This excerpt is taken from Sheikh Irshad Ullah Maan's book The Search for Truth.
Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri writes: It is indeed correct to benefit from the spirituality of the saints and to receive inner blessings from their chests and graves.
Reference: (Al-Muhand Ala Al-Mufand: p.39)
To clarify this belief, read the following incident mentioned by the author of Arwah Salasa:
Maulvi Moeenuddin Sahib was the eldest son of Maulana Muhammad Yaqoob Sahib. He narrates a miracle of Maulana (which occurred after his death): Once, there was a severe outbreak of winter fever in our Nanota, and whoever took soil from Maulana’s grave and tied it on themselves would also get relief. People took so much soil that whenever soil was put on the grave, it would be finished immediately, having been put on many times. Distressed, one day he went to Maulana’s grave and said (these sons were very sharp-tempered), “Your miracle has become our trouble. Remember! If anyone gets well this time, we will not put soil on the grave; just remain as you are, and people will keep walking over you with their shoes.” From that day, no one got relief. Just as the fame of relief had spread, now this fame spread, and there was no relief. Then people stopped taking soil.
Reference: (Arwah Salasa: p.339)
In "Zalzalah dar Zalzalah," the Deobandi author Najmuddin Sahib writes: The scholars of Deoband never say that no one can know any matter of the unseen except Allah.
Reference: (Zalzalah dar Zalzalah: p.101)
At one place, Najmuddin Sahib states: The scholars of Deoband also believe that some unseen knowledge is known not only to the Prophets, Saints, and the chosen ones but even to ordinary people.
Reference: (Zalzalah dar Zalzalah: p.98)
At another place, he says: In every era, such people have been born whom the Lord of the worlds has favored and revealed many hidden matters to them.
Reference: (Zalzalah dar Zalzalah: p.114)
The Deobandi author of "Inkishaaf" writes: As for the saints of Allah, if the knowledgeable ones in the Barzakh (intermediate state) come to know the conditions of the world, then calling such knowledge "knowledge of the unseen" is a sign of great ignorance and foolishness.
Reference: (Inkishaaf: p.93)
Deobandi Maulvi Muhammad Yaseen Sahib writes: [Sheikh har che goved dide goved] The Sheikh says what he sees.
Reference: (Tazkirat al-Rashid: 2/122)
The Imam of Deoband, Haji Imdadullah Sahib, writes: People say that knowledge of the unseen is not granted to Prophets and Saints, I say that the people of truth, wherever they look, they gain knowledge of discovery, perception, and the unseen.
Reference: (Shama'im Imdadiya: p.61)
Maulvi Anwar-ul-Hasan Hashmi, a preacher of Darul Uloom Deoband, states: Some perfect-faith elders, whose earlier part of life is spent in self-purification and spiritual training, attain such a firm spiritual state from Allah that in sleep and wakefulness, those matters are revealed to them automatically which remain hidden from the eyes of others.
Reference: (Mubashirat Darul Uloom: p.12)
Whereas Allah Almighty's command is: [قُلۡ لَّا یَعۡلَمُ مَنۡ فِی السَّمٰوٰتِ وَ الۡاَرۡضِ الۡغَیۡبَ اِلَّا اللّٰہُ] O Prophet! Say that none in the heavens and the earth knows the unseen except Allah.
Reference: (An-Naml: 65)
[فَقُلۡ اِنَّمَا الۡغَیۡبُ لِلّٰہِ] O Prophet! Say that the unseen is only for Allah.
Reference: (Yunus: 20)
Allah Almighty says to His Prophet: [قُلۡ لَّاۤ اَقُوۡلُ لَکُمۡ عِنۡدِیۡ خَزَآئِنُ اللّٰہِ وَ لَاۤ اَعۡلَمُ الۡغَیۡبَ] O Prophet! Say that I do not say to you that I have the treasures of Allah, nor do I know the unseen.
Reference: (Al-An'am: 50)
Also, the command of Allah Almighty is: [وَ لَوۡ کُنۡتُ اَعۡلَمُ الۡغَیۡبَ لَاسۡتَکۡثَرۡتُ مِنَ الۡخَیۡرِۚ وَ مَا مَسَّنِیَ السُّوۡٓءُ] And if I knew the unseen, I would have preceded in good deeds, and no evil would have touched me.
