The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and Sufism 

Sufism used to be a reality without a name. Now it's a name without a reality.

We should strictly stick to the sunnah of our prophet Muhammad ﷺ

Sufism has been a very misunderstood subject, both by its practitioners and critics. People don't get one simple thing: you CANNOT be a sufi if you break the shariah. Sufism's first and foremost focus is "Taqwa" and "tawakkul". And taqwa makes you go away from the sins. Even sahabas like Abdullah ibn Masood and Abu Dhar Ghifari were great sufis. Read about "ashaab e sufa and tasawwuf" to understand how sufism was practised at the time of the Prophet PBUH. Read the works of Hasan Basri, Junaid Baghdadi, Imam Nawawi, Imam Ghazali etc. They were all great sufis and are admired by the harshest of our "salafi" brother, without actually knowing that they were sufis. Also, you can read the works of Sheikh Ahmed Mujaddid Alf Thani. Sufism is not all about "dreams" and "dancing". No scholar of Islam will tell you that dreams can take the place of or be treated equal to Quran, Hadith or Ijma. Dreams are not a hujjah if it clashes, in any way, with the shariah. You know, if you really think about it, Allah balances the extreme "salafies" with the extreme "sufis" and vice versa. Now some people get to the extremes of making takfir of one another, which is very very wrong, but I think we all should take a middle path. There is basis for tasawwuf and we should do it according to the shariah. The famous hadith of "Islam, Iman and Ihsan" should be understood by deeply. Tasawwuf should be understood according to shariah. Tasawwuf is just a way, based on the shariah, to acquire the level of "Ihsan". Tasawwuf is just a way to develop your relationship with Allah. If it doesn't, then you are practicing the wrong sufism. And if you criticize developing relationship with Allah, then you are practicing the wrong Islam, because the Prophet PBUH was sent to us to make us know Allah, worship Him and work on getting closer to Him. May Allah protect us all from sectarianism. And may He show us all the right path and keep on it. Aameen.

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)said :"those of you who live after me will see great disagreement. You must then follow my sunnah and that of the rightly-guided caliphs. Hold to it and stick fast to it. Avoid novelties, for every novelty is an innovation, and every innovation is an error." Grade: Sahih (Al-Albani)

I was LITERALLY googling about sufism today just so that I could perhaps understand their practices. And then quite randomly 1 of my favourite RU-vidr (Paul) posted this video. 🤔

I have huge respect for both Authentic Sufi and Salafi tradition.

Many people think that Sufism is all about dancing in circles and such innovated practices. Yet, Sufism is wide spectrum of understandings and teaching which sometimes have internal disagreements. Many sufis object to the innovated practices of twirling around as means of worship. Many sufis denounce the practice of calling the awliya for prayer and many other innovated and shirkiyat. Also it’s known that Sufism has strand which has those attributes which are reprehensible. Sufism as long as it doesn’t contradict the Quran and sunnah with understanding of the early generations is acceptable. Sufism and asceticism( zuhd) has roots in Islam because one of the main aims of Islam is to instil the love of Akhira over the dunya and the love of Allah and his messenger over anything else and to live humbly without pride and arrogance.

Attacking Tasawuf by the Wahhabie cult is an attack on Islam As Tasawuf is the knowledge and practice of the third pillar of deen which is Ihsan (Islam, Iman and Ihsan)

Loving the camera and audio quality.

The problem with most of those Sufi orders is they claim to have found ways to get closer to The Creator, in ways Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh) never did. So they know better ways to worship and get closer to Allah than the Prophet (Pbuh) I have personal experiences with these types, they don't shy away from lying about dreams they supposedly had about you or the Prophet (Pbuh). They fool their followers into looking up to them and seeing them as spiritual leaders and intermediaries between them and Prophet Muhammad Pbuh and Allah. They claim to have knowledge of the unseen and so many other make believe. Beware those liars and innovators beloved

Two of the largest Islamic Empires were due to the affect of SufismThe Mughal and Ottoman. Those two empires kept stabilty and prevented the West from dominating those regions. Indonesia And Malaysia were introduced to Islam through Sufism.

Narrated Umar: I heard the Prophet (ﷺ) saying, "Do not exaggerate in praising me as the Christians praised the son of Mary, for I am only a Slave. So, call me the Slave of Allah and His Apostle." [Sahih al-Bukhari 3445] ... Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: He who did any act for which there is no sanction from our behalf, that is to be rejected.[Sahih Muslim 1718b]

The Imaam Muhammad bin Sireen said: «إِنَّ هَذَا العِلْمَ دِيْنٌ؛ فَانْظُرُواْ عَمَّنْ تَأخُذُوْنَ دِيْنَكُمْ». “Indeed this knowledge is the religion, so be careful with regards to the one whom you take your religion from” (أخرجه مسلم في مقدمة صحيحه).

SubhanAllah Alhamdulillah Walailahaillallah May Allah SWT guide those who reverted to Islam, to the true teaching of Islam and being an obedient Muslim, will grant them and all the Ummah with a place in Jannah. Aamiin

Traditional Sufism is simply a formalised methodology and science of the spiritual aspects of Islam, just like the many formalised sciences of the Quran and Fiqh which focus on different fields.

Thank you so much for posting this! The take-home message is that Sufism is based on a few weak Hadith and is the advent of people many years after the death of our beloved Prophet (peace be upon him). Their rituals and methods of worship have been created by people and not founded in the doctrines of the Quran and Sunnah.

Islam is what Allah has revealed in the Quran and Prophet Muhammad PBUH has taught us. Anything else is innovation in the religion. May Allah guide us to the true path.

I invite our sufi brothers to the Quran,authentic sunnah and teaching of the three generation rightly guided predecessors.

