Abdur Rahman ibn Yusuf Mangera – Essentials of Islamic Spirituality- What is the Sufi Pledge

Abdur Rahman ibn Yusuf Mangera
AI: Summary ©
The transcript describes the history and context behind the concept of Shari'ah, a path to achieving Islam. The concept is broadly defined and used to describe actions and events in the spiritual world, including belief in Shari'ah and the importance of testing and committing to a long-term relationship. The speakers discuss various schools and the importance of taking a commitment to achieving a good pleasure of the sh symbol. The sub sofastery and four famous schools are also discussed, including the founder and founder of the Chis [The speaker discusses the importance of learning the four schools for optimal understanding of their practices and the importance of testing and committing to a long-term relationship with someone. The speakers also touch on the importance of congeniality between the seeker and his Shaykh, the heart, and the seeker. The Shaykh is a responsibility of Shaykh, but the Shaykh is a responsibility of Shaykh, and the Shaykh is a responsibility of Shaykh.
AI: Transcript ©
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Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem Alhamdulillahi Rabbil Alameen

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Wa salatu wa salamu ala al-mab'uthi

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rahmatan lil'alameen wa ala alihi wa sahbihi

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wa baraka wa salam tasliman kathiran ila yawm

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al-deen amma ba'd The Essentials of Islamic

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Spirituality or the Path to Perfection by Shaykh

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Masih-ud-Dalla Khan Teachings of Hakim al

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-Ummah So, last time we were discussing the

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various different statements of the Sufis, about Sufism

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as to what it's supposed to be and

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what it's not supposed to be.

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Now we move on to the technical terms

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of Shari'ah and Tariqah.

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So these are different terms that are used

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by different people regarding this subject.

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So we're just gonna go through and understand

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what that means.

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So firstly, there's the technical terms of Shari

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'ah and Tariqah.

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Shari'ah, you've heard of that, right?

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And Tariqah.

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So the source of all Islamic teaching is

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the Qur'an and the Sunnah.

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The foundation of this teaching, the foundation of

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these teachings was in the gatherings of Allah's

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Messenger ﷺ.

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And that was laid right from the beginning,

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initial part of Islam, and it existed at

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its main center in Madina Munawwara, Makkah Mukarramah.

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Initially, there were a confined number of adherents.

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Just a few followers, right?

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That's how the initial followers were.

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There weren't thousands at the beginning.

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One of the Sahaba says, I was the

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seventh person to enter into Islam.

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I was the seventh of the seven people

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there.

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So all the branches of Islamic instruction, tafsir,

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Qur'anic commentary, hadith, jurisprudence, tasawwuf, spirituality, they

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were all imparted in that one venue.

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The Prophet ﷺ taught everything.

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And it wasn't like, okay, one class on

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this, one class on that.

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It was just, as it came along, the

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Prophet ﷺ's teachings, everything makes up the deen,

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right?

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The school, that one venue was the school

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of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, and separate departments

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did not exist.

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However, in the school of the Prophet Muhammad

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ﷺ, there was a permanent group of lovers

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of Allah and devotees of the Prophet ﷺ

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who were at all times engaged in the

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purification of the soul and the reformation of

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the heart by means of practice.

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They were eating less.

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They were focused only on what was necessary

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and useful and beneficial.

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And you know these people, they're called the

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people of the ledge or the Ashabus Suffah.

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Now, as the teaching continue, the Prophet ﷺ

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departs.

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When Islam acquires universal status, not everybody could

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teach all of these things at once.

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You didn't get that dedicated students to do

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that.

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You still get that sometimes in schools and

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madrasas and seminaries.

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But you know, general public, they can't sit

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with you for hours, can they?

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It's once a week we do this, for

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example.

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Actually, once every two weeks.

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And when there's a football match on, then

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there's a huge competition, right?

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So, when Islam acquired universal status, the scholars

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of the religion divided the science of Islam

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into separate departments, so they could each be

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focused on.

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Those who rendered service to the knowledge of

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hadith began to be called hadith scholars, muhaddithin

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or hadith masters.

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Those who undertook the responsibility of Qur'anic

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exegesis or tafsir were called the wafasirun or

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exegetes of the Qur'an.

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Those who specialized in jurisprudence, fiqh, were called

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the jurists or fuqaha.

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And those who took custody of or focused

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on the department of purification of the heart

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or islahul batin or islahul qalb became known

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as the sheikhs of tasawwuf or Sufis.

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That's essentially how it was.

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Hence, anybody who doesn't know this history and

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doesn't understand this, they just think Sufis are

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just like...

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because there's been some bad ones, so they

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just think they're all like that.

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Hence, not a single one of the great

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authorities of former times ever divorced the shari

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'ah from the tariqah.

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This became known as tariqah, the path.

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Sufism was the path to attain Allah subhanahu

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wa ta'ala.

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On the contrary, they held tariqah in subservience

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to the shari'ah.

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So, the tariqah has to be governed by

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the shari'ah, it can't be a separate

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thing.

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And for some people, it is a separate

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thing.

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I remember in America when I was the

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imam there, I used to get calls, do

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you guys have any Sufi activities in your

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mosque?

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They're like, yeah, five times a day.

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That's not what they were intending.

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Because in America, Sufism is a separate religion

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to Islam.

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Because Rumi is quite popular, that any mainstream

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bookshop you go to, there's a section on

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Sufism.

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So, people like this kind of mystical idea,

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but without the rigors of the religion, without

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having to conform that you better pray five

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times a day, or you better abstain from

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X, Y, and Z, alcohol and so on.

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They just want this kind of mysticism and

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everybody's interested in something.

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It's built in us, I guess, but they

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just don't want the strictures of it.

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So, now we're gonna deal with four terms.

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Shari'ah, exactly what that means, tariqah, haqiqah,

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and ma'rifah.

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They're very important terms.

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So, the combined teachings and injunction of Islam

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are known as the Shari'ah.

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So, overall, everything is known as Shari'ah.

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And Shari'ah actually comes from the concept

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of a path as well.

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Both sets of acts, both external acts like

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our salat, and judicial system, marriage, divorce, all

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of that, and our internal system of dealing

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with people with love and compassion, and all

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of that, are all included in Shari'ah.

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Shari'ah is the overall term anyway.

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Shari'ah is not just hand-cutting.

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A lot of people, they get a bit

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zealous, they wanna establish an Islamic state.

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So, the first thing they wanna do to

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mark themselves is start cutting hands off, without

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kind of sorting anything else out.

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Not to say that's not part of Islam,

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but that seems to be like the first

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thing to make a big bang.

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In the terminology of the early authorities of

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Shari'ah, called a mutaqaddimun, mutaqaddimin, the term

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fiqh, literally profound understanding, fiqh just means profound

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understanding, was synonymous with the word Shari'ah.

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So, fiqh and Shari'ah meant the same

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thing earlier on.

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Thus, the great Imam Abu Hanifa, rahimahullah, defined

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fiqh as, he defines fiqh as the recognition,

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to recognize that which is beneficial and harmful

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to the self.

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If you recognize what's beneficial for you, and

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what's harmful to you, you're a jurist, in

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his sense, in the literal sense of that

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word.

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So, you know words, they did undergo change.

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They meant a certain thing, then they could

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start meaning something else, but related meanings.

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They became more particular, they were more general

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before, and so on.

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Later in the terminology of the later authorities

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of the Shari'ah, mutaqhirun, the word fiqh

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began to be used for the specific branch

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of Islam, which related to the external acts,

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like your salah and fasting, and so on.

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While the branch that dealt with the internal

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acts became known as the sawf.

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So, before everything was fiqh, but later, the

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internal aspects became known as the sawf.

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The ways of methods of reforming the esoteric

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acts, they're also called the tariqah, because to

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do that, you have to go on a

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path.