Reference: (Al-A'raf:188)
Also, the divine command is: [اِنَّ اللّٰہَ عٰلِمُ غَیۡبِ السَّمٰوٰتِ وَ الۡاَرۡضِ] Indeed, Allah alone is the Knower of the unseen of the heavens and the earth.
Reference: (Fatir:38)
It seems appropriate to mention here that it is not just to ask me for Quranic and Hadith evidence in this matter. Because this is not a matter of Shariah, this is the field of the religion of Tariqat, and between these two there is the distance of east and west and the separation of earth and sky. Just as the foundation of Shariah is based on three things: Quran, Hadith, and Ijma (consensus), and then somewhere Qiyas (analogy) comes after that. Similarly, this religion of Tariqat also has three foundations which are called Ittihad-e-Thalatha (The Threefold Unity). My desire is to present the essence of the religion of Tariqat in the briefest words before you, and after becoming familiar with it, you will solve every difficulty in the path of Sufism with ease.
[1]Hulool (Incarnation):
The basis of this theory is that if a person, through extraordinary austerities, purifies the self and elevates the soul, or if someone inherits these qualities, then the Divine Essence descends into them. (That is) the divine enters the human and the creator enters the created. This is why Hindu sages, ascetics, and Buddhists retreat into forests and mountains to perform severe austerities. This theory is also held by Christians, and their extraordinary austerities have become part of history. Their ascetics would tie their bodies to a pillar with ropes, trying to remain in the same position. Days would pass, and the ropes would cut into their flesh, causing wounds that would become infested with worms, yet these people would not end their austerities but would continuously strive to increase them. If any worm fell from the wound, they would pick it up and place it back on the wound, saying: Eat! What your Lord has given you.
Many such elders wandered aimlessly in the forests and lived on grass; some lived in animal shelters, some in old graves, and some made their homes in wells. Some remained silent for years, and some were seen with iron chains on their hands and feet.
In this last Ummah, the origin of this belief began with the followers of Abdullah bin Saba (a Jew who hypocritically entered Islam during the caliphate of Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him). Their belief was that Allah Almighty had incarnated in the person of Sayyidina Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, and in his progeny, and thus these individuals were the "avatars" of Allah. Then this belief of incarnation passed from the followers of Abdullah bin Saba to the Nusayris, Kaysanites, Qaramita, and Batiniyya, and eventually entered the Sufis, where it reached its full development. The belief in the divinity of Sayyidina Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, had already begun during his own time. Seventy men of the tribe of Zutt, who were disciples of Abdullah bin Saba, openly called Sayyidina Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, "Ilah" (God). Sayyidina Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, advised them greatly, but when they were not ready to change this belief, he, may Allah be pleased with him, ordered them to be thrown into the fire. However, these people were so firm in their belief of "Ilahiyat Ali" (the divinity of Ali) that even while burning in the fire, they kept proclaiming that Ali is certainly the Lord. Because: [لا یعذب بالنار الا رب النار] No one inflicts the punishment of fire except the Lord of the fire.
Reference: Sunan Abi Dawood, Book of Jihad, Chapter on the Dislike of Burning the Enemy with Fire: 2673
In this way, these people died bearing witness to the divinity of Sayyidina Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, even in their final moments.
This is also the belief of the Firaq Sabaiya and Nasiriya that Allah Almighty has incarnated in Sayyidina Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, and therefore Sayyidina Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, is God. Banuri Sahib, in the matter of his father's marriage contract, placed Sayyidina Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, on the Throne, thereby giving an opportunity to reveal this very belief. That is why Khawaja Haider Ali Atash Lakhnawi said:
My heart has become the servant of the Nasiri's God
Under the influence of this belief, it is said that the voice Prophet Musa (Moses) heard on Mount Tur was the voice of Sayyidina Ali (may Allah be pleased with him). Among the Sufis, Husayn ibn Mansur al-Hallaj is considered the first proponent of this belief. His belief was that the divine (Lahut) becomes incarnate in the human (Nasut). Specifically, he explicitly claimed that Allah had incarnated in him. For this reason, he used to chant the slogan ،،انا الحق،،. This belief of "absolute incarnation," meaning that the essence of Allah Almighty is incarnated throughout the entire universe, was originally the belief of the Jahmiyyah. It was introduced into this Ummah by Husayn ibn Mansur al-Hallaj and his companions, and today it has become the lifeblood of the religion of Sufism. It should be noted that Ahmad Raza Sahib has declared those who believe in incarnation as disbelievers.