Badly titled video, not really about Sufism but shows what Paul thinks about it or his main problem with it; ie all about Muhammad in some Sufi understandings. But really, sufism is not centered on any of that and yes it has problems, but throughout the ages it has saved the soul of Islam; that of it being a mercy to the world. While its main opposition, the Salafi bend, has done the most damage between Muslims themselves and to others and done the most to promote hatred and exclusivism. Ibn 'Arabi is a very late and not even nearly universally accepted representative of Sufism. A good summary though by Dr. Brown, but flawed by its size and focus on the "Muhammadan Reality" though he has that right since his book is about Muhammad and not Sufism. Dr. Brown wasn't really writing about Sufism, so the title of this video is misleading. It should be called; "Muhammad IN (some) Sufism" Real Sufism isn't about doctrines or believes, let alone those centered on Muhammad or saints. It's core is the spiritual journey. It's core is about spiritual alchemy and transformation in the fight against oneself for God's sake. It is about the heart and soul and actions, not beliefs. And most of the comments, as always, are just unthinking reactions by people who don't know the topic in depth.

NOW you are obliged to discuss this with Shaykh Abdalhakim Murad, brother Paul 😀. The professor you quoted is not qualified to discard hadith. We have to go to the top Islamic scholars and you already have a previous communication with Shaykh Murad. It just happens that majority of the ulama and hadith scholars historically were actually sufis. It is hard to believe, it is actually impossible that the hadith and fiqh experts of this umma were allegedly basically wrong. It is important for the public to know that sufism was the official version for centuries and as such was marked for removal by the imperial powers. So please let us see you and Shaykh Murad in a wonderful conversation. Thanks and Allah swt be with you.

*Imam shafee* said: If a man practices sufism at the beginning of the day, noon does not come until he becomes a fool He also said: There is no one who stays as sufi for forty days who regains his mind

Oh dear! may Allah keep us on the straight path Ameen. 😊

I highly recommend you speak to someone qualified on the subject like shaykh Hamza Yusuf, shaykh nuh keller, shaykh Abdal hakim Murad or other traditional Sunni scholars whom can explain it. Tasawwuf (Sufism) most certainly has its place in Islam and is based solely on Quran and Sunnah If you see something claiming to be Sufism that does not conform to the Quran and sunnah, IT'S NOT SUFISM Simple

mashaAllah I always doubted sufism but never knew it was so misleading, I live in india and many muslims here have been lead astray by sufism visiting shrines and what not, may Allah protect us from such a fitnah. Another thing prophet Muhammad saw warned us about was that people will fabricate his hadiths and here we are witnessing this through sufism, may Allah give us the strength to seprate truth from falsehood ameen.

Sufism is a very wide spectrum, from Sunnah to Shirky acts. So better to stay on the Sunna side of course.

Prophet Muhammad(ﷺ) said: my Ummah will split into seventy-three sects. All of them are in the Fire Except one sect." He said: "And which is it O Messenger of Allah?" He said: "What I am upon and my Companions."

Did the prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and the female and male companions during his time and after him, dance around in long dresses like some these Sufi's do?

Orthodox Tassawuf (Sufism/Suffiya), is an integral science of Sunni Islam. Anyone who denies it is an innovator. The prophet PBUH came to purify the hearts aswell as the mind and soul.

"The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'Whoever tells lies about me deliberately, let him take his place in Hell."

In the Middle Ages, there was not a single Muslim scholar of any repute who did not have some affiliation with Sufism. This includes even Ibn Taymiyyah, beloved of the most vociferous anti-Sufis today.

Salam. Looking at some of the comments here, as well as some of the content from the video I feel the need to share some thoughts, so brothers and sisters be patient with me. Unfortunately, Sufism is actually one of the least understood topics in Islamic tradition. First of all, Sufism is a spectrum and it's a pretty wide one. The early muslim scholars define sufism as the tradition of "growing" or "purifying" and "taming" the Nafs "Tarbeyatul Nafs" or Tazkeyatul Nafs". We find this in Quran in Surah Al Shams where Allah took 11 consecutive oaths that those who Grow their nafs will succeed and those who don't will fail. There is also evidence starting with companions of RasoolAllah following his death who left everything to worship and seclude and focus on their self growth and spiritually and tame/purify their Nafs. With time, this thinking started to evolve towards a more mystic direction. Then innovations started to appear that contradicts the true essence of Islam. From praying to graves, to dancing and singing to drug abuse nowadays. The reality is that the true essence and definition of Sufism is nobel (according to early traditional scholars). There were great people that successfully combined both the pure Sufism approach as well as a Salaf way of thinking and jurisprudence like Imam Ibn Taymiya and Ibn Al Qayyem and many more (and you can see this in their writings). True Sufis don't identify as sufis. Today, if you ask many Muslims they will tell you that Sufism is un-islamic or they will define it as a mystic thing. Just because many people who "subscribe" to Sufism are not behaving within the Quran and Sunnah framework doesn't mean that Sufism in its totality is un-islamic. The same story btw applies to Salafism. It's a spectrum. I grew up with Sufis who follow a largely salafi way of thinking, and learned also from teachers who were salafi but had Sufi way of behaving, as in they took growing their Nafs and Purifying it really seriously. My advice to myself and to everyone to not judge any school of thought in its totality whatsoever. Islam (Sunni) has many schools of thoughts that have right and wrong, good and bad. and they often feed into each other because their thinkers and scholars were students of each other and respected each other. Our role as Muslims is to continue to educate ourselves, have an open mind, and understand that Allah's deen and word is infinite with wisdom and knowledge. It pains me when I meet Muslims who just assume they are guided and who behave like they know it all. If we are always guided, Allah would have not asked us to seek guidance in Fatiha during salah 17 times a day. If our good deeds are automatically accepted, Ibraheem peace be upon him would have not asked Allah to accept his deeds after building the Kaaba (Surah 2: 127). We should also be very careful badmouthing scholars or approaches and learn Adab and manners when discussing topics so we don't end up saying something that we will regret on the day of judgement. and finally, we should stay humble and recognize that we don't know enough and avoid speaking without knowledge. May Allah raise us all in knowledge and ranks and enable us to distinguish between right and wrong, and bring our hearts together.