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The reformation, you see, if you wanna study

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fiqh, you don't have to be thinking of

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fiqh 24 hours a day.

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Fiqh relates to salah, so you're gonna think

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about it in salah time.

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Fasting, you're gonna relate to it in Ramadan.

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Buying and selling, so it's only when you're

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dealing.

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You don't have to be thinking of fiqh

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24 hours a day.

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But what we do have to be thinking

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about all the time is, what's the condition

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of my heart?

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Am I thanking Allah?

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Am I aware of Him?

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Am I dealing with somebody correctly?

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Am I getting angry?

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Am I letting my desire overtake me?

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That's a much more frequent part of our

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life, more than fiqh is, in that sense.

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So, the reformation of the internal acts brings

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about spiritual radiance and light in the heart.

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To this heart is then revealed certain realities

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pertaining to the tangible and intangible occurrences.

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Above all, virtue and vice, as well as

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certain realities pertaining to the divine attributes and

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acts of Allah, mainly affairs between Allah and

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His servants.

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That sounds a bit complicated.

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But saying that once you get on to

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this path, then no longer will you be

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confused by what's going on in the world

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as much.

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We'll develop a kind of a consciousness towards

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what's right and wrong.

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You won't feel good about doing certain acts

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even though you don't know the ruling of

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it.

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It just doesn't sound right.

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My heart doesn't agree with it.

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That's a mu'min's heart.

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That's what happens when a person goes on

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this path sufficiently.

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They develop that inner understanding.

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Because that's what Allah wants from us, is

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to be molded into that kind of focus.

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Sometimes you just have this in your heart.

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Sometimes you might even see dreams.

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Not that we're looking for that.

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It'll be just the intuition.

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So, these kind of unveilings, they're known as

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haqiqah.

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If you do get that kind of an

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understanding where reality just hits you, that's called

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haqiqah.

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Reality.

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And again, it's not like we're looking, we're

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just doing our best to be servants of

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Allah.

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He'll do everything for us.

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The process of these revelations is called ma

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'rifah.

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Ma'rifah just means recognition.

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I've recognized Allah.

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I've recognized what's good and bad.

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I've recognized the evils of myself.

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I've recognized that I have to be careful.

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That's why I read the dua, اللهم لا

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تكلني إلى نفسي طرفة عين.

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O Allah, do not let me be submissive

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to my nafs even for a second.

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Because it'll get me into trouble.

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But You stay in control of it.

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So that You're constantly guiding me.

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Because the nafs is greedy.

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Meaning our lower self, ego is greedy, desirous

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of multiple things which may not be beneficial

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for us.

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So, that becomes ma'rifah of Allah and

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the workings of the universe.

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The workings of Allah with the world.

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While the one experiencing the unveiling is known

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as an a'rif or muhaqqik.

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That comes after a long time when a

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person is muhaqqik, means a person who's developed

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reality.

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There's so many cases where the Prophet shallallahu

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alaihi wa sallam say, don't do this.

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And then it came out that there was

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a good reason why that was said.

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So many times religious people, righteous people, awliya

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Allah say, I don't feel good about this.

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And exactly turns out like that.

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One scholar, one big shaykh passed away recently,

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about three years ago.

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Somebody brought some money to him, wanted to

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give him a gift of a huge sum.

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I mean, he would accept gifts from people.

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In this particular occasion, he's like, I don't

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want it.

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I'm not accepting it.

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The guy was unhappy, obviously.

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But two, three days later, I think everybody

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understood why he didn't accept it.

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Because there was something dodgy about it.

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But it wasn't known in that time.

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He just didn't feel right about it.

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In fact, regarding Izzuddin ibn Abdussalam, one of

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the great scholars who was in Egypt, Sultan

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al-Ulema, they call him, the king of

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scholars, they call him.

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He's a big wali of Allah.

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So he used to be in the city,

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and there was a person outside the city,

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a friend of his would send him stuff,

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gifts, you know, from the village.

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So once he sent him some cheese, some,

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you know, homemade cheese.

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Now, the guy who was taking it and

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who was bringing it for him, somewhere he

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stumbled and the cheese fell, and it became

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all dirty.

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Now, he felt a bit upset.

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So what he did was, there was a

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Christian cheese seller that he found.

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So he bought some more cheese from there,

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and took it to the Sheikh, along with

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some of the other stuff.

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The Sheikh accepted everything except the cheese.

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He said, I don't, I smell something from

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there.

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I don't want it.

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And then later upon inquiries, he just found

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out that it was actually not from his

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friend.

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It was actually from someone else.

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Not to say you're not allowed to eat

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cheese from Christians, but it was just that

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he figured it out.

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Now, you could say that maybe he saw

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the cheese, and he knew the other person's

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cheese.

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I mean, you could have all of these

00:13:33 --> 00:13:34

rational ideas there, right?

00:13:35 --> 00:13:36

Which is fine if you want to.

00:13:36 --> 00:13:36

It's not a problem.

00:13:37 --> 00:13:39

But ultimately, a lot of the awliya are

00:13:39 --> 00:13:40

given a discernment.

00:13:40 --> 00:13:42

It's not like they never make a mistake,

00:13:42 --> 00:13:42

though.

00:13:42 --> 00:13:44

They're not prophets, right?

00:13:45 --> 00:13:49

Even prophets can slip up in some of

00:13:49 --> 00:13:50

these things, right?

00:13:50 --> 00:13:51

But never in religious matters.

00:13:56 --> 00:13:58

So, usually you're prone to less mistakes.

00:13:59 --> 00:14:00

You're more divinely guided.

00:14:00 --> 00:14:01

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make us

00:14:01 --> 00:14:02

like that.

00:14:03 --> 00:14:04

That's why Allah promises this all the time.

00:14:05 --> 00:14:08

That you just focus on our path, and

00:14:08 --> 00:14:09

make that effort, and we'll show you our

00:14:09 --> 00:14:10

ways.

00:14:10 --> 00:14:14

لَنَهْدِيَنَّهُمْ سُبُولَنَا That's what this is talking about.

00:14:15 --> 00:14:17

All the aforementioned relates to the sharia.

00:14:17 --> 00:14:19

Everything we've just spoken about, it is all

00:14:19 --> 00:14:19

sharia anyway.

00:14:20 --> 00:14:22

The notion of the sharia and tariqa as

00:14:22 --> 00:14:25

entities apart, that has gained prominence among the

00:14:25 --> 00:14:27

public, is totally baseless.

00:14:28 --> 00:14:30

Now the nature and reality of tasawwuf and

00:14:30 --> 00:14:30

suluk.

00:14:31 --> 00:14:34

Tasawwuf, purification of the heart department, and suluk

00:14:34 --> 00:14:37

just means being on that path, have become

00:14:37 --> 00:14:37

clear.

00:14:37 --> 00:14:41

It will be understood that unveilings, you know,

00:14:41 --> 00:14:45

what you hear that righteous people get understanding

00:14:45 --> 00:14:49

of things, and unveilings, and miracles, they're not

00:14:49 --> 00:14:49

necessary.

00:14:50 --> 00:14:51

They're just things that might happen.

00:14:52 --> 00:14:54

For some people it never happens at all.

00:14:56 --> 00:14:58

If tasawwuf does not promise success in worldly

00:14:58 --> 00:15:02

affairs, sorry, tasawwuf does not promise you success

00:15:02 --> 00:15:03

in worldly affairs.

00:15:04 --> 00:15:06

If you become a Sufi, it doesn't mean

00:15:06 --> 00:15:08

you're gonna become successful in the world.

00:15:09 --> 00:15:10

All of your deals are gonna come right

00:15:10 --> 00:15:11

now.

00:15:12 --> 00:15:13

No.

00:15:14 --> 00:15:15

You're gonna start making a lot of money.

