Tassawuff and Pink Islah

Asslamo Allaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh,

We were in the company of a Shaykh of Tassawuff and he was called out. As he exited, all the Mureeds stood up. He entered and the Mureeds stood up. He was called out again and the Mureeds stood up. As he entered for the second time the Mureeds stood up.

This annoyed the Shaykh to no end and he said, “What is wrong with you people? Do you have no regard for the Sunnah of Sayyidina Rasul-ullah (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam)? He (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam) forbade people to stand up like some people stand in courts of the kings of this world. When I die what will you do? Bury me and go around my grave every 40 days?”

He was so visibly annoyed that he cancelled the Majlis (and sat silently) and everyone had to apologize to him to calm him down.

In our times we are witnessing a phenomenon called “Shaykh worship” but is it the Shaykh or the Mureeds who have started this dark, horrible, despicable Bid’ah in the name of their Shaykh?

Tassawuff was meant to be nothing but Qur’aan and Sunnah, how did it get from Qur’aan or Sunnah to Shaykh worship?

The following story is based on true facts but has obviously been altered and satirised to make a point!

Khalid is an Indian IT student who has just arrived in Houston for his Phd. He has rented a room in Brother Abdullah’s apartment and this is their first exchange after Khalid’s arrival.

Khalid: Jazakullah brother, for renting me a room in your apartment. I am really Thankful to you

Abdullah: Ain’t no big thing brother. You needed a place and I had a spare room.

Khalid: Where is the Toilet?

Abdullah: Toilet??? O I see what you sayin! Walk straight down and to your right.

Khalid: Jazakullah

Abdullah: Don’t worry about it and take your time.

Khalid uses and then comes out with a strange look on his face.

Khalid: Brother, you have pink toilet paper in there?

Abdullah: O yeah! I spent sometime with my Shaykh in Helsinki, last year. That’s Finland you know and that Khaanqaah (you know the place where we did Dhik’r) all had pink toilet papers.

Khalid: So you are a Sufi?

Abdullah: Alhumdolillah! So I saw that Nur in the choice of Hazrat and now I only use pink toilet papers?

Khalid: Nur in pink toilet papers?

Abdullah: Brother, the Mashaykh make Istikahara before their choices and their choices are a source of guidance for us and there is hidden wisdom in their choices so we must follow it

Khalid: But pink toilet papers? I mean you are from Texas so don’t you find it a bit odd? Like feminine?

Abdullah: These things of femininity or gayness hold no value when the Shaykh makes his choices.

Khalid: Nur in pink toilet papers?

Abdullah: There is no Nur in pink toilet papers but Nur in the choices of Shaykh

Khalid: But there is no obligation for you to buy pink Toilet papers in Islam? Don’t you know that?

Abdullah: I know but the essence of Tassawuff is to follow the choice of Shaykh. The more you try to emulate your Shaykh in all his choices the closer you get to Shaykh and the more Faiz’ you receive. The key to getting closer to Allah (SWT) is getting closer to the Shaykh. Dressing like me, living like him and making the same choices as him.

Khalid: But I don’t see how using pink Toilet papers gets you to closer to Allah (SWT)?

Abdullah: That’s because you are not blessed with the love of Shaykh. This is called Fana Fil-Shaykh and it is a way to get to Fana Filllah. You lack the understanding of Tassawuff and the easiest path to get to Allah (SWT).

Khalid: Subhanullah! Your heart has been endowed with divine guidance and bestowed with wisdom. I never knew pink Toilet papers had so many blessings in them

Abdullah: It is all the favours of my Shaykh and your praise is nothing but his praise and these are drops of wisdom which I have taken from the ocean of wisdom which has been granted to him.

Khalid: Subhanullah! I will use pink toilet papers while I am here and will continue to use them while in India as they have been chosen by the Great Shaykh and you are right that we should stick to the choices made by our elders as they are a result of wisdom handed down to the hearts through generations of Islah...Masha’Allah .

8 Comments

User Invaildum wrote on 4 Nov 2013

Assalam Alaikum w.w.

