Reformist Currents in Sufism

At the height of British rule in the late 19th century India, the Barkatiyya Pir’s and the Usmani Pir’s took strong pride in that their ancestors (buzurg) had at all times accorded precedence to Sharia over Tasawwuf (sufi belief and practice). They considered Tasawwuf to be a necessary complement to the Sharia, enriching it but not superseding it in any way. This attitude, which accorded well with the Ahle Sunnat emphasis on following the sunna, was what defined a Sufi as ‘reformist’. The Ahle Sunnat contrasted it with the ‘excesses’ of ‘false’ Sufis who thought they had attained spiritual heights that they need not fulfill the daily ritual prayers and other prescribed duties. In his daily conversations with followers Imam Ahmad Raza frequently condemned such ‘Sufis’, saying Satan inspired them. 

While the Ahle Sunnat were affiliated with the major Sufi Tariqas current in British India, as were ‘ulema’ in other movements, most emphasized their ties to the Qadiri Tariqa over the Chishti and Naqshbandi. Nevertheless, their respect for the other Tariqas was evident as some of Imam Ahmad Raza’s followers belonged to the Chishti and Naqshbandi Sufi orders. Furthermore, the Ahle Sunnat wa Jamaat also regarded Shah Abdul Aziz Dehlawi (may Allah be pleased with him), whose affiliation was primarily Naqshbandi, as the mujaddid of the 13th century Hijri.

In each of these Tariqas, namely, Qadiri, Chishti and Naqshbandi it appears that certain key figures were thought to have been particularly associated with the attempt to lesser Sufi ‘excesses’ to sharia moderation. Of them were Shaikh Abdul Haqq Muhaddis Dehlawi (may Allah be pleased with him) [1551-1642] and Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi (may Allah be pleased with him) [1564-1624]. For Imam Ahmad Raza, Shaikh Abdul Haqq Muhaddis Dehlawi of the Qadiri Tariqa, was more prominent of the two men, in part because of his valuable contributions to hadis scholarship (acknowledged by Sunni Muslims of all schools, not just the Ahle Sunnat) and Ahmad Raza cited him frequently in his fatawa.

Additionally, Hazrat Shaikh Abdul Haqq (may Allah be pleased with him) contributed to the Qadiri intellectual discourse through his writings on Sufi themes. According to S.A.A. Rizvi's book [Sufism in India]:

[His] writings on Sufism are generally an attempt to reconcile the Sharia with Tariqa; nevertheless they also assert the superiority of Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani (may Allah be well pleased with him) and the Wahdat al-Wujud. His celebrated ‘Akhbarul akhyar’, relating to Indian Sufis…. emphasizes the belief that Shaikh Sayyiduna Abdul Qadir (may Allah be well pleased with him) was superior to all his predecessors and that his precedence over all future generations of saints of God was also guaranteed. To Shaikh Abdul Haqq (may Allah be pleased with him), the Ghausal-Azam’s claim, "My foot is on the neck of every saint of God" was a well-considered statement.

Imam Ahmad Raza shared in these views completely and he too revered Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani (may Allah be pleased with him) of Baghdad over and above all saints. He also affirmed his belief in the sufi doctrine of wahdat al-wujud (ontological or existential monism) against that of wahdat al-shuhud (phenomenological monism) which came to be associated with Qadiri order after Shaikh Sayyiduna Abdul Qadir’s (may Allah be pleased with him) death and he believed that discussion of this doctrine should be confined to the learned (the khawass, as against the awamm, ordinary people), and in part perhaps because he was not particularly interested in the debate. 

Ahmad Raza and the Ahle Sunnat generally were also drawn to Shaikh Abdul Haqq’s (may Allah be pleased with him) approach to the beloved Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace) and in Madarij al-Nabuwwa, a Persian ‘biography of Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace) in five parts,’ he defended the belief that our Master the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) had performed miracles. He also wrote in praise of Faqr al-Muhammadi, a book by the Arab Sufi al-Wasiti (may Allah be pleased with him) [D.C. 932], on love of the beloved Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace) and the excellence of the ‘Muhammadiyya Tariqa’. Hazrat Shaikh al-Wasiti (may Allah be pleased with him) encouraged Sufis to regard the Prophet Muhammd (Allah bless him and give him peace) as their Master, Shaikh and Imam, and to strive to attain mystical union with him, in outward behavior, they were enjoined to be chaste, emotionally restrained, and faithful to the Sharia.

Imam Ahmad Raza struggled hard to cleanse the Muslim society from the evils of reprehensible innovations [bida]. He pointed out the these reprehensible acts, impermissible and condemned by the Sharia [Sacred Law of Islam], for example:

1. Separating the Tariqat [the Method] from Sharia.

2. Women's unveiled [be-pardah] presence before Pir's and Faqirs.

3. Participating in non-Muslim religious festivals

4. Making the Ta'a zias [models of the tombs of Imam Hasan and Imam Husain] and carrying

    them out in the processions, and seeing Muharrem processions.

5. Participating in the gatherings arranged for breast beating and mourning.

6. Hearing Qawali [a small troupe of singers who sing for the Mystics/Sufis], with

    musical instruments.

7. Hanging the pictures of the Pious men and pay reverence to them.

8. Shaving the beard

9. Wearing the dresses of the English/European style and fashion, etc, etc.

 

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