The past two decades have witnessed a reemergence of Sufism in the Gulf states. The phenomenon may be understood, in part, as a reaction to the extremism of “Salafi jihadism”: Gulf states opposed to the extremist strand have begun to welcome Sufi scholars from other Muslim countries and enabled them to spread Sufism through teaching, publishing, and media. Platforms they have been granted include some moderate Islamic television channels. In essence, Gulf leaderships have sought in Sufism a means to confront fundamentalism and “political Islam.” Sufi orders present in the Gulf states include the Qadiri, Naqshbandi, Rifa’i, Mirghani, Alawi, and Shazili. The UAE has opened its doors to the movement of Yemeni Sufi cleric Ali al-Jifri, who has in turn founded the “Tabah foundation” in Abu Dhabi. Meanwhile, some Emirati scholars have begun to explore and spotlight the history of Sufism in their own region. Emirati researcher Rashed Ahmed Al-Jumairi, for example, has published the study “Sufism in Dubai, from Al-Afghani to Abd al-Rahim al-Murid.” It was published in 2011 as part of the Al-Mesbar Center’s book Sufism in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf. G.G. Lorimer, an admired twentieth century scholar of the Gulf’s history and geography, stated in his book Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf: Oman and Central Arabia that there were no Sufis in the area. The reasons he formed this erroneous impression may have included the paucity of Sufi content in local manuscripts as well as that of foreigners’ writings in English, Portuguese, and Dutch about the religious composition of the coast of Oman and what is now the UAE. Al-Jumairi has begun to correct the historical record. He has traced the historical presence of Sufism in the UAE, with specific intention to the practice in the region of “Seer” (now the emirate of Ra’s al-Khaima). He studied the lives of three Sufi figures in the area. The first, Sheikh Abderrahim Al-Marid, who lived in Dubai and died in 2007 at the age of 95; shared memories of the second, his father, Sufi cleric Abdullah Al-Marid; and a third, Sayyed Mohammad Omar Al-Afghani. In fact, the roots of Sufism in the UAE and Oman’s coast go back 300 years to pre-modern Seer, to which Sufis migrated from the Yemeni region of Hadramout. They hailed from the Sufi Alawite Hadadi order. An antique indigenous manuscript in the UAE which Jumairi also located traces another source of local Sufism: eighteenth-century southeastern Arabia. The manuscripts Yemeni author, Alawi Bin Ahmad Bin Hassan Al-Hadad, described his memories and the virtues of his late grandfather, who led the order. The text notes the deep-running ties between the order and the Qasemi clan, which now rules Ra’s al-Khaima; as well as the tribe of Al-Zuaabi. Sufism grew weak, however, with the rise of Sheikh Mohammad Bin Abdul Wahhab’s hardline ideology alongside the expansion of the first Saudi state. Saudi forces encircled Seer and forced its inhabitants to follow the Wahhabi school and destroy their Sufi shrines. As a result, the Hadadi order disappeared from the area, and only a few descendants of the founder remained - in present-day Bahrain and the UAE. Sufism reemerged again on the territory of the present-day UAE in the late nineteenth century - brought to the area by an Afghani immigrant, Al-Sayed Mohammad Omar Al-Afghani, who had studied at Al-Azhar in Cairo. He made his way to Abu Dhabi, where he served as a religious teacher and mosque Imam; and later Dubai. In the latter he found an especially welcoming environment: Locals adhered to the Maliki school of Sunni Islam, which, unlike the Hanbali school and its Wahhabi Salafi offshoots, does not reject Sufism or its ritual practices. Though a Hanbali minority in Dubai - and a larger number in neighboring Sharjah - considered Al-Afghani a heretic, the ruler of Dubai at the time, Sheikh Hashr Al-Maktoum, adopted his Sufism and treated him well. Sheikh Said Bin Maktoum Bin Hashr is even remembered to have attending the Sufi ritual of Zikr and celebrated Al-Mawlid al-Nabawi. After the death of Al-Sayed Al-Afghani in August 1916, he was succeeded in local Sufi leadership by Sheikh Abdullah Al-Marid who grafted elements of the Rifa’i order onto the teachings of the Qadiri order Al-Afghani brought to Dubai. The Rifa’i Order takes its name from Ahmad al-Rifai (1106-82), a Shafi’i legal scholar and mystic from the marshlands of southern Iraq. He was a contemporary of Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani (d. 1166), the eponymous founder of the Qadiri Sufi Order. Sheikh Al-Marid died in the late 1960s, and his son Abd al-Rahim succeeded him. After the death of Sheikh Abd al-Rahim in 2007, indigenous Emirati Sufism receded due to a schism between his followers as to who should succeed him. Today, some follow Omani Sufi cleric Hamdan Al-Ma’amari, a disciple of Sheikh Abd al-Rahim. Others follow the leadership of Dubai’s Bin Hmaydan family. mesbar.org/the-return-of-sufism-to-the-uae/

Sheikh Hamza Yusuf said something very interesting once. He said, paraphrasing: one way to tell if you have got your Islam along the right track is if when you speak to a salafi they think you are a sufi, and when you speak to a sufi they think you are a salafi. I like that.

"In Ibn Khaldun’s words, the content of Tasawwuf, "total dedication to Allah Most High," was, "the general rule among the Companions of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) and the early Muslims." So if the word did not exist in earliest times, we should not forget that this is also the case with many other Islamic disciplines, such as tafsir, ‘Qur'anic exegesis,’ or ‘ilm al-jarh wa ta‘dil, ‘the science of the positive and negative factors that affect hadith narrators acceptability,’ or ‘ilm al-tawhid, the science of belief in Islamic tenets of faith,’ all of which proved to be of the utmost importance to the correct preservation and transmission of the religion." - Shaykh Nuh Keller, The Place of Tasawwuf in Traditional Islam "Even Ibn Taymiyya (whose views on Sufism remain strangely unfamiliar even to those for whom he is their "Sheikh of Islam") devoted volumes ten and eleven of his Majmu al-fatawa to Sufism, while his student Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya wrote his three-volume Madarij al-salikin as a detailedcommentary on Abdullah al-Ansaris Manazil al-sairin, a guide to the maqamat or "spiritual stations" of the Sufi path. These and many other Muslim scholars knew firsthand the value of Sufism as an ancillary shari'a discipline needed to purify the heart, and this was the reason that the Umma as a whole did not judge Sufism to be a bid'a down through the ages of Islamic civilization, but rather recognized it as the science of ikhlas or sincerity, so urgently needed by every Muslim on "a day when wealth will not avail, nor sons, but only him who brings Allah a sound heart" (Qur'an 26:88)." - Shaykh Nuh Keller, How would you respond to the Claim that Sufism is bid'a?