Agree with the problem of extremities and ghuloo.. as seen in many efforts of deen and has been the concern for Ulema e Haq and Mashaikh..

I personally know and heard instances of many Mashaikh who punished their Mureedin for indulging in ghuloo.. just few years back Hazrat Mufti Saeed Ahmed saheb db of Pernambut (Tamil nadu state ,India)( Khalifa of Hazrat Maulana Shah Abrar ul Haq sahab (rah) ) cancelled the khilafat of a close Majaaz who was attached to him for about 20 yrs.. and many others along with him.. He sent a letter to the khalifa and his friends that they are barred from any further contact..

Reason.. one of the Mureedin of Hazrat Mufti saheb (db) began making his own 'innovative' halqa.. he started wearing a special type of Topi (cap) with some distinct embroidery .. and attributed it to Hazrat Mufti saheb db.. now this Halqa also followed suit wearing the special Topi.

( while Hazrat Mufti sahib db Never wore any such). They started their Taleem exactly at the same time when the Taleem of Tableeghi halqa was in progress, simply to create trouble. Hazrat Mufti sahab db was obviously kept in dark all along.. the matter worsened to such degree that an elder at the city Markaz had to caution the gathering from these people..

Now, those who had no idea about Tasawwuf took it the other way calling it whole matter as bid'ah.. while some took it in the sense that Akabir of Tableegh were anti Tasawwuf..

Infact the Shaikh who had addressed this gathering was himself a Shaikh of Tasawwuf and a revered Alim..

The moment Hazrat Mufti saheb db learnt of this.. he cancelled the Khilafat and bayat of all those involved.. Permanently banning them all from any future contact.

Such incidents where our Akabir have kept ghuloo in check are not new.. and is even common with the Mashaikh of the Past..

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala keep us always on the Siraat e Mustaqeem..Ameen..

wa Assalam..

Blogger's Reply:

Subhanullah!!!

Shaykha wrote on 4 Nov 2013

Weren't they quilted tissues?

Do they more Nur or less Nur?

A.M. wrote on 4 Nov 2013

I'm a Muslim and I never use toilet paper. So what is the shaikh and his colleagues doing with toilet paper?

islamqa.org/hanafi/mufti-online/21649...After relieving oneself, one must firstly do istibraa�. Isibraa� is to ensure that urine has completely expelled from the private part. One may use any method for this purpose that works for him and that he is accustomed to, such as: coughing, taking a few steps while holding some toilet paper to his private part, squeezing out the last drops of urine from the private part etc.

After doing istibraa�, one should properly clean one�s private parts. For this, it is best to use both toilet paper and water (firstly he should wipe with toilet paper then he should wash with water). Second best is to use only water. Third best is to only use toilet paper.

xs11ax wrote on 4 Nov 2013

salaam

isnt it a sunnah to cleanse oneself with several stones before washing - and toilet paper has replaced the stones in our times?

User Invalidum wrote on 5 Nov 2013

Assalam Alaikum..

The following are some admonishments from two of our recent great Mashaikh..

1.Shaikh-ut-Tafseer Hazrat Maulana Ahmed Ali lahori sahab (rah)in his book �Peer aur Mureed ke faraiz� writes on page.18.

" The Shirk in Mureedi:

If the Mureed believes the peer to be innocent from all errors and feels obligatory to unconditionally obey every order the peer gives even though it deviates from the Sunnah of Hazrat Sadiq wa Masduq Salallahu alaihi wasallam, then its shirk in Prophethood..

And if the Peer issues any command that opposes the order of the creator of both worlds..yet the person remains heedless to the command of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala complying with the orders of the Peer, then this is Shirk Billah..

In the former case the Mureed is Kafir and the latter he is Mushrik.. wa iyazu billah.."

2. The admonishment of Hazrat Shaikh ul Hadees Maulana Zakariyya sahab Nawwar Allahu Marqadahu.

Excerpt from �Maktubaat e Tasawwuf� compiled by his grandson Hazrat Maulana Muhammed Shahid sahab Saharanpuri db..page.23�

" Maktoob No.10

From Janaab Abdul Baari saheb.

