainer and in no way we are comparable to Him. Some in the name of Sufism, have gone astray by saying 'Everything is He', which is Ilhad (Kufr). May Allah, save us all from that. Allah is our Rabb and we are His slaves. And I would like to quote Sheikh Muhyaddeen Ibn Arabi and complete this starting page: "Al abdu abdun fa in taraka, ar Rabbu Rabbun fa in tanazzal" (A Slave is a slave, even if he reaches many peaks and the God is God, even if He comes down) (Allah never changes and He doesnot move up or down physically. Only people who know how Allah created His creations could understand the meaning of this verse) |