The idea of elevating spirtuality is indeed an important aspect of Islam and maybe some lessons in this regard can be learnt from mysticism, this does not necessitate that someone be seriously invloved in organized sufism and/or accept all of its practices. Moderation is key in the light of Quran and Sunna. Nontheless no one can deny that objectively understanding Sufism is essential to complete the picture of modern day Islamic theolegy. Thank you brother Paul 🌹

Let's Talk Religion has done some excellent videos on Sufism (and lots of other religion based topics)

Fascinating! Regarding some of the 'unreliable' Ahadith by the author can be easily settled with a conversation with Professor Shaykh Abdul Hakim Murad.

Ihsaan is part of the deen and gives us guidelines towards connecting with Allah. You can call it Tazkiyah or Tasawuf, different names for the same thing. If you're a Sufi who breaks the Sharia, you are a goofy Sufi. People are not willing to acknowledge that goofy sufis exist. While the biggest criticisms of goofy Sufis have been done by Sufis themselves. The Whirling Dervishes of Turkey innovated and ascribed their practice to Rumi, while he never taught such a thing. Such people and their ridiculous practices are unfortunately the spotlight image people have of Sufism today.

Sufism is a existential reality and no body can deny it if anybody is going to deny it then wait for the judgement day to find out the wisdom behind the sufism........

It should be noted that hadith of the Prophet mentioning his creation in light "12000 years before the creation of Adam" is also within the Shia hadith corpus and is considered as reliable

True Sufism is a part of Islam, it is the inward aspect, the purification of the heart from bad qualities such as envy, arrogance, etc. It is, as the Prophet Muhammad says in a very long hadith: “Excellence is to worship Allah as if you see Him, for if you do not see Him, He surely sees you.” However, there can be no Sufism without Sharia, there has to be a balance between the inward and the outward. True Sufis do not separate and they stick to the Quran and the Sunnah. As for practices such as Dhikrs etc. there is nothing wrong with this as long as one doesn´t fall into attaching more importance to the Shuyukh than to the actual Deen of Islam, and of course the best of Allah´s creation, the Noble Prophet, Muhammad, peace be upon him. And Allah knows best.

The Abbasid caliphs made a mistake when they ordered the translation of the books of the Greek philosophers and the books of the Indians, because behind the translation many Muslims were influenced by their ideas and introduced to Islam the beliefs of atheistic philosophers and pagan beliefs and established groups such as the Ash'aris, the Sufis, the Druze, the Nusayris, the Qarmatians, and the Ismailis. In the past, Sufism followed the Qur’an and the Sunnah, but today it is a misguided group that believes that the Qur’an is created and that God is nothing, and believes in the incarnation of the souls of the prophets. They have beliefs that keep them away from belief in monotheism.

Sufyan Al Thawri once stated: "There are two kinds of Zuhd: Obligatory Zuhd and voluntary Zuhd. The former requires from you that you abandon pride, haughtiness, and arrogance; that you avoid doing deeds for show; that you stop trying to gain fame; and that you desist from adorning your deeds for other people. The latter involves forsaking the lawful things that Allah gave you. If you forsake some of the lawful things He gave you, it becomes obligatory upon you not to return to those lawful things unless you do so for the sake of Allah"

The quality of the camera is better than that of the previous videos.

So many najdis here burning with the hate of the Sufis

Beautiful video uncle Paul

the problem of sufies is that they aren't just spiritual, they also want all the bells and whistle of kaffir spirituality, like those women that collect different types of stones and think they have different effects. they do things that allah never prescribed and neither did the prophet do, they look into grey areas twist them and then fit them into their own innovations. nobody is saying that thiker is bad or if you want to like up in a mountain all your like only doing thiker and prayer to Allah, the problem is when they start inserting things that are clearly un Islamic like certain dances. they insert things that were clearly forbidden by the prophet like taking certain "signs" as negative. some of their "saints" start saying tha they hold certain powers that allah gave them that is unknown to everyone else (they ar basically saying hey got inspiration directly from allah of the unknown) or that they can do miracles so on and so forth. then when those people die, many have shrines built and their followers do pilligrams to those places, they still exist in large quantities in asia btw. of course their followers will excuse this as saying they aren't doing this, it's through the power of Allah, but then what they really mean is that those people have great power in virtue that they are above others and that's why allah choose them above others to do miracles, that's still not "it's not me it's through the power of Allah" yes their have been people cross the ages before the prophet Mohammad peace be upon him who Allah has supported in miraculous ways, some even as ayat, you still don't do tawassul to them nor what they did at the time couldn't be done by others. anyway, follow what the prophet did, or are you saying you can be more spiritual that the prophet peace and blessing be upon him?

an-Nisa’ 4:48 verily, Allah forgives not that partners should be set up with him in worship, but He forgives except that (anything else) to whom He pleases, and whoever sets up partners with Allah in worship, he has indeed invented a tremendous sin”

