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| Credit: Nabawi TV Youtube channel |
The venerable Habib Umar bin Hafiz hosted a post-Fajr lecture on a book entitled Kitab Mahiyatu At-Tasawuf.
Habib Ali bin Zaenal Abidin Al-Hamid translated his lecture from Arabic into Malay. The English translation below is by Al-Faqir to document Habib Umar's words in English for the benefit of our English-speaking readers, bi-iznillah. It is done based on a recording of the majlis on the Nabawi TV Youtube channel dated 25th May 2023.
Habib Umar began his speech by praising the Almighty for His great gift and the vastness of His bounties. This book [Kitab Mahiyatu At-Tasawuf] discusses the realities of tasawwuf and the signs of those who practice it. The book enlists terminologies on tasawwuf from the 2nd or 3rd Hijri based on available books and sunnah [at the time]. Since the discussion of tasawwuf relates to the aqidah of one who guards oneself or muraqabah [attentiveness] towards Allah, thus it pertains to noble character/behaviour, the author therefore, begins the book with the recited verses.
The verse recited in Arabic reads: Allah the Creator of Heaven and the Earth is All-Knowing of all His creations. Allah is well aware of the attributes of the heart, thus Allah says in the verse, Allah knows all that your heart and soul contains, therefore you should be wary.
The book continues with the proclamation of shahadah and the verse about Allah being present with His servants. As per the words of Allah in the Quran, no speech is uttered in secrecy among three people, except that He is the fourth, amongst them, and so on and so forth. Regardless of the number of people in a conversation, He is with them no matter where they are. Allah will reveal their conversations in the Hereafter, verily He knows all.
The book continues with the witnessing of the Prophet Muhammad, as a testimony of certitude towards the messages that Allah had given to all former prophets and Rasul. Prophet Muhammad was sent to acknowledge the previous messages and as a seal of the Prophets. It is Allah's prerogative to manifest the Prophet as he was, despite the will of the disbelievers (mushrik). Allah then speaks His words to His Rasul on the characters of the Prophet. As stated in one verse of the Quran, "O prophet, we have sent you as a messenger of glad tidings, a warner and one who calls people to Allah by His will and you are a source of light. Convey to the believers of a great bounty from Allah.
Any and all praiseworthy attributes can be found in Prophet Muhammad's [pbuh]. And Allah made an oath to mention so in the Quran. As stated in Surah Al-Qalam, Allah says: "Nun, consider the Pen and all they write therewith, indeed he (the Prophet) is of a great moral character."
The tasawwuf scholars defined the term tasawwuf as akhlak (character). He who improves his character is said to have also increased his tasawwuf. Allah says in the Quran of His gifts for the believers, a prophet among them, whose role is to read the words of Allah, purify their hearts and souls, and teach them from the books and teach them wisdom, though they were clearly misguided.
'Wayuzzikihim' as mentioned in the book, means to purify the heart and soul and is meant to emphasize the significance and realities of tasawwuf. The reality of tasawwuf is of those who purify their hearts and souls, hence they are the people of tasawwuf.
As stated in another verse of the Quran about a Prophet among you, who is displeased by any burdens that may befall you, one who is eager to help save you, and one who is empathetic towards the believers.
Salutations to the Prophet! By making salutations to the prophet one could thereby purify one's heart and soul. One who earnestly makes salutations to the Prophet will be purified by Allah, and Allah would facilitate him/her to get closer to the Prophet and Himself. As said one companion, I will occupy all of my time to make salutation to you O Prophet.
The book summarizes the essentials of tasawwuf so that it would be easier for you to benefit from it. The terminologies offered in the book describe the components of tasawwuf and also its virtues. The definitions of tasawwuf terminologies provided in the book include many other definitions of the subject. [audio lost].
The people of Tasawwuf are those who truly embody their relationships with Allah through Ihsan, Islam and Iman. As such, the person will be perfectly guided in his moral character and exhibit the right behaviours hence attracting love from Allah for him/her. Those who wholeheartedly display the attributes and moral character until it becomes his/her reality. By having the correct understanding of tasawwuf and by manifesting the qualities of tasawwuf, his/her behaviours will appear noble and he/she will become praiseworthy.