Reference: See his translation with Tafsir Al-Ma'idah: 77,17
Junaid Baghdadi's student and disciple Shibli also considered him a companion and regarded him as wiser than himself. In any case, they certainly had the courage to stand firm on their belief and sacrificed their lives for it. This belief still exists today, but due to fear, it is expressed under the names of Tadati and Tajalli. This is the manifestation of one theory among the three unities. As for the second component of this unity, it is even more "magnificent."
[2]Wahdat al-Wujud:
The second component of [اتحادِ ثلاثہ] that has altered the distinction between Creator and creation as explained by the Quran and Hadith is the theory of Wahdat al-Wujud (Unity of Existence). It states that everything in the universe is a part of one single being spread out. There is no otherness between one thing and another, meaning there is unity between Creator and creation, and both are one. According to this theory, disbelievers and polytheists, sinners and wicked, believers and Muslims, Satan and jinn, dog and cat, impurity and filth—all are the very existence of Allah. They cannot be separated from the Divine Essence. There is no otherness between them and the Divine Essence, and the various things seen in the universe are merely the apparent aspect of sensory perception. Ibn Arabi, who is called Sheikh al-Akbar among the Sufis, is considered the originator of this theory, but the truth is that this theory, borrowed from Hinduism, has been the essence of the art of Sufism from the beginning. Yes! Ibn Arabi certainly rose as its champion within the Muslim Ummah. By writing famous books like Futuḥāt Makkiyah and Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam, he tried to prove it right and spent his entire life spreading this theory. The result of his effort is that today, among every Sufi, this idea is displayed in some form or another. Ibn Arabi says:
The Lord is Truth and the Servant is Truth
I wish I knew who is responsible
The Lord is also Truth and the servant is also Truth, I wish I could know which one of them is responsible?
If you say the servant is responsible, then the servant is dead and lifeless
Or if you say the Lord is responsible, then how can He be responsible?
Reference: Futuhat Makkiyah: Volume 1, Page 1
And he writes:
I wish I knew who is responsible
There is nothing except Allah, there is no one else
Reference: Rasa'il Ibn Arabi Kitab al-Jalalah: Page 12
In his book Fusus al-Hikam, in the chapter Haruniyah, he writes:
The knower is the one who sees the Truth
In everything, rather he sees the Essence of everything
So the knower is the one who sees the Truth in everything, rather sees Allah Almighty as the essence of everything.
And in
Reference: Fas Hud
it is written:[انہٗ عین الاشیآء] Indeed, Allah Almighty is the essence of things.
The same is said in Futuhat Makkiyah as:
If you are the essence, then the Truth is the essence of creation
And in creation, the essence of Truth is there if you have intellect
So the truth is exactly in the creation if you have a discerning eye, and the creation is exactly in the truth if you are a person of intellect.
According to this theory, everything is a part and component of the Divine Essence. Nothing possesses otherness from another thing; only the difference in degrees has changed the forms. Some appear as humans, some as animals, some as trees, some as mountains, some as saints, and some as prophets, but even a sinner and a wicked person is essentially a part of the Divine Essence just like a great saint. Similarly, an animal is also a part of the Divine Reality, and so is a bird. That is why the masters of this art sometimes chant "Labbaik Labbaik" at the speech of an animal and sometimes at the sound of a crow. If asked what this is, it is just the sound of an animal or a crow, the answer is that every sound seems to me the voice of the Divine, and that is why I chant "Labbaik Labbaik." (نعوذ باللہ!) Ibn Arabi's theory changed all the values of the Quran and Hadith; the world became eternal instead of transient, Allah was suspended, the distinction between good and evil ceased to exist, suffering was endured, and heaven and hell became meaningless things. After all, what kind of God would consign His own essence to hell? Ibn Arabi stated that the fire of hell would cool down and provide pleasure and delight. This theory gained such strength that supporters and champions of it emerged all over the world. Somewhere Mawlana Jalaluddin Rumi raised its slogan, and somewhere the family of Wali Allah hoisted its flags, and today the biggest role in the current form of Islam is of this theory.