The goal of Sufism is to reach a state of total obedience and servitude to God. A Sufi should not let himself be annihilated in God, that means he failed because he's still ignorant. The “annihilation” that proper Sufis refer to is the disappearance of blameworthy qualities, not the disappearance self-consciousness. When they say "make yourself die" or "kill yourself", they refer to the lower-self or animal-self, i.e. the blameworthy qualities. That's why it's very important to learn theology first before going into Sufism to avoid any misunderstanding. A very important note is about the little part on Ibn Arabi. Ibn Arabi is not a proper Sufi. The great Sufi Imams never teach his books because it's full of theological violations. God is real and the world is real. God is eternal and the world is not eternal. The Prophet's essence is not timeless. The Prophet pbuh is indeed the greatest creature created by God, but he is not a reflection of God. He is God's slave and messenger. God is fully dominant over us, but He is not literally us. Ibn Arabi did not follow Sunni theology. He didn't even follow Sunni Fiqh. To be a proper Sufi, you must not deviate from Ash'ari or Maturidi creed, and you must strictly follow a school of Fiqh: Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, or Hanbali. Only very few people follow Ibn Arabi, they're called Akbaris. Scholars did not attack him because they assumed that the things he wrote were fabrications. Muslim scholars always try to think good of others. However, recently, it has been confirmed that these are not fabrications. This has been confirmed by the leading Ash'ari Imam of our age, Sheikh Saeed Foda. Now Sufis in the middle east are gradually telling people to avoid Ibn Arabi. It will take a long time until this information reaches western scholarship. So, if you want to read Sufi books, please read standard books by Theologians and Jurists, such as: al-Qushayri, al-Junayd, al-Ghazali, Fakh al-Razi, Ibn 'Ata illah, Ibn 'Agiba, al-Nawawi, al-Dardir, al-Bayjuri, Yunis Emra, Rumi, Birgivi, etc.

Thanks for keeping Islam pure , by dispelling myth😍

*It is Important to note that Prophet used to meditate in Cave Hira; and during that meditation, Wahi of Quran started to descend. This is very important point, but Theocratic Mullahs do not understand it*

ibn arabi's philosophical theology cant be understood unless one understands the kalam tradition specifically the ashari tradition.

I’m sorry Paul .he doesn’t sound or speak like professor of Islamic studies. His good at creating doubts for sure.

Sufism means love every creature and creation of your Khaliq like Prophet Mohammed SAW; however, Salafisum, hate and war against everybody whoever don’t agree with you even though they are your brothers of faith.

35:13-14 He merges the night into the day (i.e. the decrease in the hours of the night is added to the hours of the day), and He merges the day into the night (i.e. the decrease in the hours of the day is added to the hours of the night). And He has subjected the sun and the moon: each runs its course for a term appointed. Such is Allâh, your Lord; His is the kingdom. And those, whom you invoke or call upon instead of Him, own not even a Qitmîr (the thin membrane over the date-stone). If you invoke (or call upon) them, they hear not your call; and if (in case) they were to hear, they could not grant it (your request) to you. And on the Day of Resurrection, they will disown your worshipping them. And none can inform you (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) like Him Who is the All-Knower (of everything).

Imam Abu Hanifa (81-d.150 H) Imam Abu Hanifa (r) (85 H.-150 H) said, "If it were not for two years, I would have perished. For two years I accompanied Sayyidina Jafar as-Sadiq and I acquired the spiritual knowledge that made me a knower in the Way." The book Ad-Durr al-Mukhtar, vol 1. p. 43, mentions that Ibn Abideen said, "Abi Ali Dakkak, one of the sufi saints, received his path from Abul Qassim an-Nasarabadi, who received it from ash-Shibli, who received it from Sariyy as-Saqati who received it from Maruf al-Karkhi, who received it from Dawad at-Ta'i, who received the knowledge, both the external and the internal, from the Imam Abu Hanifa (r), who was supporting the Sufi Spiritual Path." The Imam said before he died: lawla sanatan lahalaka Numan, "Were it not for a certain two years, Numan [i.e. myself] would have perished." There were the last two years of his life, when he began accompanying Jafar as-Sadiq.(d.148H) -- Imam Malik (94-d.179 H) Imam Malik (r) said, "Whoever studies jurisprudence [fiqh] and didn't study Sufism (tasawwuf) will be corrupted; and whoever studied tasawwuf and didn't study fiqh will become a heretic; and whoever combined both will be reach the Truth." This saying is mentioned and explained in the book of the scholar 'Ali al-Adawi with the explanation of Imam Abil-Hassan, a scholar of fiqh, vol. 2, p. 195. -- Imam Shafii (150-d.205 H) Imam Shafii (r) said, "I accompanied the Sufi people and I received from them three knowledges: 1. they taught me how to speak 2. they taught me how to treat people with leniency and a soft heart. 3. they guided me in the ways of Sufism." This is mentioned in the books, Kashf al-Khafa and Muzid al-Albas, by Imam 'Ajluni, vol. 1, p. 341. -- Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal (164-d.241 H) Imam Ahmad (r) said, advising his son, "O my son, you have to sit with the People of Sufism, because they are like a fountain of knowledge and they keep the Remembrance of Allah in their hearts. They are the ascetics and they have the most spiritual power." This is explained in the book Tanwir al-Qulub, p. 405, by Shaikh Amin al-Kurdi. Imam Ahmad said about the Sufis, as mentioned in the book Ghiza al-Albab, vol. 1, p. 120, "I don't know any people better than them." salafiaqeedah.blogspot.com/2016/02/just-wool-and-nothing-else.html?m=0

Narrated Anas: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Whoever has seen me in a dream, then no doubt, he has seen me, for satan cannot imitate my shape. Reference : Sahih al-Bukhari 6994 In-book reference : Book 91, Hadith 13 USC-MSA web (English) reference : Vol. 9, Book 87, Hadith 123 (deprecated numbering scheme) Quran 3 103. And hold fast, all of you together, to the Rope of Allah (i.e. this Qur'an), and be not divided among yourselves, and remember Allah's Favour on you, for you were enemies one to another but He joined your hearts together, so that, by His Grace, you became brethren (in Islamic Faith), and you were on the brink of a pit of Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus Allah makes His Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.,) clear to you, that you may be guided. 104. Let there arise out of you a group of people inviting to all that is good (Islam), enjoining Al-Ma'ruf (i.e. Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam orders one to do) and forbidding Al-Munkar (polytheism and disbelief and all that Islam has forbidden). And it is they who are the successful. 105. And be not as those who divided and differed among themselves after the clear proofs had come to them. It is they for whom there is an awful torment. 106. On the Day (i.e. the Day of Resurrection) when some faces will become white and some faces will become black; as for those whose faces will become black (to them will be said): "Did you reject Faith after accepting it? Then taste the torment (in Hell) for rejecting Faith." 107. And for those whose faces will become white, they will be in Allah's Mercy (Paradise), therein they shall dwell forever. 108. These are the Verses of Allah: We recite them to you (O Muhammad) in truth, and Allah wills no injustice to the 'Alamin (mankind and jinns). 109. And to Allah belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth. And all matters go back (for decision) to Allah. 110. You [true believers in Islamic Monotheism, and real followers of Prophet Muhammad and his Sunnah (legal ways, etc.)] are the best of peoples ever raised up for mankind; you enjoin Al-Ma'ruf (i.e. Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam has ordained) and forbid Al-Munkar (polytheism, disbelief and all that Islam has forbidden), and you believe in Allah. And had the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) believed, it would have been better for them; among them are some who have faith, but most of them are Al-Fasiqun (disobedient to Allah - and rebellious against Allah's Command). As Salam wa alaikum Stick To Quran And Sunnah

