I just spoke to a Shaykh and a dear friend of mine on this forum and he got angry and he is very displeased with me.
He said that you should not write these things on public forum because people think that you are “Anti-Sufi†or “Anti-Tasawuff†when you are not so let’s discuss the matter and whatever I cannot answer, I will take it back to Mashaykh (Arab and Non-Arab) and get you answers from the Qur’aan and Sunnah.
Muadh, clearly state your positions in detail so I and all can understand publicly what you mean because I know that you don’t really mean what you are writing!
You state what you mean and put my comments on Muftisays.
I don’t believe that they are Bid’ah because the objective is to develop a relationship. An example of this would be that learning Qur’aan is the objective and the means to learn the Qur’aan can be through reciting Qaidah, learning through Skype, Youtube or in your local Masjid etc.
None of the means are considered Sunnah, they are Mubah (permissible).
We have no disagreement on the matter.
If we say that the standard of piety and Taqwa are dropping then how can we submit and follow everything from the Shaykh?
I mostly agree with you. There are 3 scenarios here:
The problem is that most people think that their Shaykh falls into category 3 when it is extremely extremely rare!
If we agree that the rituals and Adhkaar of the Tareeqas are not from the sahaba (although permissible) then why don’t we change it OR go back to the Sahabah?
In every other field we go back to the Sahaba.
The Adhkaar and rituals are changing and do change. When you go do Bay’t to Shaykh (Maulana) Saleem Dhorat Saheb (DB), will he ask you to recite 125,000 daily which is the recommendation of his SilSila?
But we have a problem. The problem is that most of the Mashaykh today are not “Mujtahids†in their Tareeqa, in fact they are not even experts so how can they make Ijtehaad and change the Adhkaar?
I recently met a well known Shaykh a few days ago. He told me about how he is giving permission to his Mureeds (in the Naqshbandi Taqreeqa) to mix Adhkaar from Chishti Silsila but I know his capabilities and I am concerned. I don’t think that he should be asking his Mureeds to do this. In order for him to recommend mixing and matching Naqshbandi and Chishti Silsilas he needs to be well versed and grounded in both Silsilas and know the depths of both.
So why don’t we go back to the Tasawuff of the Sahaba?
I agree!
The main pathway to Tazkiyah is the Qur’aan. Many of the Mashaykh (today) are going back to huge emphasis on the Qur’aan and daily set of recitation in it.
In fact, some Silsilas have nothing but the Qur’aan.
But how many Mashaykh are able to make that Ijtehaad and make changes? If you believe that standards have dropped among common Muslims, Ulama then what makes you think that the standards among Mashaykh have not dropped?
To me, the best is the way of Shah Waliullah (RA) which is the combination of Qur’aan, Hadeeth, Fiqh and Tassawuff, I don’t know anyone in the west and if you wish to find Mashaykh on that level you will have to travel. The closest I see in England is Shaykh (Maulana) Saleem Dhorat Saheb (DB).
What should common Muslims do?
You talk about "Sufi, Sufi"? What percentage of Muslims do you know who are Sufi? You put the blame of the entire world on Sufees in your post, tell me logically how can that be true? How can Sufees (which are less then 1%) do so much damage to the Muslim Ummah???
Tasawuff is alien to Muslims anyways. Common man or woman in the streets of London knows nothing about Tasawuff but they know Nauman Ali Khan etc.
Muadh Khan: Yes, that's what I am saying because the rituals of Tasawuff are from hundreds of years ago and alien to London in 2018 but Nauman Ali Khan is not alien.
Response: Yes, but Sunnah has become Alien! Nauman Ali Khan looks familiar because he dresses, acts like a common person while an Alim (following the Sunnah) is alien in the streets of London...
This answers many of the questions in theory.
So find a kaamil Shaykh in both Tariqat and Shariat which is extremely rare or have one who is kaamil in Tariqat and another who is kaamil in Shariat(whoch is what many do nowadays) This is doable and a good advice.
The only disagreement I have with you is about Britain. You can try writing and you will never get a response.
If you try to get an appointment to discuss matters privately, you will not get an opportunity.
If you discuss it in your community, you and your family will get boycotted and shunned.
If you discuss it with other Ulama, you will be hated, targeted, maligned and they will go out of their way to malign your credibility.
There is a reason why so many British Muslims anonymously write in blogs and forums, you hardly ever get anyone stating facts publicly.
I also have a feeling that someone leaks news and information to Haris Hamaam which he then posts on Facebook to bash Deobandees.
What you suggest is common sense but when that door is firmly shut in your face, people simply react in whichever way possible. If leaking to Haris Hamaam makes the news public (while protecting them and their families then so be it) although that strategy does more harm than good.
Sunnah advises us to highlight matters in a manner through which the other side can correct themselves. It is not bad news/information which is important but correction of these matters which is important. Leaking to Haris Hamaam (and this is just my guess) is counterproductive.
There are groups of people:
After nearly two decades of experience with British Muslims, I can tell you that British Deobandees cannot distinguish between the two groups.
If anyone wishes to follow the Qur'aan and the Sunnah there is no choice but to stick to Deobandi Ulama and Mashaykh (in general) throughout the world.
I have travelled extensively in the world and met many people across the world and there are exceptions to the rule but the general advice is to stick to Deobandi Ulama and Mashaykh.
People may argue and they may say X or Y but this is a fact.
The condition of (practise upon the Sunnah) of graduates of Deobandi Institutes is STILL far superior to others even in our era of decline!
This cannot be undone and I am sure it will be greatly appreciated.
Please wait...