Watch out for the divorce of Sufism & Islam!

deobandi, sufi, muslim

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There is a sinister attempt these days to divorce Sufism from Islam.

Of course there are innocents who do it too. For instance Westerners who are only interested in a few techniques, theories or stories that may give them peace of mind, some solace from the bleak materialism of modern thought.
For such it is all the same, a yoga posture, a Zen story or a Sufi visualization/meditation technique. Whatever helps.

Then there are the secularists, who flee from Islam, perhaps due to their own slackness of practice, weakness of faith, love of the West, or perhaps because they have been frightened off by the fanatics such as the Taliban, and being forced to choose between 2 false extremes as Shaykh Abdal Qadir as-Sufi puts it, choose Liberal Humanism over the Taliban.

For some such Sufism is a genuine religious expression, but for many secularists, it is only interesting as cultural phenomena, a literary diversion, another kind of universal humanistic liberalism. Hence all the pandering of Sufism as some sort of "liberal Islam" which is primarily concerned with "self-development" or a vague new-agey Universal peace and love movement etc., hence the out-of-context quotes of saints in the state of annihilation [Fana fi Allah] about seeing God every where, in the mosque, the temple and the tavern, appealing to such folks, oblivious to the meaning and context of such verses.

Of course Sufism is the soul of Islam itself. Islam is Sufism.

However, as we mentioned, there is another, more sinister effort from a group that hates Islam and wishes to divest it of its spiritual power, and this group uses all the many means at its disposal to prise Sufism out of Islam and align it against Islam with other mysticism such as Hindu or Buddhist mysticism, humanism and liberalism in a 'new-agey' brew.

They also of course use all the above mentioned groups: new agers and lukewarm muslims, as well as modernists, feminists, communists, secularists, agnostics who use Sufism as a stick to beat 'the mullas' and orthodox Islam with.

Among those who fall victim to the marginalization plan of this no doubt Zionist-inspired clique, are also hardcore Barelvis, because unwittingly they are aiding this group by limiting Sufism to their brand of Islam and creating divisions within Muslims.

This is not the time for divisions, not that there ever was. We have to stress that there is no Sufism without Islam, and that Sufism does not consist only of Urs, Milad/Mawlid, grave visits and Qawwali. All these are peripheral to the Path.

Yes cyclewala believes in these, but the Deobandis are Sufis too, and they do not practice any of these things. However the essentials of Sufism are there with them: initiation with a Spiritual master, regular practice of namaz and voluntary extra worship- Qur'an recitation, fasts, Zikr, contemplation, self-accountability etc.- and most important, the improvement of one's morals manners and love for others above oneself.

As Hazrat Wahid Bakhsh RA & Hazrat Pir Mehr Ali Shah have both said, Deobandis and Barelvis are both Sunni Muslims & Sufis, please get over it. A milad does not make anyone kafir. Nor did Hazrat Sharfuddin Yahya Maneri RA kiss his thumbs, Maulana Rumi RA and countless other great Sufis did listen to musical instruments, that did not make them Kafir, and likewise Hazrat Sultan Bahu RA and Maulana Thanvi RA thinking music is unlawful does not make them non-Sufi. Hazrat Junayd Baghdadi RA did not conduct Mawlid festivals, Hazrat Baba Farid Ganj Shakr did, but on the 2nd of Rabiul Awwal, not the 12th... and he held a Fatiha, not a Nasheed/na'at khwani concert. none of these things are central to Sufism, we can disagree about them.

What is central is to try become a better human being, to worship your Maker, obey the Qur'an in everything, and emulate the Messenger of God, and send blessings upon him, help one's fellow Muslims first and all of God's creatures next, all as much as possible. Till we are annihilated, and only God remains. This is Sufism.


So take heed! O you men of understanding!
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