Allah SWT said to the Angels, " I will create a VICEGERENT on the earth" Surah Baqarah- referring to Adam AS (and his progeny). This should give us an indication of what Allah SWT expects from us. At the same time addressing the concerns raised by the Angels in the next verse. "Will thou place One who will cause fasaad ( spread mischief/ corruption) and spill blood?" We are expected to live on the earth in harmony with the environment other creatures and ourselves. Use our resources sustainably, preserve our planet and care for the social welfare of the people around us while enforcing justice. But Alas, as human beings, we have failed on all counts.

Prophet Muhammad has nothing to do with Sufism.

Just pointing this out, there is 2 points for the deed to be accepted. 1. It has to be with complete sincerity towards Allah. 2. It has to be in the way of the prophet. We don't worship awlya, we don't worship the prophet, we don't worship scholars...

We know from a hadith that beautiful dreams are from Allah and one does not have to be a saint to experience it. I know a woman who had a beautiful dream before she started wearing hijab. She said it was the most beautiful thing ever happened to her. Seeing the prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in a dream can happen to many people. I have a cousin who saw him (peace be upon him) twice even though he is not a saint or something like that. Just a very pious person ma sha Allah. I also know a girl who saw him (peace be upon him) in a dream when she started learning about Islam and she started wearing hijab soon ma sha Allah. Nothing to do with sufism. May Allah guide us to the right path.

The word "mystic", that you read many times, implies that there is something in Sufism that has to be "hidden", secret, a mystery. And Sufism is based upon this hidden knowledge, that must be kept secret and known only by a few "initiés"... Is it what Islam is about ?

Sofisim=worshiping the graves= asking the deads for help= seeking help from jinn... And to put sufisim in a few words it is pagan Islam

Imam Gajjali r, going through all sects existed at his time and found Sufism is best to follow. In the quest of God through Muhammadan SAW reality. It hard to find a good teacher spiritual teacher specially in a state where I belong Assam a north eastern state of India. Thank you Sir for the chicken soup for soul all your work MasaAllah I have no words to thanking you for your great service for the Haq the truth truth shell prevail.

Sufisim, is 1. getting new laws and legislations from the prophet puh via dreams 2. Building a aqeedah based on weak hadiths. 3. Magnifying innovations created by enemies of Islam, like the mawlid made up by the Fatimids.

Imam Ahmed Ibn Hanbal was a Sufie Even Ibn Taymiyaah was barried in Sufies grave yard that is Waqf to only Sufies to barried there

There are no mysteries in the lives of Rasulullah shalallahu’alaihiwslm,,,, everything is bright and open to anyone.

The First God's creation was The Light named Muhammad a.k.a noor Muhammad It is related that Jabir ibn `Abd Allah said to the Prophet : "O Messenger of Allah, may my father and mother be sacrificed for you, tell me of the first thing Allah created before all things." He said: "O Jabir, the first thing Allah created was the light of your Prophet from His light, and that light remained (lit. "turned") in the midst of His Power for as long as He wished, and there was not, at that time, a Tablet or a Pen or a Paradise or a Fire or an angel or a heaven or an earth. And when Allah wished to create creation, he divided that Light into four parts and from the first made the Pen, from the second the Tablet, from the third the Throne, [and from the fourth everything else]." Bakri (Sayyid Abu al-Hasan Ahmad ibn `Abd Allah) in his book al-Anwar fi mawlid an-nabi Muhammad `alayhi as-salatu wa salam (p. 5 of the Najaf edition) cites the following hadith from `Ali: "Allah was and there was nothing with Him, and the first thing which He created was the light of His Beloved, before He created water, or the Throne(Arsy), or the Footstool(Kursi), or the Tablet, or the Pen, or Paradise, or the Fire, or the Veils and the Clouds, or Adam and Eve, by four thousand years." Let's see what the bible said : The first God's creation was The Light at the first day (Genesis 1 : 3-5) Then He created the sky at the second day (Genesis 1 :6-8) Then the land at the third day (Genesis 1 : 9-13) In day fourth, God created the stars and the sun, so there's the daylight for the first time (Genesis 1 : 14-19) Other bible verse about noor muhammad : Proverbs 8 : 22 Good News Translation "The LORD created me first of all, the first of his works, long ago. biblehub.com/proverbs/8-22.htm

An important characteristic of Sufism is the belief in the superiority of the so-called "experience of the soul" (a kind of divine inspiration or revelation) over logical thinking, that leads Sufis to deviate away from Islamic scientific methodologies and theories because they are the product of logical thinking and human activity of the scholars, that is mostly clear in Ibn Arabi's legacy, for example when he says about a hadith: "It is not reliable from the perspective of hadith scholars but the people of inspiration/revelation (called "Kashf" in Arabic) know it to be correct." Which is complete nonsense from the perspective of hadith methodology. It's also pretty clear by examining how Sufis come up sometimes with such weak and illogical arguments in their defense of Sufi figures instead of simply admitting that they were wrong according to the very methodology of Islamic scholarship. That aforementioned belief isn't trivial but a deep epistemological difference.

