Part of Concepts of Ahl as-Sunnah (series completed)
· Lesson 546 of 1251
Summary of Sunni concepts | Concept (544) | The excesses of the Sufis in the actions of the hearts
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Transcript
Machine translation — may contain errors
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A summary of the concepts held by the Ahl al-Sunnah.
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The excesses of the Sufis regarding the actions of the heart.
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Just as the salaf, may Allah be pleased with them, concerned themselves with the heart, its actions, and its states,
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the Sufis also concerned themselves with these matters.
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However, they exaggerated to a degree that exceeded the boundaries of the Book and the Sunnah in describing and detailing the actions of the heart.
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Consequently, they strayed in that field and went astray while intending to seek guidance.
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You can hardly find an action of the heart in which they do not have some form of deviation or error.
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First among these is their error regarding contentment (rida).
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They exceeded the proper limits in being content with the decree and predestination of Allah.
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They conflated Allah’s universal will with His legislative will.
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They believed it was mandatory to be content with disbelief, immorality, and disobedience,
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arguing that if contentment with these were not required, they would not have occurred in the universe.
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In doing so, they fell into pure determinism under the guise of extremist and obscure terminology,
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such as "witnessing the universal reality" and "gaining insight into the secret of Allah in predestination."
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Second is their error regarding the love of Allah.
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Their exaltation of this love led them to disparage both fear and hope,
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by which I mean fear of Allah the Exalted and His punishment, and hope for His Paradise and reward.
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They considered these to be the weakest stations for those traveling toward Allah.
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They claimed that the worship of Allah should be for His Essence alone,
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not out of desire for His Paradise nor fear of His Fire.
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They established the pinnacle of love to be "annihilation in the Beloved,"
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a state they believe is exclusive to the saints (awliya) of Allah,
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and they hold their station to be higher than that of the prophets.
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Because of this error regarding love, the salaf said of them:
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"Whoever worships Allah through love alone is a heretic (zindiq)."
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The correct approach is to worship Allah through a combination of love, fear, and hope.
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Third is their error regarding reliance upon Allah (tawakkul).
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They turned reliance into cheap passivity and beggary.
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They intentionally caused harm to themselves
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by abandoning legitimate means and supplication,
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which is the greatest form of worship and its very core.
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This is in addition to their neglect of the highest degree of reliance,
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which is relying upon Allah in establishing His religion, striving in His path,
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and resisting disbelief and corruption,
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just as was the reliance of the prophets, peace be upon them.
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Fourth is their error regarding asceticism (zuhd).
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They transformed it from a positive, internal action of the heart
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into a negative outward display through which they forbade themselves the good things of provision.
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They likewise forbade the pursuit of knowledge,
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claiming that those who occupy themselves with it possess the Shari'ah,
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whereas they themselves possess the "Truth" (haqiqa).
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They argued that knowledge leads to people holding the scholar in high esteem,
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and distracts one from total focus upon Allah,
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which they claim contradicts asceticism.
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Thus, they reduced asceticism to poverty and ignorance,
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and called themselves "the poor" (al-fuqara').