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IZAT-E-WARIS

Chapter II

Before his esoteric teaching is dealt with, a word about Sufism will not be amiss. Unlike the "Eleusinian mysteries" of the Greeks (A society of cultivated Athenians in which the initiated alone could be admitted. They sought after a more adequate conception of the Deity than what was current in the popular religion) there is nothing mysterious about it. The legends and myths which form a halo round the lives of early Sufi saints have given a tinge if the supernatural to Sufism just as Freemasonry is associated by the common herd with magic. Founded on a desire for something deeper than mere formalism, Sufism stands on thoroughly orthodox ground. Ibn khaldun observes in his prolegomena that the fundamental principles of Sufism prevailed among the Companions of the Prophet and the followers, but in the second generation, when Islam grew more worldly, those who were religiously inclined  lived a life of seclusion and piety. They had a coterie of their own and were nick-named "Sufis". The term Sufi was first applied to Abu Hashim Kura (800 A.D) though Hasan of Basra is regarded by some authorities as the leader of the movement.

Jami says in his life of Abu Hashim that the first convent for the Sufis was built by a Christian nobleman. This was the beginning of the monastic institution in Islam, which though opposed to the teaching of the Prophet, namely, that "there is no mockery in Islam" came to be adopted by the Sufis as part of their system. It was probably the desire for a life if retirement and seclusion which led ultimately in extreme cases to complete reunification of the world, otherwise the majority of the Sufis believed in being in the world but not of it. They were originally the object of much derision, and those who followed the letter of law looked askance at them as some Muslim sects still continue to do. But it was not long before they counted in their ranks famous theologians and learnt divines. Imam Shafai (a great canonist in Islam) has said that the knowledge of God possessed by the whole world did not equal his knowledge, yet it felt short of the knowledge possessed by the Sufis. In the third century of the Hijra, Sufi doctrines were considerably developed, and brought some of the more advanced members of the sect into conflict with the ecclesiastical authorities. It ended in the sentence of death being passed upon Mansoor Ibne Hallaj. The story is too well known to warrant a repetition. "whoso worships God by the light of ordinary religion is like one who seeks the sun by the light of the stars" is one of the beautiful sayings attributed to him. According to Bayazid of Bustam, one of the eminent Sufis of early period, "the performance of miracles is not the real test of a saint, but a goodly and righteous life". The yearning of the "inner light" seized the heart and imagination of the Islamic world, and Sufism grew to be the craze in religious circles.

The East has been noted for its mysticism. Before the advent of Islam mysticism was practiced not only by Hindus, but by Christians also, it was probably on this account that foreign writers were led to imagine that Sufism was derived from the theosophy if the Vedants or from Neo-Platonism. The great authority of Ibn Khaldun entirely repudiates the theory that Sufism was engrafted upon Islam. While differing in some respects from the ordinary Muslim view, it is based entirely upon the teachings of the Holy Quran and has nothing to exotic in it. The man who above all others gave to Sufism a permanent shape was Imam Ghazali who lived in the fifth century of Hijra. He was anxious to distinguish it from mere asceticism. He, therefore, brought Sufism into harmony with orthodoxy and placed it on a metaphysical basis. But Sufism is more of a practical science than a study if the things of the soul. To acquire an insight into Sufism, it is not sufficient to know the history if the sect. the very first lesson in Sufism is beyond the reach of the average man, as it consists of self mortification combined with fervid piety. The secrets of the order were, therefore, originally imparted to the select few only who showed a desire and capacity for spiritual development. Hence there is a veil of mystery drawn over it.

The eternal order of the universe according to the Sufis is based on love. The word is used by them in technical sense. According to Maulana Rumi (604 – 672 A.H.) the greatest authority on Sufism, has, in famous "Masnavi", put forward theories which correspond exactly to those of gravitation and evolution. He has traced the origin of man from matter and described the various stages of evolution through which man has passed. That a Sufi saint should have discovered and discussed these theories, centuries before Newton and Darwin were born, is a matter worthy of notice of the Western scientists as well as of the younger generation of our students. One is inclined, in all fairness, to give the palm to the Eastern mystic for his superior knowledge of the laws of nature. All matter is composed if invisible particles or atoms which are drawn towards one another by mutual attraction. The same law exists in the organic world. He interprets this tendency of bodies to approach one another by mutual attraction. The same law exists in the organic world. He interprets this tendency of bodies to approach one another as LOVE. It is argued on the same lines that man, having been evolved out of matter as the highest form of creation and having been endowed with reason, must essentially claim still greater affinity with the divine and Absolute Reason. "Rightly to understand the love of God," says Ghazali, "is so difficult a matter that one sect of theologians has altogether denied the love of God as consisting merely in obedience……The love of Him springs from the knowledge of Him". But the chief cause of this love, it is explained, is the affinity between man and God which is referred to in the saying of the Prophet: "Verily God created man in His own likeness".

For the purpose of practical training in Sufism, it is necessary to go through certain ascetic exercises and observances under the guidance of a spiritual preceptor or Shaikh, as the Sufis call him. It is through him by means of concentration that one is linked with God when the mind has been chastened by long training. A great deal depends on the character of the Shaikh. The early Shaikhs were men of great piety and learning. With the decline in the true spirit of Islam as well as in learning, the tradintional sanctity of the order could not hold its own against the growing forces re-action.