The second definition of tasawwuf is to widen one's certainty of knowledge (ilm yaqin) to include ainul yaqin (certainty of witnessing) and to understand its realities. The meaning of ilmu yaqin is one whose heart is resolved to do good deeds. This is the beginning of tasawwuf. When one progresses from ilmu yaqin to ainul yaqin he/she begins to see the invisible as a manifested truth. Ainul yaqin is reserved for those elect who are worthy in the eyes of Allah. When one is steadfast on the level of ainul yaqin, he/she will then progress to haqqul yaqin. This lofty level is typically granted to the prophets (anbiya) and those among the siddiqin and awliya.
The analogy between the three, ilmu yaqin, ainul yaqin and haqqul yaqin is such that someone informs you of a glass of water. If the informer is one whom I do not trust then I will not have ilmu yaqin on the information that he/she has conveyed to me. I will doubt it.
If the informer is honest and trustworthy, I therefore have a reason to believe the informer and as such I will have obtained ilmu yaqin. If I were to be given the same information from more trustworthy sources, I would have greater certainty on the matter.
If the informer had also made a sound by knocking on the glass and I heard it. This would heighten my certitude in ilmu yaqin. There are many levels of certainty in ilmu yaqin. The same analogy applies to the messages that Allah has sent us about Islam and iman (belief) in the hereafter, in Allah and His Rasul and all that is listed in the six pillars of faith (Rukun Iman). The level of our iman or certainty of knowledge on these matters varies among us.
If I were to enter the room where there is a glass of water and I see it with my own eyes, this would make my certainty stronger, that of ainul yaqin. As I get closer to the glass, the degree of my ainul yaqin increases. Likewise, if I could get to the glass to hold it and see its contents. Many awliya among the ummah is at this level of ainul yaqin. And the elect among the awliya is even higher in their level of certainty at haqqul yaqin - those who hold the glass and taste the water.
As said Imam Abdullah al-Haddad in his poetry: acquaint yourself with the Quran and follow the sunnah of the Prophet and the salaf, the ahlul yaqin - people of certitude those who are at ainul yaqin and haqqul yaqin, those who arrive at the reality of their relationship or knowledge (makrifah) of Allah. The taste of such certainty is the sweetest of drinks for us. Therefore, drink it, for it is beyond your imagination. May Allah let us savour the drink of certainty, elevate us in ilmu yaqin, and onward to ainul yaqin and bless us with Your generosity so that we shall all arrive at haqqul yaqin. There is nothing more sacred regarding certitude than one that descends from heaven to the earth.
O Allah, we are gathered here with all who are present here, we raise our hands to You O Lord so that You grant us your mercy (redha) and grant us ilmu yaqin, ainul yaqin and haqqul yaqin. And perfect Your gift to us so that we will be among the people of haqqul yaqin. We gather here solely for Your sake.
The third definition of tasawwuf is one's effort to progress the path of Islam and iman to get closer to Allah and attain gnosis (makrifah) of Allah and to seek His love for His sake. Imam Abdul Rahman bin Abdullah bin Faqih said about the physical manifestation of Islam, iman, Ihsan and makrifah. That these definitions of tasawwuf complement one another. And the definitions may be concluded with one that is most complete which is to perfectly follow the sunnah of Rasulallah. The "fruit" of following the Prophet, is the love of Allah, as stated in the Quran: "If you love Allah, then follow me, Allah will love you..." Know that all good lies in following the Prophet who grants intercession.
Now that we understand the definition of tasawwuf, who are they? Who are the people of tasawwuf? Who are the Sufis? The Sufis are those who have reached the fruit of their good deeds, the fruit of their noble characters for they have in reality exemplified the characters as commanded by Allah, they have won the love and mercy of Allah, and they are the Sufis.
One cannot be called a Sufi unless he/she has reached the level of ainul yaqin, he/she is a mutasawwif, that one aspires to become a Sufi. A group of people who are confused about tasawwuf or Sufi asked Shaykh Muhammad Abduh Yameni if he was a Sufi, and he replied, "If only I was a Sufi. I am not one. I love them."
Those who lack understanding of tasawwuf or Sufi could cause confusion and mislead others. The steps to attain the level of a Sufi have already been clarified in the hadith of the Prophet relating to the concept of Ihsan, that one should worship Allah as if one sees Him, and if you do not see Him, know that He sees you. As for those who love the Sufis and strive in following their footsteps, but have yet to reach the level of ainul yaqin, they are the mutasawwif, they are the Sufi aspirants. And those who love the Sufis but whose efforts are somewhat lacking, are neither Sufis nor mutasawwif, they merely adore the Sufis. This matter is related to a hadith about one who mirrors a people, for they are regarded as among those whom they try to emulate. This hadith tells us the significance of trying to imitate or emulate someone. One who tries to imitate someone has a chance of belonging with those he/she is trying to imitate.