Thanks for providing a balanced view

Sufism has nothing to do with islam and prophet (P.B.U.H),it just maligned the true and authentic religion of God Almighty. As Al-Quran says "And do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge. Indeed, the hearing, the sight and the heart - about all those [one] will be questioned."(Chapter 17: verse 36) Prophet also denied sufi practices categorically:Sahih Bukhari 5063 "Narrated Anas bin Malik: A group of three men came to the houses of the wives of the Prophet asking how the Prophet worshipped (Allah), and when they were informed about that, they considered their worship insufficient and said, Where are we from the Prophet as his past and future sins have been forgiven. Then one of them said, I will offer the prayer throughout the night forever. The other said, I will fast throughout the year and will not break my fast. The third said, I will keep away from the women and will not marry forever. Allah's Apostle came to them and said, Are you the same people who said so-and-so? By Allah, I am more submissive to Allah and more afraid of Him than you; yet I fast and break my fast, I do sleep and I also marry women. So he who does not follow my tradition in religion, is not from me (not one of my followers)."

Here everyone will have their 2 cents on their interpretation of Sufism 😀

This topic will be greatly explained by sheikh hamza yusuf.

Sufism is an innovation and Bid'ah. Simple fact is that, no one from the prophet Muhammad ﷺ, Sahabah, Salaf and the Tabi'en were Sufis.

Some Sufis say the can meet the prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم in real life (not in dreams) in this age 😂 Can you believe that?!

Religious or spiritual life offers three fundamental paths, which correspond to as many human temperaments: 1) the station of fear of God [makhāfah] (ie. the path of action, works,self-discipline,repentance ... ) 2) the station of love,devotion [mahabbah] (patience ,generosity... ); and 3) the station of gnosis [ma`rifah]; The first two are dualistic and exoteric, and are based on revelation, whereas the path of knowledge is monistic and esoteric, and based on intellect,supported by revelation.Just as the path of love cannot do without good works and reverential fear, so the esoteric or metaphysical path cannot exclude the two other modes

Subhanallah; what Ibn Al-arabi and his forks claim about Prophet Mohammed is so similar to what the Christians claim about Jesus. That both of them pre-existed before they walked on earth. Basically, they are attributing some sort of divinity to them. That they are not marely human but more than a human; rather a lesser God. Athubillah.

The problem with sufism is that they transform a probable explanation of existence into practice without scripture backing it. Although monism exists before sufism in Hinduism but i don't deny it or accept it because there can be another explanation. And in the quran god clearly condemn following conjectures. Let's talk channel made a good explanation of ibn arabi's thought.

Sufiism Is very broad, and cannot be defined simply I

Within the Sunni tradition, we have a concept of Ma'rifa. It is somewhat the counterpart of Sariah. For example: Phophethood of Musa (pbuh) is Sariah, while knowledge of Khidir (pbuh) is Ma'rifa. One if can reach the Ma'rifa state, has a completely different understanding of reality and has a very special relationship with Allah that may transcend our known religious boundary!

Salam everyone. Nice topic. Paul, since the last time when you invited a Sufi guy discussing "futawa" or something like this, I tried to read more before I make a judgement, for the sake of the principle of not judging before knowing. So I grabbed the book THE BOOK OF SUFI CHIVALRY FUTUWWAH. Unfortunately it's not quite good to my taste. Too much saints and kind of what feels and looks idolatrous to my sense, be it or not at least for me personally. At this point, I would qualifying this theory as innovative, and departing from the tradition. So I can't recommend all of this to anyone, even if of course I'll refrain of taking this as a motive of division with the Sufi brothers. Anyway again I'm not a man of science, and it's just my humble point of view.

Many scholars past and present denounced Ibn Arabi as a kaafir including Ibn Taymiyah please don't be deceived may Allah guide us all

