Mysticism and Shariah
The Argument:
An allusion to Tassawuf (Islamic mysticism) in the Indian Subcontinent is necessary as the masses in this land came to know God through the Sufis. Their personalities and conduct led humanity towards the recognition of God. However, the existence of mystical thought in human history was also reflected by teachers like Zeno of Elea (d. 430 BC), Diogenes (d.323 BC), Plotinus (d.270 CE), Dionysius Exigus (d.544 CE), St Augustine (d.430) and St Aquinas (d. 1274), followed by a long list of Muslim Sufis. Through self-purification and by establishing the most important priority of the human intellect they were able to achieve sincerity, love and awareness of God. They left clear signposts for those who came after them thus ensuring that the thought of returning to God continued to exist among the masses.
Islam has produced a large number of Sufis in succession. This is because the religion of Islam has a clear concept of God and its path of guidance is brightly illuminated. The concept of God contains no confusion and the role of the messenger is utterly transparent. Whosoever wants to follow the path towards God will not find a scripture better than the Quran, nor a teacher better than Muhammad, the Messenger of God. The complete preservation of the Quran and the numerous and testified reports of the Prophet’s conduct have provided us with unambiguous guidance in every aspect of life. In Islam, mysticism is not an exclusive or selective approach; rather it is the common and standard approach. Every effort to acquire sincerity or striving for self- awareness, balance and moderation naturally leads to God.
It is the Quran alone that leads to a universal conception of God. In other religions the personal views and prejudices of people led to a localized notion of God. Each tribe and nation perceived God as their personal inheritance and appropriated God for themselves. They ranked themselves as God’s Beloved. Such a pledge from God is not found in His words or in any of His books.
The Quran tells us that the vastness of the cosmos is a minimal expression of His infinite creative force. It informs us that He is infinite and self-sufficient. How could He be the Father, Son or Brother of anyone? It is impossible for His wondrous beauty to be reflected in idols and statues. He, the Infinitely Just, does not decide to reward conduct and character on the basis of how closely related someone is to someone. His providence is not contingent on our acceptance or denial. He provides sustenance both for the believer and the non-believer. In fact, He gives more to the non-believer taking all considerations into account. God, the Sublime and Exalted cannot be comprehended by the human intellect without knowledge and understanding.
Better knowledge leads to better recognition. Because of this the Sufis consider knowledge of God and self-awareness as the ultimate priority. From the hordes of Mullahs and holy men of today not a single one has accomplished even the generic standards of the self-recognition of God. They have failed in this because they are inclined to embroil the general public in mythological stories so that they can conceal their inner vices and depravity. Their sole aim is to seek their personal interests and satisfy their own desires. Nevertheless, there are a conscientious few who have a glimmer of sincerity. However they have not been able to climb out of the matrix of deceptive representation. Their journey continues in darkness. Those who trust the insincere Mullahs are so naive and innocent that not only are they bewitched by this magical system but they have been deceived to such an extent that they have become prisoners to blind following. They do not dare to question their masters.
The paths of the Shariah, the external Law, and Tareeqat, the inner Law, have been hijacked by quacks. Knowledge and reality gave way to absurd fictions and long and useless litanies begun to pile up. The world of forty-day retreats, invocations, mystical powers and spiritual states was created. Control of every street and corner was handed over to the recruits of these schools of magical charms. Now every morsel of daily bread, every matter, every marriage and wedding, every job and career opportunity was not possible without these magical spells. Godhood was handed over to magicians. It seems as if these people have got together and exiled God from the universe. There were only a handful of those who are able to watch over the reputation of their virtuous forefathers.
The vicious contest between the forces of pseudo-Sufi schools and the reprehensible clerics completely erased any distinction between truth and falsehood from the minds of both sides. The reality of the divine vanished in the swarm of litanies and baseless fairy tales. When the Mullahs saw that the Sufi pretenders were more popular and much loved by ordinary people, they began to make their own claims to mysticism in their own groups. They had no understanding of the gradations of mystical thought. In their grand design of greed and gluttony they prepared a mythology of mystical powers which shocked and surprised the people of real understanding. The minds of the Mullahs set up the most stringent principles of allegiance to themselves (Ba’ayat). In the style of free masonry they straitjacketed their followers into a Madrasah system based on conflicting views which wiped out any independent thought or action. Dazed, bewildered and confused, their followers became trapped into movements similar to those of the Hashshashin (Assassins) of Alamut .