Imam Abdullah bin Abu Bakar Al Idrus, an arif, expounds on the realities of Sufi. Imam Abdullah Al-Haddad acknowledged the lofty position of the former for his ability to foretell an event. Imam Abdullah defined a Sufi as one who is on the path towards Allah.
The third group is those who try to emulate those who adore the Sufis but are not as steadfast, they are known as "mutashabbihul mutashabbih." A hadith that is relevant to this situation states that one who loves a group of people is considered among those he/she loves. In another hadith, the prophet is asked about one who loves a group of people but whose deeds are not equal to theirs, the Prophet replied: one will be gathered with those whom he/she loves.
These are the signs of the people of tasawwuf: they understood the contents of the Quran and Sunnah. This is the fundamental of tasawwuf. One cannot possibly perform any good deeds properly without having a fair understanding of the kitab and sunnah. This is related to the definition of tasawwuf as given at the beginning of this session.
One will find numerous people of tasawwuf and those who love them, in the sanad of qiraat knowledge, tafsir, and even hadith. Imam Malik's Al-Muwwata also has Sufis in its chain of transmission. Similarly, Kitab Musnad by Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim including those by Imam An-Nawawi and all the classic references on fiqh by Imam Shafie, Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Malik and Imam Ahmad.
It suffices to conclude that the people of Tasawwuf who expounds on Islam and all its branches of knowledge, they are the protector of the religion. Imam Junaid ibn Muhammad, the leader of the people of Tasawwuf of Baghdad said, "Those who do not memorize the Quran or write the hadith cannot be followed for our knowledge is based on the Quran and Sunnah. That our knowledge has its basis in the hadith. I will not easily fall on claims or dreams unless it is in line with the Quran and sunnah."
Verily, one who claims to be kashaf or performs miracles that is against the kitab and sunnah is a liar. Those who believe such a person is ignorant. As narrated in a hadith, if Allah wants a person to be good, He will grant him/her an understanding of the religion. And certainly, Allah will not appoint a wali among those who are ignorant. Imam Abdullah bin Abu Bakar Al-Idrus said I see very few people on the path of haqiqat so many ignorants tend to make false claims. It is impossible for one who lacks knowledge and good deeds to arrive at haqiqat. Only one out of 70,000 people can attain such a level. That shows how difficult it is to achieve it. Imam Abdul Rahman As-Saggaf and his grandfather Abu Bakar Adni are said to have perfect certitude and Shariat. According to Imam Abdul Rahman As-Saggaf, any knowledge that is devoid of amal is considered null and void. Any knowledge and amal that is absent of a niyyat are worthless. Any knowledge, amal or niyyat that is not following the Sunnah is not accepted. Any, knowledge, amal, niyyat and sunnah that lacks piety (waraq) might result in a great loss and humiliation on the Day of Reckoning.
So, all that has been described is the summary of the path to Allah. When Habib Ahmad bin Zain Al-Habshi asked his guide, Imam Al-Haddad about the meaning of the realities of Tariqat Tasawwuf, he said it consists of five: knowledge, good deeds, fear of Allah, sincerity, and piety. And that is one of many attributes of the people of Tasawwuf. May Allah grant us such an attribute.
Imam Abdul Rahman As-Saggaf emphasized the importance of keeping a close connection with the Quran and reading it consistently so that he/she can complete the Quran once in the morning and once in the evening and increase the frequency to two, three, and four khatam. These are the people of the Quran. They are very close to Allah.
They are the guided ones. They are contented with the gifts of Allah. They have no other intentions except Allah. They keep close company with the Quran. May Allah bless us with their blessings. May Allah guide us on account of their holiness. Let us die in their path while we are safe from fitnah.
May Allah protect the ummah from both seen and unseen fitnah. Grant those who are present at this majlis ilmu yaqin and haqqul yaqin. Grant us an understanding of the religion. That we may follow the Prophet Al-Amin. Let us not leave this gathering unless You have granted Your mercy and maqbul. Keep us guided under all circumstances.
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[May I be forgiven for any errors or ommissions]