00:15:16 --> 00:15:17

You're gonna get a better job.

00:15:18 --> 00:15:18

No.

00:15:19 --> 00:15:19

Right?

00:15:20 --> 00:15:22

Nor does it assert that one's work will

00:15:22 --> 00:15:25

be accomplished by means of ta'weez, and

00:15:25 --> 00:15:26

amulets, and potions.

00:15:27 --> 00:15:28

Now you're gonna be given all of these

00:15:28 --> 00:15:32

spells, that things will just get done for

00:15:32 --> 00:15:32

you.

00:15:33 --> 00:15:35

You just have to say abracadabra, or whatever

00:15:35 --> 00:15:36

the equivalent is.

00:15:37 --> 00:15:37

Nothing like that.

00:15:37 --> 00:15:41

It's just pure steadfastness on the sharia.

00:15:41 --> 00:15:43

That's what tasawwuf is really.

00:15:45 --> 00:15:47

Nor does it claim that one will necessarily

00:15:47 --> 00:15:50

be successful in court cases by means of

00:15:50 --> 00:15:50

du'as.

00:15:52 --> 00:15:54

If you got a court case, you go

00:15:54 --> 00:15:55

to a shaykh and say, I wanna be

00:15:55 --> 00:15:58

a mureed, so that I can be successful

00:15:58 --> 00:15:59

in the court cases.

00:15:59 --> 00:15:59

Not necessary.

00:16:00 --> 00:16:02

Yes, you'll feel stronger.

00:16:03 --> 00:16:04

You'll feel more confident.

00:16:04 --> 00:16:07

You'll feel able to deal with the matters.

00:16:08 --> 00:16:12

Number of cases of, especially women who are

00:16:12 --> 00:16:15

going through some seriously bad marriage issues, and

00:16:15 --> 00:16:22

they're totally stressed out, and really have a

00:16:22 --> 00:16:24

great amount of difficulty in living their life.

00:16:24 --> 00:16:26

Give them some adhkar, get them on this

00:16:26 --> 00:16:28

path, and suddenly they're strong.

00:16:30 --> 00:16:31

It might not change the situation.

00:16:31 --> 00:16:32

Their husband is still a zalim.

00:16:33 --> 00:16:33

Right?

00:16:34 --> 00:16:36

Their in-laws are still persecuting them.

00:16:37 --> 00:16:37

Right?

00:16:37 --> 00:16:39

But at least they know what to do.

00:16:39 --> 00:16:41

They're not helpless now.

00:16:42 --> 00:16:44

The reason they were helpless in the first

00:16:44 --> 00:16:45

place is because they have no connection to

00:16:45 --> 00:16:45

Allah.

00:16:47 --> 00:16:47

They didn't...

00:16:49 --> 00:16:51

Essentially they were not leaning on a strong

00:16:51 --> 00:16:53

pillar, as they say.

00:16:54 --> 00:16:55

So now at least they know Allah is

00:16:55 --> 00:16:56

on their side.

00:16:56 --> 00:16:58

So you're just able to deal with matters

00:16:58 --> 00:16:58

better.

00:16:59 --> 00:17:00

So that will happen.

00:17:01 --> 00:17:01

What else?

00:17:02 --> 00:17:04

Nor does it promise you cure from your

00:17:04 --> 00:17:05

physical ailments.

00:17:06 --> 00:17:08

Your cancer is not necessarily going to get

00:17:08 --> 00:17:08

better.

00:17:09 --> 00:17:11

It does not promise increase in your earnings.

00:17:12 --> 00:17:16

It does not foretell future events.

00:17:17 --> 00:17:19

You're not going to become a clairvoyant, or

00:17:19 --> 00:17:20

a fortune teller.

00:17:21 --> 00:17:23

It does not contend that the seeker's reformation

00:17:23 --> 00:17:25

will be achieved by the spiritual focus of

00:17:25 --> 00:17:26

the shaykh.

00:17:26 --> 00:17:27

Some people say this.

00:17:27 --> 00:17:29

Actually some Sufis say this.

00:17:29 --> 00:17:32

You get into this tariqah, and then the

00:17:32 --> 00:17:33

shaykh does everything for you.

00:17:34 --> 00:17:35

You don't have to do much.

00:17:36 --> 00:17:38

The amount of focus the shaykh gives and

00:17:38 --> 00:17:39

everything, you just sort yourself out.

00:17:41 --> 00:17:42

It's not a conveyor belt.

00:17:43 --> 00:17:45

It helps, but it's not a conveyor belt.

00:17:46 --> 00:17:47

You don't just get to Jannah like that.

00:17:48 --> 00:17:51

It helps though, because you get a prompting,

00:17:52 --> 00:17:55

you get du'as, and you get instruction.

00:17:55 --> 00:17:57

And just the fact that you're supervised by

00:17:57 --> 00:17:59

somebody, that feels good, that helps.

00:17:59 --> 00:18:01

But ultimately you have to then fill in

00:18:01 --> 00:18:01

the gap.

00:18:02 --> 00:18:03

So none of that is tasawwuf.

00:18:04 --> 00:18:06

Okay, what else does he say?

00:18:08 --> 00:18:11

Extraordinary feats are not organic to tasawwuf.

00:18:11 --> 00:18:13

Basically, just because you become Sufi, you're not

00:18:13 --> 00:18:15

going to do extraordinary feats.

00:18:15 --> 00:18:18

Lots of other people can check online.

00:18:19 --> 00:18:21

Lots of magicians, they can do extraordinary things.

00:18:21 --> 00:18:22

They're not Sufis.

00:18:23 --> 00:18:25

Lots of Hindu yogis can do lots of

00:18:25 --> 00:18:26

crazy stuff.

00:18:26 --> 00:18:27

That doesn't make them Sufis.

00:18:28 --> 00:18:30

It does not contend that the one who

00:18:30 --> 00:18:32

treads this path will not be afflicted by

00:18:32 --> 00:18:33

the thought of sin.

00:18:34 --> 00:18:36

You'll still struggle with sin, but you'll just

00:18:36 --> 00:18:39

be stronger, more immune.

00:18:40 --> 00:18:42

But you're not prophets, so you can still

00:18:42 --> 00:18:43

do a sin.

00:18:43 --> 00:18:45

But it's just going to be easier to

00:18:45 --> 00:18:45

deal with.

00:18:46 --> 00:18:48

Yes, the shaitan will attack first though, and

00:18:48 --> 00:18:49

make it much worse.

00:18:50 --> 00:18:51

You have to get over that initial period.

00:18:52 --> 00:18:55

When somebody is lazing around, not doing anything,

00:18:55 --> 00:18:57

distracted, and then suddenly starts practicing, there's an

00:18:57 --> 00:19:01

initial bout of time when the shaitan just

00:19:01 --> 00:19:02

goes after them, gives them doubts and all

00:19:02 --> 00:19:03

sorts of things.

00:19:04 --> 00:19:06

And he'll come and say, I never used

00:19:06 --> 00:19:07

to have these doubts before.

00:19:07 --> 00:19:09

I never used to have these problems before.

00:19:10 --> 00:19:12

Brother, just carry on, just carry on.

00:19:13 --> 00:19:14

Give it a few months, and the shaitan

00:19:14 --> 00:19:15

will realize you're on it.

00:19:16 --> 00:19:17

You're not going to get off.

00:19:17 --> 00:19:18

You're not an easy task.

00:19:19 --> 00:19:21

So keep asking Allah for assistance and carry

00:19:21 --> 00:19:21

on.

00:19:24 --> 00:19:26

Nor does it claim that the seeker will

00:19:26 --> 00:19:28

automatically, without effort, engage in worship.

00:19:28 --> 00:19:30

It's still going to be an effort.