Religion disappeared: only the traditions of extremism, hatred and exploitation were left behind. In addition to the Mullahs there were certain families who exploited the names of the Naqshabandis, Suharwardis, Qadiries and Chishties to drive forward their own interests. These parasitic creatures fastened their tentacles around the necks of the people. The Masters of mysticism had already reached God and all that was left in the hands of these Crows (imposters) were oaths of allegiance, feasting and singing. A simple general fact-finding exercise can reveal this fact. In the contest of worldly power, the descendants of the great mystics rose above every moral constraint. They became captives to the lust for land, gold, status and control. Mullahism, like Catholicism and Judaism, succeeded in creating a system which safeguarded its interests. Sincere and well-meaning leaders were replaced with seminary trained but uneducated fanatics.
Islam and God began to be associated with killing and bloodshed. This gave the secularist another excuse. He found another argument for the superiority of his civilization and the necessity for social freedom. So, with extreme cruelty, secularism began to pursue religion, especially the followers of Islam. Alas, how unfortunate for mankind! Gone is the religion which was the only way to attain the proximity of the ultimate reality and instead we are left with nothing but the stench of personal prejudice. Gone is the religion which is the science of all sciences, leaving behind displays of sheer madness. The intimate knowers of God’s mysteries have disappeared and in their place are the assassins of character and morality. Gone are the true mystics such as Bayazid Bistami (d. 874), Junaid al-Baghdadi (d. 910), Rabia al-Adawiya (d. 801) and Hasan Basri (d. 737), and we are left with mere Mullahs, Mullahs and more Mullahs.
These self-intoxicated individuals desecrated all the requirements and protocols of humility. To gain control of the minds of people they bestowed upon themselves and their insignificant and minor teachers the titles of the great masters. To this day, I have not come across any reason that would justify a mystic to sing the praises of his own piety. Where did the title of Religious Reviver of the Millennium (Mujadad- Alf-e-Thani) come from? Who received it and who gave it? Other titles are the Master of the Arabs and the Non Arabs, Leader of the Mystical World, Lord of the Six Dimensions, the Upholder of the Age, the Helper, and the Pole of Existence. All these stations have been claimed by these self-sanctifying parasites. Today these crows flap where eagles once soared. The outward demeanour of these friends of evil is all religious and saintly. As a result of this, the search for truth has become extremely difficult. Intellectual curiosity and endeavour alone can resist and prevail over the seductive captivation of this exploitation of the unsuspecting masses.
Knowledge and scholars have both disappeared. The goals of the Secularist, the Mystic and the Mullah were all different and personal. However in the pursuit of power and status they were all equally ruthless. In using religion they were all cold and calculating. The worst types of sexual corruption, misappropriation of funds and intellectual monstrosities at one time or another reveal the true nature of these groups. Unfortunately, authority still remains with the Secularist and the Mullah. Perhaps the time of Islam has not yet come, and the coming of the Mahdi seems distant.
Islam is not the birthright of the Muslims, nor are the ordinary Muslims the vehicles of the religious scholars’ personal desires. Islam belongs to every individual and human being. Wherever anyone is searching for God and whatever path he chooses, it will lead to Islam. The hatred of Islam amongst Non-Muslims is because of the Muslims. During the centuries of killing, fighting and war when Islam and falsehood were locked in battle, Islam transformed from a religion leading to God to become a religion of vested interests and specific nationalities. This was purely the outcome of twisted thinking. This was the same corrupt approach that the Jews and Christians had taken regarding their own religions. The Jews regarded the religion of Moses and the Torah as personal possessions and acted wrongfully in relation to it. The Book of God was reduced to the commonplace prejudices of different tribes. In the same way the Bible became a victim to the highhanded approach of the Christians. Its Priests created distortions in it to further their own aims. Even though God permits mankind to ponder and reflect upon scripture, yet these exploiters of religion vested themselves with the authority to misinterpret the verses of the Holy Books. The paths leading to the welfare and happiness of all mankind now became means for promoting personal, tribal and nationalistic interests.
In every religion the cleric has always been the least educated in the higher truth. Secularism has always lusted for power. In essence the battle between the secularist and the cleric should have centred on the struggle between the body and the soul. This did not happen, as the ultimate goal of both was to gain power. Although the secularist has the upper hand today, the die-hard Mullah, who possesses an instinctive intelligence which is primitive and natural, knows that secularism can never provide tranquillity to the human mind. It can offer the means to improve the quality of life, but it does not have anything called peace and contentment. This clan of religious pretenders is waiting for the time when the desire of the people for peace and tranquillity will outstrip their hunger for physical necessities. This will be the time when it will leave its protected fortress and once again will make a bid to establish its own authority. In response to this act of history, God and the godly people will be reasserting, as always, the doctrine of priorities in order to face such a major crisis, and this will pave the way for the coming of Mahdi and Jesus.
An English Edition of Muqaddama-tul-Quran by Prof.Ahmad Rafique Akhtar
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