Category Archives: A. Reality of Tasawwuf

The nature, definition, goals and principles of Tasawwuf

What is NOT Tasawwuf?

Various misconceptions exist regarding tasawwuf.
It is of utmost importance that these misconceptions must be cleared upfront.
This mental re-conditioning is necassary otherwise, ages will pass without success & salvation.
Some of them are:
  1. Becoming aware of future or hidden affairs (khasf e kuni) or performance of supernatural phenomenon (karamat) is not necessary for tasawwuf.
  2. Salvation is not guananteed in hereafter by itself for any one who claims to be in tasawwuf (one has to strife and follow shariah for it).
  3. Success in wordly affairs or increase in one’s income or cure from some illness or fortelling of future events is not promised.
  4. Neither does it entail that by sheikh’s spiritual powers (tasarrufat) mureed’s condition will improve itself, without his detemination to strife for good works and abstain from sins. [common error].
  5. Nor does it assure that his intelligence & memory may increase for hifz of Quran or religious knowledge.
  6. Nor is there a time limit that such a spiritual state is reached that one finds pleasure in worship, does not get distrubbing thoughts, cries a lot (either from love or fear of Allah swt), or reaches a state where he in unaware of everything else except Allah swt. [This is the most common error].
  7. It is not necessary that one sees lights (anwar) etc. or hears voices during dhikr or shugal (special rememberace techniques)
  8. Nor seeing good and spiritual dreams is necessary.

BUT

The real objective of Tasawwuf

is to attain

Allah swt’s pleasure.

Next:

  • Example: How the internal moral states form the basis of our bodily worship?

    • What is Tasawwuf?

    Bismillah

    The purpose of a Muslim’s life is to attain Allah swt’s pleasure.

    To do this successfully, he has to act on the shariah completely.

    The part of the shariah dealing with external acts of worship has been classified as fiqh. While the part dealing with internal states, character and actions is the subject of disscussion in tasawwuf

    In summary, acquisition and rectification of internal moral states (iklaq e batini) with adherence to external commands of Shariah is tasawwuf.

    These internal moral states form the basis of worship performed by our body.

    They include,

    A. Acquisition of:

    1. Repentance (taubah)
    2. Sincerity (ikhlas)
    3. Slavehood (abdeyat)
    4. Love of Allah swt (muhabbat)
    5. Awe (khashoo)
    6. Fear (khauf)
    7. Hopefulness (raja’)
    8. Humility (tawaduh)
    9. Thanfulness (shukur)
    10. Patience (saber)
    11. Reliance (tawakul)
    12. Dependence (tafweedh)
    13. Acceptance (raz(dh)a)
    14. Abstinence (zuhud) , etc. and

    B. Elimation or rectification of:

    1. Love of the worldly (hubb e duyah)
    2. Love of fame (hubb e jah)
    3. Arrogance (kibr)
    4. Showing off (ria)
    5. Backbiting (ghibah)
    6. Calamities of Tongue: Lying (kazb), carrying tales (namemah), humiliating others, talking harshly & rudly, talking unnecessarilry.
    7. Anger (gazab)
    8. Envy andHatred (hasad wa bugz wa keana)
    9. Being stingy (bkhul)
    10. Being spend-thrift (israf)
    11. Greed (heris), etc.

    These basic concepts should be very clear in regards to tasawwuf.

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