00:19:31 --> 00:19:34

It does not promise total self-annihilation, so

00:19:34 --> 00:19:37

that one is now not aware of even

00:19:37 --> 00:19:38

one's presence.

00:19:39 --> 00:19:41

Just because you're going to the path of

00:19:41 --> 00:19:42

the soul doesn't mean that you're going to

00:19:42 --> 00:19:42

lose yourself.

00:19:44 --> 00:19:45

You're just completely madly in love with Allah

00:19:45 --> 00:19:46

now.

00:19:46 --> 00:19:47

You don't even know what's going on.

00:19:47 --> 00:19:49

You don't care about anything anymore.

00:19:49 --> 00:19:50

That's not necessarily going to be the case.

00:19:51 --> 00:19:53

It does not promise experience of states of

00:19:53 --> 00:19:58

ecstasy, spiritual effulgences, through spiritual exercises.

00:19:59 --> 00:20:01

Nor does it claim that one will see

00:20:01 --> 00:20:03

beautiful dreams and wonderful visions.

00:20:04 --> 00:20:06

You are going to go to Makkah and

00:20:06 --> 00:20:08

Madinah Munawwarah every night in your sleep now.

00:20:09 --> 00:20:09

No.

00:20:09 --> 00:20:11

If anybody promises you that, I don't know

00:20:11 --> 00:20:12

what they're doing.

00:20:13 --> 00:20:13

Right.

00:20:15 --> 00:20:17

None of the above are the aims of

00:20:17 --> 00:20:17

tasawwuf.

00:20:18 --> 00:20:19

What is the aim of tasawwuf then?

00:20:20 --> 00:20:23

The good pleasure, ridwan of Allah Most High

00:20:23 --> 00:20:25

is the aim of tasawwuf.

00:20:25 --> 00:20:28

That you just achieve the good pleasure of

00:20:28 --> 00:20:29

Allah.

00:20:30 --> 00:20:31

This then should be kept in sight, he

00:20:31 --> 00:20:32

says.

00:20:33 --> 00:20:35

So, that was that section.

00:20:36 --> 00:20:40

Now, this can be done through multiple ways.

00:20:41 --> 00:20:42

And one of the most effective ways is

00:20:42 --> 00:20:45

to get somebody to help you.

00:20:46 --> 00:20:48

So, to have a shaykh to help you

00:20:48 --> 00:20:49

who has done it already so that they

00:20:49 --> 00:20:50

can help.

00:20:50 --> 00:20:52

Because always in anything in this world we

00:20:52 --> 00:20:55

help by becoming an apprentice, by becoming a

00:20:55 --> 00:20:55

disciple.

00:20:56 --> 00:20:57

Right.

00:20:57 --> 00:20:59

You do law studies and then suddenly you

00:20:59 --> 00:21:00

have to go and find pupillage.

00:21:01 --> 00:21:01

You have to become a pupil.

00:21:02 --> 00:21:03

You have to become a disciple.

00:21:04 --> 00:21:05

That's how it used to work before.

00:21:06 --> 00:21:08

And that's how it works now in many

00:21:08 --> 00:21:08

cases.

00:21:08 --> 00:21:09

You get experience.

00:21:10 --> 00:21:13

So, the way that usually happens is that

00:21:13 --> 00:21:14

you agree.

00:21:14 --> 00:21:15

So, you take a pledge.

00:21:16 --> 00:21:17

You do what they call the bay'ah.

00:21:17 --> 00:21:18

So, this is what the bay'ah is

00:21:18 --> 00:21:18

all about.

00:21:22 --> 00:21:23

The sahaba took bay'ah with the Prophet

00:21:23 --> 00:21:24

ﷺ.

00:21:25 --> 00:21:28

So, then later scholars said, let's do that

00:21:28 --> 00:21:29

so that we can have our students to

00:21:29 --> 00:21:30

be committed.

00:21:31 --> 00:21:33

You want to study fiqh with somebody, you

00:21:33 --> 00:21:34

might have to sign a contract for the

00:21:34 --> 00:21:36

course that I'm gonna pay you this much

00:21:36 --> 00:21:38

and it's gonna be this many.

00:21:38 --> 00:21:39

But it's not gonna be any bay'ah

00:21:39 --> 00:21:40

system, is there?

00:21:41 --> 00:21:42

If you go to study tafsir with somebody,

00:21:42 --> 00:21:43

they don't make you do bay'ah.

00:21:45 --> 00:21:46

If you go to study hadith with somebody,

00:21:47 --> 00:21:47

there again, they don't do that.

00:21:48 --> 00:21:49

It's an ijazah system, right?

00:21:49 --> 00:21:52

But when it comes to tasawwuf specifically, they

00:21:52 --> 00:21:52

do bay'ah.

00:21:53 --> 00:21:56

It's not necessary, but it's very beneficial because

00:21:57 --> 00:21:59

it's like because it's a spiritual realm.

00:22:00 --> 00:22:02

It's like you're getting connected through that bay

00:22:02 --> 00:22:06

'ah, through the shaykh, through his shaykh, all

00:22:06 --> 00:22:07

the way up to the Prophet ﷺ.

00:22:10 --> 00:22:13

So, the benefit we believe is that our

00:22:13 --> 00:22:15

ilm that comes to us today, our knowledge

00:22:15 --> 00:22:18

that comes to us today is not coming

00:22:18 --> 00:22:18

from the teacher.

00:22:18 --> 00:22:21

It's coming from through a whole series through

00:22:21 --> 00:22:24

Allah, through the Prophet ﷺ, down the generations

00:22:24 --> 00:22:27

from heart to heart because we believe in

00:22:27 --> 00:22:27

that chain.

00:22:29 --> 00:22:30

And it's coming through like that.

00:22:31 --> 00:22:33

So, you're getting connected officially to that by

00:22:33 --> 00:22:34

giving the pledge.

00:22:34 --> 00:22:36

You could be unofficially taking, no problem.

00:22:37 --> 00:22:40

But you're becoming officially now linked to that.

00:22:40 --> 00:22:42

So, inshaAllah, the blessings that are coming and

00:22:42 --> 00:22:44

we expect that Allah, if there's a good,

00:22:44 --> 00:22:46

if there's been a good, you can say,

00:22:46 --> 00:22:50

order, a good number of people who've done

00:22:50 --> 00:22:52

this, then we believe that Allah subhanahu wa

00:22:52 --> 00:22:53

ta'ala, His shower of mercy comes on

00:22:53 --> 00:22:54

these people.

00:22:54 --> 00:22:55

So, we get benefit from that.

00:22:57 --> 00:22:58

I'd rather be with those kind of people.

00:22:59 --> 00:23:01

So, that's the benefit of doing that.

00:23:01 --> 00:23:03

So, here, this is how he explains it.

00:23:03 --> 00:23:05

He says, bay'ah or the pledge is

00:23:05 --> 00:23:08

a mutual pledge related to the striving for,

00:23:09 --> 00:23:13

adherence to, arrangement, and executing of the laws

00:23:13 --> 00:23:15

of external actions and internal actions.

00:23:16 --> 00:23:17

That's the purpose of the bay'ah.

00:23:17 --> 00:23:20

I undertake to do this, and to not

00:23:20 --> 00:23:22

lie, and to not steal, and not to

00:23:22 --> 00:23:24

commit haram, and to do my prayers on

00:23:24 --> 00:23:26

time, and to make up anything that I

00:23:26 --> 00:23:28

miss, and so on and so forth.

00:23:29 --> 00:23:31

There's bay'ah mentioned in the Quran, where

00:23:31 --> 00:23:32

the Prophet shallallahu alaihi wasallam said that, when

00:23:32 --> 00:23:34

those women from Makkah come, then you need

00:23:34 --> 00:23:37

to test them and take the bay'ah.

