In the language of the Quran and Hadith, the name of Sufism is purification and kindness. The famous Hadith, which is called “Hadith Jibraeel”, after faith and Islam, a permanent question is about “Ihsan”. Hazrat Jibraeel asks Hazrat Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him):
What is Ihsan?
The Prophet (peace be upon him) replied:
اَالاِحْسَانُ اَنْ تَعْبُدَ اللہَ کَأنَّکَ تَراہُ:
The highest level of goodness is to feel as if God is always present when worshipping Him.
Less frequently than this is:
اِنْ لَمْ تَکُنْ تَرَاہُ فَاِنَّہُ یَرَاکَ:
He is watching you anyway, you are neither outside the scope of His knowledge nor within His grasp.
Therefore, Mujaddid Alf Thani rightly says:
“The Sharia, which is the name of the divine commands, has three components: knowledge, action, sincerity. Without knowledge, there is no action, and without action, knowledge is useless, and without sincerity, action is useless. Therefore, knowledge, action, and sincerity, together, form the Sharia.”
Sincerity in action; This is the result of Sufism, purification of the soul, and charity. The path and reality are the servants of the Sharia, and all the happiness of religion and the world is achieved through the path and Sufism.
Through the path and Sufism, sincerity is created in action and the goal is the perfection of the Sharia. Without sincerity, the place of pleasure cannot be achieved. The promise of divine pleasure upon following the Sharia and the Sunnah is proven in the Quran… It is said:
Say, “If you love Allah, follow me, and Allah will love you.” (Aal-e-Imran: 31)
(O Muhammad (peace be upon him) say, “If you love Allah, follow me, and Allah will love you.”)
Imam Rabbani Mujaddid Alf Thani says: This matter was revealed to this poor man after ten whole years and the truth of the matter became clear. (Maktoob 36, Volume 1)
Hazrat Mujaddid Alf Thani is one of those blessed and great personalities of the sixteenth century AD, who not only beautified the face of Sufism in Punjab but also in the whole of India, corrected its edges and introduced it to the truth of the concept.
His full name is: Abul Barakat Ahmad Badruddin, his title is “Imam Rabbani and Mujaddid Alf Thani”. His date of birth is 5/June 1564 and his date of death is 26/November 1624. His sixth grandfather came and settled in Sirhind (Punjab). The achievements that Hazrat Mujaddid accomplished in the short span of his life are a bright chapter in the history of India. The un-Sufi activities that the Sufis were doing in the name of Sufism during his time were exposed by Hazrat Mujaddid through his valuable writings and teachings and he purified Sufism and presented its true reality.
The Establishment of the Sunnah
He says: For a long time, knowledge, knowledge and the conditions of places came to me like the events of Abrani, and whatever I did, it was by the grace of Allah. Now there is no desire except that some Sunnah should be revived from the Sunnah of Mustafa and be propagated. (Maktoobat 37, Volume 1)
Following the Sunnah:
May Allah Almighty adorn and honor the outward and inward with the following of the Sunnah of Mustafa, upon whom be peace and blessings. Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), is the beloved of the Lord of the worlds, and whatever is best is for the beloved; therefore, Allah Almighty says: And indeed, you are on a great character (Surah Qalam, verse 4).
Allah Almighty has guided the nation of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) to the straight path. He said: My Lord has taught me good manners.
How is Hazrat Mujaddid encouraging the establishment of the Sunnah along with the following of the Sunnah and saying that the positions of Sufism are nothing compared to the establishment of the Sunnah and the following of the Sunnah? (Letter 41, Volume 1)
There is no Contradiction between Sharia and Tariqat
Hazrat Mujaddid makes it clear that there is no conflict between Sharia and Tariqat; rather, both are two sides of the same coin; thus, giving an example, he says, “Not telling lies with the tongue is Sharia and removing the urge to lie from the heart is the path and the truth. That is, if this negation is done with effort, it is Sharia and if it is done without effort, it is the truth.