[3]Unity of Witnessing:
The third part of ،،اتحادِ ثلاثہ،، is __ARABIC_11. It is also called ARABIC_12__. Its meaning is that a person should develop his love and spiritual practice to such an extent that instead of bringing Allah Almighty down from the Throne and entering Him into any being like the Hululiyyah, he himself ascends and rises high.
One should enter into the Divine Essence and thus annihilate the self to attain subsistence. It is said that this concept was invented by Sheikh Ala ad-Dawla al-Sammani, who passed away in 736 AH, in opposition to Ibn Arabi's Wahdat al-Wujud, and in the Indian subcontinent, Mujaddid Alf Thani Sarhandi brought it to its peak of perfection. However, the reality is that this concept has existed from the beginning in every Sufi order. Abu Ismail Harawi (died 481 AH), the great proponent of this idea, Ali Hujwiri, the author of Kashf al-Mahjub (died 565 AH), and Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani, the author of Ghaniyat al-Talibin, Futooh al-Ghaib, and al-Fath al-Rabbani (died 561 AH), all raised the banner of this concept, even if they did not name it as such. The purpose of inventing these three concepts was to eliminate the distinction between Creator and creation, servant and Lord, which is the greatest obstacle on the path of divine ecstasy and which the Quran and Hadith have described at every place, every stage, every time, and every moment. Ultimately, such beings came into existence who possessed the attributes of both Creator and creation, servant and Lord. Sometimes they became the Creator, sometimes the creation; sometimes the servant, sometimes the Lord. History bears witness that these individuals achieved complete success in this matter, and countless such mixed beings emerged who possessed the attributes of both servant and Lord, sometimes being called problem solvers and sometimes benefactors and helpers.
If we look at these three components of [اتحادِ ثلاثہ], the first thing that will become clear is that all three are completely against the Quran and Hadith, but among these three theories, only the theory of Wahdat al-Wujud shows similarity and alignment. Because according to it, everything is a part of the Divine Essence and therefore of the same kind. And if there is unity, it occurs among things of the same kind. The other two theories, Hulool and وحدت الشہود،, are completely illogical because they claim unity among things of different kinds. Hulool places the Divine Essence into the human essence but brings it down from the Throne, while Wahdat al-Shuhud merges the human essence into the Divine Essence by elevating it. However, it must be said that necessity is the mother of invention, and also that "this shade and sunlight according to necessity is also good." It seems appropriate that the proponents of this religion have collected so much material from their own books as examples and for comparison with other Hadith that even thousands of pages would be insufficient for it.
Names of Books on Sufism:
If you want complete research and awareness about Sufism, study these books; the reality will become clear:
[1] Anis al-Arwah [2] Dalil al-Arifeen [3] Kashf al-Mahjoob [4] Tazkira al-Awliya [5] Fawaid Fareediya [6] Malfoozat Ahmad Raza [7] Asrar al-Awliya [8] Fawaid al-Fuad [9] Imdad al-Mushtaq [10] Fawaid al-Salikeen [11] Mashaykh Naqshbandi [12] Akhbar al-Akhiyar [13] Tazkira Awliya Pak o Hind [14] Tazkira Ghausiya [15] Kalam al-Murghoob [16] Rahat al-Quloob [17] Anfas al-Arifeen [18] Rasa'il Ibn Arabi [19] Fuyooz Yazdani [20] Futoohat Makkiya [21] Mishkat al-Anwar [22] Risala Qushayriya
Remember that in the above chapter, these glimpses have been presented as examples; obviously, according to the correct belief of Sunni Muslims, their status is no more than superstitions. If the mentioned Awliya (saints) were truly great, then these attributed statements are not correct, and if these statements are correct, then their greatness is questionable.
Those who consider these matters as miracles and insist on establishing the greatness of Muslims through these miracles are, in reality, the cause of their disgrace. Due to the aforementioned references, if someone commits disrespect towards the elders, the responsibility largely falls on these blind followers.