00:23:38 --> 00:23:45

That they will, They won't steal, they won't

00:23:45 --> 00:23:51

commit zina, they will, and they will not

00:23:51 --> 00:23:53

kill their children, and so on.

00:23:53 --> 00:23:56

Whatever is relevant in that particular position, any

00:23:56 --> 00:23:57

of that can be said.

00:23:58 --> 00:24:02

So, the pledge is known as, meaning the

00:24:02 --> 00:24:04

pledge for the path, which has been in

00:24:04 --> 00:24:08

practice through authoritative transmission from generation to generation.

00:24:08 --> 00:24:10

You know, pretty much from the earlier generation

00:24:10 --> 00:24:12

of Islam, there have been some cases where

00:24:12 --> 00:24:14

there was no bay'ah, in between two

00:24:14 --> 00:24:15

shaykhs, and it was just a more casual

00:24:15 --> 00:24:17

relationship, there was no need for a bay

00:24:17 --> 00:24:17

'ah.

00:24:17 --> 00:24:19

That is definitely the case, that has been

00:24:19 --> 00:24:20

the case.

00:24:21 --> 00:24:22

The Messenger of Allah shallallahu alaihi wasallam took

00:24:22 --> 00:24:25

pledges, bay'ah from the companions, not only

00:24:25 --> 00:24:27

on jihad, that was the famous one, right?

00:24:27 --> 00:24:30

But on Islam, and adherence to the rulings

00:24:30 --> 00:24:33

of the Islamic law in general, as well

00:24:33 --> 00:24:34

as on practical deeds and a'mal.

00:24:35 --> 00:24:37

When Amr ibn Aas shallallahu alaihi wasallam came

00:24:37 --> 00:24:40

to become Muslim, he said, I want to

00:24:40 --> 00:24:40

take the bay'ah.

00:24:41 --> 00:24:42

So, the Prophet extended his hand.

00:24:42 --> 00:24:44

So, Amr ibn Aas pulled his hand back,

00:24:44 --> 00:24:45

and he said, why are you pulling his

00:24:45 --> 00:24:46

hand back for?

00:24:46 --> 00:24:48

So, he said, oh, I want to take

00:24:48 --> 00:24:49

the pledge, but I want to make some

00:24:49 --> 00:24:49

conditions.

00:24:50 --> 00:24:51

He said, what condition do you want to

00:24:51 --> 00:24:51

make?

00:24:51 --> 00:24:52

Condition I want to make is that all

00:24:52 --> 00:24:54

my previous sins are forgiven.

00:24:54 --> 00:24:55

He said, well, that's what's going to happen

00:24:56 --> 00:24:57

through proper Islam anyway.

00:24:58 --> 00:24:58

So, he took the pledge.

00:25:02 --> 00:25:04

Actually, when new Muslims become now, we don't

00:25:04 --> 00:25:05

really take pledges from them, do we?

00:25:06 --> 00:25:08

We should take pledge with the imam maybe.

00:25:10 --> 00:25:10

Be a good idea.

00:25:11 --> 00:25:11

I don't think anybody does that.

00:25:12 --> 00:25:13

They just make him say, la ilaha illa

00:25:13 --> 00:25:15

Allah, and then they send them.

00:25:17 --> 00:25:18

But the Prophet shallallahu alaihi wasallam, that's what

00:25:18 --> 00:25:19

he used to do.

00:25:21 --> 00:25:21

Right.

00:25:21 --> 00:25:24

So, numerous hadith established this.

00:25:25 --> 00:25:27

The following is one such hadith, Awf ibn

00:25:27 --> 00:25:29

Malik al-Asja'i, may Allah be pleased

00:25:29 --> 00:25:30

with him, said that we were with the

00:25:30 --> 00:25:33

Messenger of Allah shallallahu alaihi wasallam, seven, eight,

00:25:33 --> 00:25:33

or nine of us.

00:25:33 --> 00:25:36

When he said, will you not give a

00:25:36 --> 00:25:38

pledge to the Messenger of Allah?

00:25:39 --> 00:25:41

We extended our hands and asked, on what

00:25:41 --> 00:25:43

shall we make the pledge to you, O

00:25:43 --> 00:25:43

Messenger of Allah?

00:25:44 --> 00:25:47

He said, that you worship Allah, associate nothing

00:25:47 --> 00:25:49

with Him, perform the five prayers, and that

00:25:49 --> 00:25:50

you hear and obey.

00:25:50 --> 00:25:52

Hadith of Muslim Abu Dawud al-Nasa'i.

00:25:53 --> 00:25:55

On this occasion, the pledge of the Messenger

00:25:55 --> 00:25:57

of Allah shallallahu alaihi wasallam, that he took

00:25:57 --> 00:25:59

from his companions, was neither the pledge of

00:25:59 --> 00:26:03

faith, they were already Muslims, nor the pledge

00:26:03 --> 00:26:04

to a jihad.

00:26:04 --> 00:26:07

This hadith is categorical evidence for the validity

00:26:07 --> 00:26:09

of the system of pledge-taking put in

00:26:09 --> 00:26:11

practice by the sheikhs of Tasawwuf.

00:26:12 --> 00:26:14

As there are four schools in jurisprudence, Hanafi,

00:26:14 --> 00:26:17

Shafi'i, Maliki, and Hanbali, so too there

00:26:17 --> 00:26:19

are schools in Tasawwuf.

00:26:19 --> 00:26:21

He says there's four, but I think he's

00:26:21 --> 00:26:23

just relating to the subcontinent, because in the

00:26:23 --> 00:26:25

subcontinent there were primarily four.

00:26:25 --> 00:26:27

But around the world is more than that.

00:26:28 --> 00:26:30

He says the Chishti, the Qadili, the Naqshbandi,

00:26:30 --> 00:26:31

and the Suhrawardi.

00:26:32 --> 00:26:34

These were the four famous ones of the

00:26:34 --> 00:26:34

subcontinent.

00:26:36 --> 00:26:39

Just as the Hanafi school is dominant in

00:26:39 --> 00:26:41

this area of subcontinent, the Chishti school is

00:26:41 --> 00:26:42

also dominant there.

00:26:43 --> 00:26:45

Primarily is Chishti, though there are others as

00:26:45 --> 00:26:45

well.

00:26:47 --> 00:26:50

Our elders in Tasawwuf gave pledge in all

00:26:50 --> 00:26:51

the four orders though, so that the respect

00:26:51 --> 00:26:53

of the four is maintained, although the Chishti

00:26:53 --> 00:26:54

way is dominant.

00:26:55 --> 00:26:56

What does that mean?

00:26:57 --> 00:27:01

For example, one of the sheikhs that I

00:27:01 --> 00:27:04

have ijazah from, his main way of teaching

00:27:04 --> 00:27:07

is the Chishti way, certain way of adhkar

00:27:07 --> 00:27:07

and so on.

00:27:08 --> 00:27:12

However, he has ijazah, and the chains of

00:27:12 --> 00:27:14

the Naqshbandi and other tariqs as well.

00:27:16 --> 00:27:18

But each of the tariqs have a slightly

00:27:18 --> 00:27:20

different way of giving you dhikr, and what

00:27:20 --> 00:27:22

to focus on, and the methodology.

00:27:23 --> 00:27:26

That might be confusing to give you all

00:27:26 --> 00:27:27

of it.

00:27:27 --> 00:27:29

So that's why they focus on one, but

00:27:29 --> 00:27:30

you get the blessing of all of them

00:27:30 --> 00:27:33

because the objective of each one is the

00:27:33 --> 00:27:34

same, which is to get the pleasure of

00:27:34 --> 00:27:34

Allah.

00:27:34 --> 00:27:35

The objective is the same.

00:27:36 --> 00:27:39

Of any of the pure schools of jurisprudence

00:27:39 --> 00:27:41

that have not been adulterated and polluted, the

00:27:41 --> 00:27:42

maqsad is the same.