In modern times the so-called Shaikh or Pirs introduced the system of offerings and cash presents (nazr) which, unlike their predecessors, they accepted freely to enable them to live in comfort and lead a life of leisured ease. This excited the jealousy of the pure theologians who earned a precarious living by indicting doubtful fatwas and leading the prayers in mosques. To their mutual detriment, the line that divided the two parties became more marked as time passed. The Sufis lost the learning of the theologians and the latter, the broad spirit, the ethical refinement and the toleration of the former. The disposition to worldliness changed the entire character of the coterie. Another fact among the series of causes which affected its high moral tone was the use of phraseology of human love for the love of God by the Persian poets. The analogy, when carried too far in less scrupulous surroundings, was calculated to result in bringing discredit to the cult as it subsequently did. The Shaikhs of old have now degenerated into professional Pirs-third rate men who claim to give passports to heaven and trade on the credulity of their followers at whose expense they are fed and pampered. They have also introduced other innovations, such as the worship of shrines and tombs, which are entirely opposite to the teachings of Islam. It may be noted here that much theological learning (which is on the wane now) is not necessary to obtain an insight into the practical side of Sufism. What is most important is the possession of the true love of God and zeal for spiritual advancement.

The form which spiritualism has taken in Europe and America is quite different from the spiritualism of the Eastern Sufis. In those countries it consists in table-turning, spirit-rapping and holding communications with the spirits of the dead through a medium. People in this country have long been familiar with séances, but it is wrong to associate such practices with Sufism. European spiritualists have begun to realize that séances are a hoax, founded on the tricks played by mediums. These dilettante experiments in the realm of the spirit are as far removed from the higher manifestations of the soul and its mysterious relations with the Creator as Metaphysics is from Logic. What distinguishes a high order of man or what constitutes human goodness, belongs to the domain of ordinary ethics; but when self-forgetfulness and self-sacrifice are carried to an extreme for the sake of attaining the highest beauty of the soul, one is said to have acquired the real knowledge of God. This is exactly what Sufism claims to teach. The pantheistic tendency, with which it became imbued subsequently under the influence of foreign ideas and particularly of Greek philosophy, was an unknown feature in ancient Sufism.

According to Spinoza, "to know God, as far as man can know Him, is power, self-government and peace." Haji Saheb was one of those men who knew God as He ought to be known. He was not the founder of any sect or creed, but he was a man of uncommon power and goodness. The keynote of his system was "divine and universal love". The English poet appears to have been inspired by the same sentiment when he said:

Love rules the Court, the camp, the grove;

For Love is Heaven and Heaven is Love.

 

It was love which fired the soul of the great Rumi and made him burst into the following strain:

Hail to thee then, O Love, sweet madness!

Thou who healest all our infirmities!

Thou art the cure if our pride and our self-conceit

Thou art our Plato and our Galen!

 

It is interesting to find an echo of the old Sufistic theory in the writings of the Western spiritualists of today. A well known American writer (Ralph Waldo Trine – "In Tune with the Infinite") on spiritualism says:

"The moment we recognize ourselves as one with the spirit of Infinite Love, we become so filled with love, that we see only the good in all, and when we realize that we are all one with this Infinite Spirit, we realize that we are all one with each other…..that the same life is the life in each individual. The prejudices go and hatreds cease. Love grows and reigns supreme".

Haji Saheb asked his disciples to love him and to love one another, and laid great stress on this point.

A Sufi has to pass through several stages in the up-hill path of knowledge, which he seeks. Haji Saheb does not, like other Sufis, appear to have advanced by stages in the pilgrim's progress. He is said to have been as proficient in spiritual knowledge in his youth as he was towards the close of his life. He is, on this ground, believed to have been born a saint. It is averred further that he derived inspiration direct from the Caliph Ali (R.A) who is believed by Sufis to have received his spiritual training from the Prophet himself.

In the early stages of training a beginner is required to learn two most improtatn practical lessons, namely, complete dependence upon God (Tawakul) and resignation to the Divine Will (Taslim o Raza). The word Tawakul in ordinary parlance signifies trust in God, but has been much abused by a certain class of Muslims who are religiously inclined. Thousands of men who can do useful work live upon alms and charity in convents and schools and believe that they are following the teachings of their religion, inasmuch as they depend upon God alone for their means of subsistence. This has killed the spirit of self-reliance and increased the number of unproductive units in the community. The Sufis use the word in quite a different sense as explained by Ghazali:

"When the veil of secrecy is removed, one finds by actual observation that nothing other than God is self-existent; that causality is mere delusion and that He is the real cause and agent of all that takes place in the world. In this ecstatic state the Sufi becomes independent of all external agency and relies upon God alone for his wants".

It has been said that Haji Saheb gave away all his property when he left home. The house in which he came to stay in later years was not his own. Some of his disciples made arrangements for his food and brought it to him, but he never asked for it. He did not accept nazr, and never touched money with his hand. People sometimes made presents to him. He did not reject them, but gave them away to other persons. The true test of a faqir, he said, was that he should not ask for anything, not even of God. The love of God is the extinction of all other loves and desires.

As for the resignation to the Divine Will, he showed a stoical indifference to the disagreeables of life. He is not known to have ever complained of even of the weather. When he happened to be unwell, it was a hard task for the medical attendant to elicit from him what his trouble was. He never said a word that might convey the sense of suffering and contended himself with saying that nothing was wrong with him. He did not like to hear other people speak of their troubles, and enjoined complete acquiescence in the will of God. Far from claiming to interfere in the decrees of Heaven (as some faqirs pretend to do) he moved in perfect harmony with the Divine Will, thus expressing man's responsibility of becoming a co-worker with nature in the divine scheme of things. This is the highest form of self-control and submission to the Eternal Law.

The final stage in spiritual progress Fana or the state if being merged in God. But there is still higher state termed Baqa which is the continuance of annihilation in the Eternal Consciousness. It is the crown of spiritual attainment and the acme of self-annihilation. Some philosophers hold that to look with admiration on a type of perfect excellence is the way to become assimilated to that excellence. The Sufis believe similarly that constant contemplation and dwelling on the attributes of the Supreme Being result in union with Him.