Ibn Arabi is more like a Hindu, not a Muslim

اللهم صل وسلم على سيدنا ومولانا محمد عبدك ورسولك النبي الأمي وعلى آله وصحبه وسلم

Hello brother Paul. I know a lot of ulama, some of them my sheikhs, though not many speak fluent English. I may be able to arrange an interview on this essential topic (or others). Also, if you allow me to elaborate more on the topic. What Dr. Brown mentions of Ibn Arabi's thought is actually mostly basic Sufi knowledge one acquires in traditional learning. Ibn Arabi's unique ideas are very few, if even. What is Sufism? Sufism is simple the cumulative tradition of the teachings of our beloved Prophet (pbuh) associated with Spirituality, the same way Fiqh (Law/Ethics) is the cumulative tradition of his teachings regarding morality, & Kalam (Theology) is the tradition about his teachings regarding rationality. That, according to the three dimensions of the faith, Islam = the moral dimension of the body, Iman = the rational dimension of the mind, & Ihsan = the spiritual dimension of the soul. In the time of the Sahaba, the legacy of our beloved Prophet (pbuh) was called Sunnah. After, in the formative period in the 8th-9th century during the time of the great imams, the Sunnah crystalized into three traditions: 1. Fiqh Akbar (major Fiqh), later known as Kalam (aka 'Aqa'id, Usul...) = concerning teachings on theology & doctrine, first formalized by the early Imams like Abu Hanifa. Then a century later by Imam Ahmad, Imam Ash'ari, Imam Maturidi & Imam Tahawi, whose schools of thought persist until today. 2. Fiqh Asghar (minor Fiqh) called just Fiqh (aka Furu', Ahkam, Sunan...) = concerning teachings on action & deeds, formalized by the founders of the Four Madhhabs, whose schools of thought extant today. 3. Tasawwuf (Sufism) also called Suluk (aka Tazkia, Akhlaq, Raqayiq...) = concerning teachings about intentions & spirituality, promoted by great saints such as Hasan Basri, Ibrahim Ibn Adham, Rabia & formalized by al-Muhasibi & his student Imam Junaid, whose schools of thought is mainstream today. For instance, the most widely taught Matn (standard teaching text) in the tradition is Matn Ibn Ashir, which include three sections: Usul (theology, doctrine), Furu (morality, actions..), & Suluk (mysticism & spirituality). All great ulama of our great tradition were Sufi without exception. I mean by great scholars those who have Isnad (chain of authority to advise & judge) going back to the beloved Prophet (pbuh), for inheriting the Prophet (pbuh) includes all dimensions of his teachings. Though, is it true that Islamic scholars without Isnad indeed are not Sufi, or are fake Sufi, such as Shia or Mutazilites or today's Salafis. As to Ibn Arabi, there are two major authentic schools of Tasawwuf (Sufism): the mainstream Sunni Sufism, according to the school of Imam Junaid, & the very minority other (also Sunni) trend, according to Bastami. What's the difference? - Not much, except the former are strict followers of the Sunni traditions in Sharia (morality & rationality) -in fact its leaders, who prefer not to share their spiritual secrets & keep them at master-to-disciple basis, following the example of the beloved Prophet (pbuh); while the latter are divulgers who chose to share these ideas relying on some level of permission. Ibn Arabi belongs to this latter school, along with some other prominent Sufis. - The details of this are too much to discuss here but I hope you understand. As to what exactly Sufism is about. Generally the following are the branches of the science of Tasawuf: 1. Ilm Mustalahat Sufia = the knowledge of Sufi terminology & indications. 2. Ilm al-Isharat = the knowledge of esoteric & indicative meanings of scripture, in accordance with the 4th level of understanding as mentioned in the Hadith. 3. Ilm Raqayiq = the knowledge of the virtues & manners one must adopt to elevate their soul. 4. Ilm Qawaid Tasawuf = the knowledge of the spiritual methods of interpretation (mathhab), the modes of experience with Allah (tajriba), the orders of sufism (turuq) of sheikh (master) murid (disciple) & suhba (companionship)... 5. Ilm al- Muamala = the knowledge of self-discipline & methods to attain the beautiful soul [Tarbiat Nafs (discipline of the self); then Tahtheeb Nafs (refinement of the self), then Tazkiyat Nafs (beautification of the self)], & science of secrets of Sharia (deeds & beliefs). 6. Ilm al-Mukashafa = the knowledge of the heart, beyond the senses & the mind, about Ma'arif (Truths) & Manazil (States). Ma'arif being the knowledge of the three worlds, Alam Mushahada (the seen world), Alam Mulk (the world of sovereignty), Alam Malakut (the world of power). Manazil being the knowledge of the states & levels in the journey towards Allah (swt). Such as al-Fanaa, which is the 90th state & the onset of the tenth & last path towards the divine, the gate to Sainthood (Walaya), & the Great Enlightenment (Mukashafa Kubra), a state of self-annihilation where one sees only Allah (swt) truly in all creation. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. ;-)

Jazakallah khair for sharing the book with us

Wahabis like to quote their so called “shiekh ul islam” ibn taymiyyah but have been devieved by saudi wahabi king worshippers. Ibn taymiyyah the sufi shiekh of qadri sufi order; Majmua Fatawa : "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 anything which 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: "(And all who obey Allah 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." (an-Nisa', 69,70) “Some people criticized the Sufis and said that they were innovators and out of the Sunna... but the truth is that they are exercising ijtihad in view of obeying Allah just as others who are obedient to Allah have also done. So from them you will find the Foremost in Nearness (al-sabiq al-muqarrab) by virtue of his striving, while some of them are from the People of the Right Hand” [Majmu'a Fatawa Ibn Taymiyya al- Kubra, Vol. 11, Book of Tasawwuf, 16-20]

Sufism has introduced new ways of worship that are not found in the Quran and sunnah of our beloved prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Basically, sufists kind of claim that the Revelation was not finished with the death of our beloved prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). So, when someone introduces some new way of worship they literally claim that what we have in The Quran and sunnah is not enough and that our beloved prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) either didn't know about those ways of worship or forgot to tell us or did not want to tell us about those ways of worship on purpose. Astagfirullah. May Allah guide us and save us.

Dr. Brown has got quite the audacity to delcare the hadith of Sayyiduna Jabir unreliable when great muhaddithun before him declared it authentic and reliable.

As a revert myself, who feels a spiritual connection with Allah without having to claim that He is part of me; or there is a hidden truth that Muhammad only taught to a select few or that Allah gives wahy to people via dreams that supercede the shari'ah or that to get close to Allah I need to spin around in circles when the five daily prayers are perfectly adequate to that end, I see "sufism" in part as a reaction to the general ignorance or idolence of the Muslims for the time period that it developed, and in part as a result of the perversions of other ideologies perforating into the deen.

Knowing the creator through his ayat (signs be them scripture, universe around us, or human history), and trying to register his beautiful names (become merciful because Allah is the Most-merciful. Become more wise, because Allah is all-wise...) is what Ihsan is all about. It's the highest form of belief which comes after being a Muslim. This is not sufism, it's Islam. Sufism, now, is mostly related to worshipping saints (or whoever claims to be, even dead ones), dancing and jumping like a drunk, and mumbling weird words that's supposed to be thekir but it's not. Sufism was, before, about not getting attached to worldly things and devout oneself to only worship. Both forms of Sufism is in odds with the way of the prophet, may blessings and peace of Allah be upon him.

It will be a great help if you would kindly list the title and author of your recommended book in each of the video's information.

the ottoman the safwed all are great sufis

The Wahhabie cult enemy of Islam is the next topic in sha Allah

Mowlana rumi, Mansur Al Hilaj, Ibn Arabi ,Nasr kHilal, were all following sunfism and became role model for whole muslim ummah,

The traditional rules state that a dream of the Prophet (s) only applies specifically to that person and isn't legal evidence.

In the spirit of fairness it might be prudent to actually interview a Sufi directly. I highly recommend Mawlana Shaykh Nurjan, my teacher from whom a deep love of the Prophet has been granted to this weak servant's heart, Insha'Allah.

My brother Paul, Sir, please stay away from this sect and all other sects.

The esoteric made exoteric becomes the exoteric argument against the esoteric. Abdal Hakim Murad. (Some contention number that I can't remember atm)

sufism is something that cannot be described like this. not with a book not with a person. you need to become a sufi you need to look at the world with the eyes of a sufi to know what sufism is. sufism is a another world and if you wanna find out what it is you will need a guideens and the best guideens to reach sufism is hazrat mawlana jalal udeen balkhi rumi's (the master of love) teachings.