00:27:43 --> 00:27:45

There is one sheikh that I know, when

00:27:45 --> 00:27:47

somebody comes to him to take the pledge,

00:27:47 --> 00:27:51

he gives him dhikrs from all four types.

00:27:52 --> 00:27:56

And the student, the seeker, is supposed to

00:27:56 --> 00:27:58

do that for a few months, and then

00:27:58 --> 00:28:00

he explains how he feels in each of

00:28:00 --> 00:28:02

these, and then he says, okay, you focus

00:28:02 --> 00:28:05

on this one because that's more appropriate for

00:28:05 --> 00:28:05

you.

00:28:06 --> 00:28:08

Different sheikhs will do different things.

00:28:09 --> 00:28:11

What we do here usually is we do

00:28:11 --> 00:28:14

chishti and Naqshbandi, the two ways.

00:28:14 --> 00:28:17

We do a bit of both of those.

00:28:18 --> 00:28:21

But different sheikhs do some exclusively Naqshbandi, some

00:28:21 --> 00:28:23

are exclusively chishti, although they might have all

00:28:23 --> 00:28:24

four chains and more.

00:28:25 --> 00:28:27

Just to give you an understanding of that.

00:28:28 --> 00:28:30

The founder of the chishti order is our

00:28:30 --> 00:28:33

master Mu'inuddin Chishti Ajmeri.

00:28:34 --> 00:28:36

Chishti is, I think it's in Afghanistan.

00:28:37 --> 00:28:39

That's where he originally came from.

00:28:39 --> 00:28:42

Settled in India in Ajmer, which is in

00:28:42 --> 00:28:46

south of Delhi, north of Gujarat.

00:28:47 --> 00:28:50

It is a massive place there that unfortunately

00:28:50 --> 00:28:51

they do a lot of crazy stuff there

00:28:51 --> 00:28:52

right now as well.

00:28:52 --> 00:28:53

But that's where he's buried.

00:28:54 --> 00:28:56

And you could say that he would be

00:28:56 --> 00:29:00

responsible for so many conversions to Islam.

00:29:01 --> 00:29:03

Many of the people sitting here, their forefathers

00:29:03 --> 00:29:04

may have converted because of him.

00:29:06 --> 00:29:08

Aside from sin, Islam came into sin much

00:29:08 --> 00:29:11

earlier, but the rest of Indian subcontinent, Mu

00:29:11 --> 00:29:13

'inuddin Chishti is responsible for a lot of

00:29:13 --> 00:29:14

the Islam there.

00:29:16 --> 00:29:18

Then he says that the founder of the

00:29:18 --> 00:29:20

Qadiri order is our master Shaykh Abdul Qadir

00:29:20 --> 00:29:23

al-Jilani, who was in Baghdad.

00:29:23 --> 00:29:24

Amazing story.

00:29:24 --> 00:29:27

Read about him in the Saviors of Islamic

00:29:27 --> 00:29:27

Spirit.

00:29:27 --> 00:29:28

I think we might have a lecture on

00:29:28 --> 00:29:28

him.

00:29:30 --> 00:29:32

The founder of the Naqshbandi order is our

00:29:32 --> 00:29:38

master Shaykh Bahauddin al-Naqshbandi, who's from, he's

00:29:38 --> 00:29:42

buried now in Bukhara in Uzbekistan.

00:29:43 --> 00:29:46

So his teachings have gone all over the

00:29:46 --> 00:29:47

world as well.

00:29:48 --> 00:29:50

And the founder of the Suhrawardi order is

00:29:50 --> 00:29:53

our master Shaykh Shihabuddin al-Suhrawardi, may Allah

00:29:53 --> 00:29:54

have mercy on him.

00:29:55 --> 00:29:58

The nature of the pledge, the meaning of

00:29:58 --> 00:30:04

bay'ah, this word bay'ah, comes from

00:30:04 --> 00:30:06

the concept of bay', which means to sell

00:30:06 --> 00:30:06

something.

00:30:09 --> 00:30:10

So what's that got to do with anything?

00:30:10 --> 00:30:14

It almost implies that the seeker, the mureed,

00:30:14 --> 00:30:15

sells himself to the Shaykh.

00:30:17 --> 00:30:18

In other words, he has sold himself to

00:30:18 --> 00:30:20

the Shaykh in preparation for the outward rulings

00:30:20 --> 00:30:24

and the inward rulings, and to learn to

00:30:24 --> 00:30:26

give practical expression to the law of Allah

00:30:26 --> 00:30:27

Most High.

00:30:28 --> 00:30:30

This is like the Shaykh is becoming responsible

00:30:30 --> 00:30:30

for you.

00:30:33 --> 00:30:35

There's no money in this sale, right?

00:30:35 --> 00:30:38

The nature of this sale envisages that the

00:30:38 --> 00:30:42

seeker of truth will have implicit trust and

00:30:42 --> 00:30:43

faith in a Shaykh.

00:30:43 --> 00:30:46

He will understand and accept that the advices,

00:30:47 --> 00:30:50

prescriptions, admonitions and prohibitions of the Shaykh are

00:30:50 --> 00:30:53

all designed and motivated for his spiritual well

00:30:53 --> 00:30:53

-being.

00:30:54 --> 00:30:59

Should take all of it with that kind

00:30:59 --> 00:31:00

of understanding.

00:31:04 --> 00:31:06

The seeker shall not interfere with or impede

00:31:06 --> 00:31:08

the diagnosis and prescription of the Shaykh.

00:31:09 --> 00:31:11

Usually that should not be the case, otherwise

00:31:11 --> 00:31:13

you're telling the doctor, no, no, no, I

00:31:13 --> 00:31:14

want to take that.

00:31:14 --> 00:31:17

Yes, you can have a discussion, you know,

00:31:17 --> 00:31:18

you can ask questions, that's fine.

00:31:19 --> 00:31:21

He should have faith to such an extent

00:31:21 --> 00:31:23

that he should believe that in his knowledge,

00:31:24 --> 00:31:27

I mean, this is a bit extreme, but

00:31:27 --> 00:31:28

if you really want to benefit from your

00:31:28 --> 00:31:31

Shaykh's saying, then you must believe that in

00:31:31 --> 00:31:33

his knowledge there is none among creation who

00:31:33 --> 00:31:35

can benefit him more at that point than

00:31:35 --> 00:31:36

his Shaykh.

00:31:36 --> 00:31:39

Otherwise, why would you be going to him?

00:31:39 --> 00:31:41

If you don't have that and you say,

00:31:41 --> 00:31:43

oh, but that Shaykh might be better, then

00:31:43 --> 00:31:45

you already lost it, because your focus will

00:31:45 --> 00:31:46

be wrong.

00:31:47 --> 00:31:48

Psychologically, you won't be focused.

00:31:51 --> 00:31:54

In the terminology of Tasawwuf, this concept of

00:31:54 --> 00:31:55

implicit faith in the Shaykh is known as

00:31:55 --> 00:31:57

unity of purpose.

00:31:57 --> 00:32:00

وحدة المطلب Without this conception, the ceremony of

00:32:00 --> 00:32:03

pledge taking is meaningless and of no benefit.

00:32:04 --> 00:32:06

Because congeniality with the Shaykh is an essential

00:32:06 --> 00:32:08

condition for reformation of the heart.

00:32:10 --> 00:32:12

Just make sure you get the right Shaykh.

00:32:12 --> 00:32:15

Because if you're gonna give yourself like this

00:32:15 --> 00:32:18

and trust so much this Shaykh, then you

00:32:18 --> 00:32:19

better be a right one.

00:32:19 --> 00:32:21

Otherwise, you're dead.

00:32:22 --> 00:32:22

Right?