So in fact, the inner self, which is the path, is the complement of the outer self, which is Sharia. (Letters 41, Volume 1).
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The Difference between Revelation and Inspiration
Explaining the difference between revelation and inspiration, he wrote that revelation is definite and inspiration is the belief that the source of revelation is angels and angels are infallible. There is no possibility of error there, there is a possibility of error in inspiration. (The Concept of Religion from the Perspective of Hazrat Mujaddid, p. 28).
The Qualities of the Soul should Remain
Generally, the concept of self-sacrifice is found among Sufis instead of self-control. Hazrat Mujaddid says that the qualities that are in the soul should remain. They say that even if the soul becomes a satisfied soul, that is, it becomes bound by the Sharia, the other qualities of the soul should still remain; because these qualities open the door to progress. They say that spiritual progress is due to the opposition of the soul. If there is no opposition of the soul, there will be no spiritual progress. For this, they refer to the hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) that when he returned from Jihad, he said on his return from the field of Jihad:
One Fard is better than a thousand Nawafils:
Generally, Sufis tend to be more inclined towards Nawafils and Mustahabs; but Hazrat Mujaddid says that performing one Fard at the appointed time is better than a thousand Nawafils, and says that even if they are Nawafils with sincerity, they have no value compared to Fard. Hazrat Amirul Momineen Umar Farooq (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates the incident that he finished performing the morning prayer in congregation, and saw that one of his companions was not present in the congregation. When he inquired, he found out that he often fell asleep at that time due to staying awake at night and performing Nawafils. He said that if he had slept all night and performed the morning prayer in congregation, it would have been better than staying awake that night.
Correctness of actions according to Sharia
For the ignorant Sufis, miracles and circumstances are of great importance; but Mujaddid clarifies this by writing that the correctness of actions cannot be achieved without knowledge; thus, in Letter 41, he said:
“It should be clear that the sciences of the Sufis are sciences of circumstances, and circumstances are the result and fruit of actions. Therefore, the sciences of circumstances are valid for those who have corrected their actions and fulfilled their full rights. The correctness of actions can only be achieved when one knows and acquires knowledge of actions and learns the nature of actions. And the knowledge of Sharia is that knowledge of prayer, fasting, all obligations, marriage, divorce, and all necessary matters is obtained from it, and this knowledge is acquired by learning. No one has any choice but to acquire this knowledge.”
He said:“Knowledge is between two fighters: one is a fighter in seeking knowledge, before acquiring knowledge, and the other is a fighter in acting on it after acquiring knowledge.”
Existential Monotheism and Self-Subsisting Monotheism
How well Hazrat Mujaddid has solved the delicate and complicated problems of Sufism is something to see in his writings. Regarding existential monotheism and self-subsisting monotheism, he says:
“Undoubtedly, the stage of existential monotheism occurs to the seeker; but this is the first stage, it is not the end of the journey. In this stage, the seeker has drunk the cup of love, which has made him intoxicated. He is neither aware of himself nor of others. As long as he remains unconscious, he will not see anything except the true Beloved. The intoxication of this stage is so delightful and colorful that he does not want to leave it.
After this stage comes the stage of complete consciousness and forgetfulness, its name is the stage of servitude. This is the stage of humility and completeness. At this stage, the servant is a servant and the Creator is the Creator.”
Mujaddid Sahib says: “Humma Awast means “Humma Az Awast”, that is, the appearance and witness of whatever is.
By putting forward these few examples of Hazrat Mujaddid’s teachings and his thought, it can be estimated with what insight and depth Hazrat Wala presented true Sufism. He was certainly a Mujaddid of his time, a wise man of the world, a high-ranking religious scholar and a spiritual leader with an awakened heart. He helped in a great social revolution, changed an entire era and created a new era with its graces and aspirations. Hazrat Mujaddid Alf Thani’s concept of Sufism is still a beacon of light for us today. If this concept is spread widely, the entire society can be perfumed with the fragrance of divine love.
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