In the service of Hazrat Aqdas Maulana wa Murshidna daam fuyuzum..

Assalam alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaat..

This lowly self is fine with the grace of Allah .. incidentally few couplets pertaining to my Haal dawned upon me which iam hereby presenting before you..

Bereft of any possessions... I have come empty handed...
Hungry and thirsty and yes, of rank poverty..

With the aid of your holy sanctuary only did I come..
Quench me, O master� with goblets filled with the wine of love..

Intoxicated in the slavery of (Hazrat) Muhammed (salallahu alaihi wasallam) have I come..
Attracted immensely to your god gifted beauty...

Believing there exists none akin to you in this period have I come..
Gift me with a thousand sorrows in place of happiness�

Seeker In the love of Muhammed (salallahu alaihi wasallam) have I come�
Efface away my Self from me o beloved of Allah..
Erase away my self and make me fana..for only this sake have I come..

Today while engaged in Dhikr, I felt a hand appear before me.. as if approaching for musafah..and it disappeared after a while.

After completion of salaah I felt two people sitting on either side of me..both bearing stark resemblance to you� clad in blue lungi.. blue kurta , bare headed and of medium height�

I complete my prayers and walk away and they too chose their direction and disappear.. faqat.

Reply..

Your couplets are disliked. Even though they appear to be free from shirk, they aren't devoid from the traces of shirk. Everything rests in the will of Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala). What power does anyone else have. Even this lowly self thrives on the Husn e dhan of you people.. living under the cover provided by the Lord most high. May Allah make your love a means of progress.

Hand from unseen (khawariq) etc.. are a matter of shukr and cause for concern too.. that sometimes there is also danger of shaytani influence.

And he finds such instances a perfect opportunity to hijack the Saalik. That�s the reason our Akabir restrict paying any attention to such issues.

The most beneficial and safe way is Ittiba e Sunnat.. such that wa in kuntum tuhibbunallah�ayat..is a guarantee of Mahbubiyat..

Answering natures call according to sunnah carries more virtue than many such mysterious phenomenon (khawariq), that it yields safe benefits..

Remember to be particular in the study of Shamail Tirmidhi.. and following sunnah in everything..as far as possible..

Do not burden yourself with anything exceeding your capacity.. do not write to me in the Month of Ramadhan..and remain particular of fazail�

(Hazrat Maulana) Muhammed Zakakariyya sahab mad�zillahu
22 sha�baan 1969 "

So it would be very wrong on anyones part to point fingers at our Akabir Deoband that they condoned ghuloo..

wa Assalam..

Striver wrote on 5 Nov 2013

Bhai Mu'adh, Please verify with a reputable Mufti whether your article is free from any mockery of Deen. I am not pointing a finger @ you. The reason for the request is so that I know whether to forward or not.

Asslamo Allaikum Brother, Before forwarding I advise you to get it verified and if the Ulamah disagree then don't forward it.

yusuul wrote on 11 Mar 2014

deobandis have alot of agendas and ideas inside and outside of tasawuf that does not conform to the ways and practice of rasulullah. and alot of procedures. theres no guarantee they won't be raised up on the day of judgement saying abaunal awalun. don't follow walis follow the prophet and the tasawuf of the sahaba. they will guide you correctly. it's not condition to believe or adhere to everything a wali tells u. if u think it is and you'll get kufred if u disobey then you're only oppressing yourself. we're only accountable shariah qur'an and sunnah, that's it. if u don't have illumination then don't mind what i'm saying and follow whatever those ppl tell u. some walis want control. some act like their superior because they have more knowledge. some will try to send u astray. be careful.

Following Walees who are conformant to Sunnah is part of Islam.

yusufulhas wrote on 11 Mar 2014

even if there is spiritual benefit in pink toilet paper the amount of time spent worrying about finding it deprives someone of actually getting closer to Allah through dhikr ashgal tilawat of quran muraqaba etc.

Rest of your comments are haphazard, lengthy and confusing. The gist of your comments is that a person should adhere to Qur'aan and Sunnah and not just trust people.

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