00:32:23 --> 00:32:24

Allah Ta'ala protects.

00:32:27 --> 00:32:30

So, he's saying congeniality and this trust is

00:32:30 --> 00:32:31

very important.

00:32:31 --> 00:32:32

So, he says that the sign of the

00:32:32 --> 00:32:36

existence of congeniality between the seeker and his

00:32:36 --> 00:32:38

Shaykh is that the heart of the seeker

00:32:38 --> 00:32:40

does not object to the position, the statements

00:32:40 --> 00:32:41

and acts of the Shaykh.

00:32:42 --> 00:32:44

Should any objection arise in the heart regarding

00:32:44 --> 00:32:48

the Shaykh, the seeker should feel grief and

00:32:48 --> 00:32:49

distress.

00:32:49 --> 00:32:51

This is probably from the Shaytan.

00:32:51 --> 00:32:53

Shaytan probably wants me to be off.

00:32:55 --> 00:32:57

The Shaytan will create a lot of problems.

00:32:58 --> 00:32:58

Right?

00:32:58 --> 00:33:00

To try to get you in doubt.

00:33:01 --> 00:33:03

There's people who take a pledge with somebody,

00:33:03 --> 00:33:05

and then they find a friend who's got

00:33:05 --> 00:33:07

somebody else and then they jump to them.

00:33:07 --> 00:33:08

And that doesn't work out and they jump

00:33:08 --> 00:33:09

to somebody else.

00:33:10 --> 00:33:12

And ultimately, they just end up wasting a

00:33:12 --> 00:33:13

lot of time and they don't get nothing.

00:33:14 --> 00:33:17

The external form of the pledge is beneficial

00:33:17 --> 00:33:18

to the lay people.

00:33:18 --> 00:33:19

What's the benefit of this?

00:33:19 --> 00:33:21

I've already explained it, but he's now explaining

00:33:21 --> 00:33:21

it.

00:33:22 --> 00:33:24

Since it induces reverence and respect in them

00:33:24 --> 00:33:26

for the Shaykh and the path, as a

00:33:26 --> 00:33:29

result, they readily accept the Shaykh's statements and

00:33:29 --> 00:33:30

are constrained to act accordingly.

00:33:31 --> 00:33:35

However, for the Khawas or the scholars, the

00:33:35 --> 00:33:38

pledge proves beneficial after a period has been

00:33:38 --> 00:33:39

spent in association with the Shaykh.

00:33:39 --> 00:33:42

Maybe not straight away, because they analyze things

00:33:42 --> 00:33:43

differently.

00:33:44 --> 00:33:45

By virtue of the pledge, a bond of

00:33:45 --> 00:33:48

sincerity and association is generated between the seeker

00:33:48 --> 00:33:48

and the Shaykh.

00:33:49 --> 00:33:51

The Shaykh considers the seeker to belong to

00:33:51 --> 00:33:51

him now.

00:33:51 --> 00:33:52

It's a responsibility.

00:33:53 --> 00:33:55

Not to say, I've got thousands of murids.

00:33:56 --> 00:33:57

Right?

00:33:58 --> 00:33:59

In fact, anybody who becomes a...

00:33:59 --> 00:34:01

I usually tell them, don't even tell anybody

00:34:01 --> 00:34:01

you're a beggar.

00:34:01 --> 00:34:02

Because, what is it?

00:34:02 --> 00:34:03

You've just joined a club, so you're telling

00:34:03 --> 00:34:05

everybody, I've joined that club.

00:34:05 --> 00:34:06

I'm a member now.

00:34:06 --> 00:34:08

What benefit are you gonna get from that?

00:34:08 --> 00:34:09

That's what some people do.

00:34:10 --> 00:34:13

They think they get something special because they've

00:34:13 --> 00:34:13

connected.

00:34:13 --> 00:34:14

They do no effort, they just tell everybody.

00:34:15 --> 00:34:17

Yes, if you want to share it, somebody

00:34:17 --> 00:34:19

who needs help, go ahead, that's fine.

00:34:19 --> 00:34:22

But don't make this a cultish thing or

00:34:22 --> 00:34:24

a membership idea or something like that.

00:34:24 --> 00:34:26

It's a very personal journey for the sake

00:34:26 --> 00:34:27

of Allah.

00:34:28 --> 00:34:30

The Shaykh considers the seeker to belong to

00:34:30 --> 00:34:31

him and the seeker considers the Shaykh to

00:34:31 --> 00:34:32

belong to him.

00:34:33 --> 00:34:35

There does not remain any tension between them.

00:34:35 --> 00:34:36

But the Shaykh does not become your personal

00:34:36 --> 00:34:38

advisor on every little thing.

00:34:39 --> 00:34:40

Some Shaykhs are like that.

00:34:41 --> 00:34:43

They want you to ask them everything.

00:34:45 --> 00:34:46

So there was a guy who came, he'd

00:34:46 --> 00:34:49

come from another group that were very possessive.

00:34:50 --> 00:34:52

So this guy, if he got you on

00:34:52 --> 00:34:53

the phone, he wouldn't let you go for

00:34:53 --> 00:34:53

an hour.

00:34:54 --> 00:34:57

He wanted to ask where he should invest

00:34:57 --> 00:34:58

his money.

00:34:58 --> 00:35:00

And I'm like, that's not a responsibility I

00:35:00 --> 00:35:00

take.

00:35:01 --> 00:35:03

I can't tell you where to invest your

00:35:03 --> 00:35:03

money.

00:35:04 --> 00:35:06

That's very, very dangerous.

00:35:06 --> 00:35:08

Because if something goes wrong, that's gonna be

00:35:08 --> 00:35:09

a big responsibility.

00:35:09 --> 00:35:10

So I don't have anything for you.

00:35:11 --> 00:35:12

He's like, what kind of Shaykh are you?

00:35:12 --> 00:35:14

He didn't exactly say in those words, but

00:35:14 --> 00:35:16

because he came from that kind of background,

00:35:16 --> 00:35:18

he expected that I had to make it

00:35:18 --> 00:35:19

very clear to him, look, this is not

00:35:19 --> 00:35:20

how we function here.

00:35:22 --> 00:35:24

Something to do with religion and so on.

00:35:24 --> 00:35:25

If you're gonna ask me that this is

00:35:25 --> 00:35:27

the investment, is it halal or haram, I

00:35:27 --> 00:35:28

can give you a fiqh-y response.

00:35:29 --> 00:35:30

If you ask me whether it's good for

00:35:30 --> 00:35:33

your heart or not, and I can understand

00:35:33 --> 00:35:34

your motivation, I can give you that answer.

00:35:34 --> 00:35:36

But I can't tell you where to invest,

00:35:38 --> 00:35:39

unless I know it personally.

00:35:41 --> 00:35:45

So one has to be very careful how

00:35:45 --> 00:35:47

this happens and what the Shaykh is.

00:35:47 --> 00:35:49

So it's good to know how much your

00:35:49 --> 00:35:52

Shaykh wants from you, and wants control, right?

00:35:53 --> 00:35:55

And wants you to be in touch.

00:36:05 --> 00:36:06

In the

00:36:06 --> 00:36:18

name

00:36:18 --> 00:36:18

of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

00:36:18 --> 00:36:21

Ya Allah, have mercy on us.

00:36:21 --> 00:36:23

Ya Allah, have mercy on this ummah.

00:36:24 --> 00:36:25

Ya Allah, have mercy on us with all

00:36:25 --> 00:36:27

of these elections that have taken place.

00:36:27 --> 00:36:29

Ya Allah, give tawfiq to those who you

00:36:29 --> 00:36:30

have chosen above us.

00:36:31 --> 00:36:35

O Allah, O Allah, grant them good understanding.

00:36:35 --> 00:36:36

Grant them compassion.

00:36:36 --> 00:36:38

O Allah, grant them kindness.

00:36:38 --> 00:36:41

O Allah, grant them concern.

00:36:42 --> 00:36:44

O Allah, grant them the right understanding.

00:36:44 --> 00:36:48

O Allah, O Allah, we pray that you

00:36:48 --> 00:36:50

protect all of us and you guide us

00:36:50 --> 00:36:50

aright.

00:36:51 --> 00:36:52

You make us of those who thank you,

00:36:52 --> 00:36:54

who stay on your path, who are there

00:36:54 --> 00:36:55

to seek your pleasure.

00:36:56 --> 00:36:57

Ya Allah, grant us your pleasure.

00:36:57 --> 00:36:58

Be satisfied with us.

00:36:59 --> 00:37:01

Make us the way that you will be

00:37:01 --> 00:37:02

satisfied with us.

00:37:02 --> 00:37:03

Make us the way you would like us

00:37:03 --> 00:37:04

to be, Ya Allah.

00:37:05 --> 00:37:06

O Allah, remove from us all of our

00:37:06 --> 00:37:09

bad traits, our bad habits.

00:37:09 --> 00:37:12

O Allah, our vices, our sins, and protect

00:37:12 --> 00:37:13

us and forgive us.

00:37:13 --> 00:37:15

Ya Allah, purify us.

00:37:15 --> 00:37:17

Ya Allah, protect us and our children.

00:37:17 --> 00:37:18

O Allah, allow us to be on the

00:37:18 --> 00:37:21

path of your sunnah, of your messenger Muhammad,

00:37:21 --> 00:37:23

sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.

00:37:23 --> 00:37:26

O Allah, allow us to go again and

00:37:26 --> 00:37:29

again to Mecca, those who have been for

00:37:29 --> 00:37:31

Hajj, O Allah, accept it from them.

00:37:31 --> 00:37:33

O Allah, those who haven't been, O Allah,

00:37:33 --> 00:37:34

allow them to go.

00:37:34 --> 00:37:36

O Allah, take us back as often as

00:37:36 --> 00:37:37

possible, Ya Allah.

00:37:37 --> 00:37:40

O Allah, we ask that you protect our

00:37:40 --> 00:37:43

sacred spaces, Ya Allah, sanctuaries.

00:37:43 --> 00:37:46

O Allah, our masjid project that we have,

00:37:46 --> 00:37:48

O Allah, allow it to be done, completed.

00:37:48 --> 00:37:51

It's on its way, O Allah, remove any

00:37:51 --> 00:37:52

obstacles in its path.

00:37:52 --> 00:37:54

Remove any hindrances from it, Ya Allah.

00:37:55 --> 00:37:56

Ya Allah, remove any hindrances.

00:37:56 --> 00:37:58

Make it easy, Ya Allah.

00:37:58 --> 00:38:01

O Allah, grant us resources from your ghayb,

00:38:01 --> 00:38:03

O Allah, from we would never expect, Ya

00:38:03 --> 00:38:03

Allah.

00:38:03 --> 00:38:05

Make it easy for us, O Allah.

00:38:05 --> 00:38:07

Make it for your sake, Ya Allah.

00:38:07 --> 00:38:08

Make it sincerely for your sake.

00:38:09 --> 00:38:11

O Allah, allow us all to serve your

00:38:11 --> 00:38:12

faith in some way or the other.

00:38:13 --> 00:38:16

Accept us all to be of some service,

00:38:16 --> 00:38:16

Ya Allah.

00:38:16 --> 00:38:18

Do not allow us to waste this life

00:38:18 --> 00:38:22

in just personal abandon and luxury and personal

00:38:22 --> 00:38:25

pursuits of fulfilling our desires, but O Allah,

00:38:25 --> 00:38:27

allow us to do it for your sake

00:38:27 --> 00:38:29

and make us truly your servants, Ya Allah.

00:38:29 --> 00:38:31

O Allah, O Allah, you have given us

00:38:31 --> 00:38:34

so much more than so many others in

00:38:34 --> 00:38:36

this world, but O Allah, we are still

00:38:36 --> 00:38:37

ungrateful, Ya Allah.

00:38:38 --> 00:38:40

O Allah, make us of those who have

00:38:40 --> 00:38:43

gratitude, who thank you, who abundantly thank you,

00:38:43 --> 00:38:47

who constantly have gratitude in their heart, O

00:38:47 --> 00:38:49

Allah, who truly understand what you have given

00:38:49 --> 00:38:51

us and see your bounties, Ya Allah.

00:38:52 --> 00:38:54

O Allah, allow us to be on this

00:38:54 --> 00:38:56

path, O Allah, on the path of the

00:38:56 --> 00:38:56

righteous people.

00:38:57 --> 00:39:00

Bless them all who have delivered this and

00:39:00 --> 00:39:02

conveyed this to us, all the way up

00:39:02 --> 00:39:04

to the Messenger Muhammad, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.

00:39:05 --> 00:39:06

Those who told us to make dua for

00:39:06 --> 00:39:08

them, O Allah, bless them and grant them

00:39:08 --> 00:39:09

their permissible needs.

00:39:09 --> 00:39:11

Those who we should be making dua for,

00:39:11 --> 00:39:12

O Allah, bless them too.

00:39:13 --> 00:39:14

O Allah, O Allah, accept from all of

00:39:14 --> 00:39:19

us, Subhana, Rabbika, Rabbil Izzati anna, Yausifuna, wa

00:39:19 --> 00:39:21

salamun al mursaleen, wa alhamdulillahi rabbil alameen.

00:39:22 --> 00:39:23

O Allah, give shifa to the sick ones,

00:39:23 --> 00:39:26

especially Muhammad Mushtaq's baby and other friends and

00:39:26 --> 00:39:29

their children who are sick, O Allah, protect

00:39:29 --> 00:39:31

all of our children and protect all of

00:39:31 --> 00:39:32

us and grant us all good health, Subhana,

00:39:33 --> 00:39:34

Rabbika, Rabbil Izzati anna, Yausifuna, wa salamun al

00:39:34 --> 00:39:35

mursaleen.

00:39:36 --> 00:39:39

The point of a lecture is to encourage

00:39:39 --> 00:39:42

people to act, to get further, an inspiration,

00:39:43 --> 00:39:45

an encouragement, persuasion.

00:39:46 --> 00:39:48

The next step is to actually start learning

00:39:48 --> 00:39:51

seriously, to read books, to take on a

00:39:51 --> 00:39:53

subject of Islam and to understand all the

00:39:53 --> 00:39:55

subjects of Islam, at least at their basic

00:39:55 --> 00:39:57

level, so that we can become more aware

00:39:57 --> 00:39:58

of what our Deen wants from us.

00:39:59 --> 00:40:02

And that's why we started Rayyan courses, so

00:40:02 --> 00:40:06

that you can actually take organized lectures on

00:40:06 --> 00:40:08

demand whenever you have free time, especially, for

00:40:08 --> 00:40:12

example, the Islamic Essentials course that we have

00:40:12 --> 00:40:14

on there, the Islamic Essentials Certificate, which you

00:40:14 --> 00:40:17

take 20 short modules.

00:40:17 --> 00:40:19

And at the end of that, inshaAllah, you

00:40:19 --> 00:40:23

will have gotten the basics of most of

00:40:23 --> 00:40:25

the most important topics in Islam and you'll

00:40:25 --> 00:40:26

feel a lot more confident.

00:40:26 --> 00:40:27

You don't have to leave lectures behind, you

00:40:27 --> 00:40:31

can continue to listen to lectures, but you

00:40:31 --> 00:40:33

need to have this more sustained study as

00:40:33 --> 00:40:33

well.

00:40:33 --> 00:40:34

JazakAllah Khair.

00:40:34 --> 00:40:36

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.

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