Tasawwuf Shuyukh
[5]
Tasawwuf: Imam Shafi`i
[6]
Tasawwuf: Imam Shafi`i
[7]
Tasawwuf: Imam Ahmad
[8]
Tasawwuf: al-Muhasibi
Bismillah al-Rahman al-Raheem
was-salaat was-salaam `alaa Rasul-illah wa
'alaa alihi wa sahbihi wa sallam
[5] ON TASAWWUF
Imam Shafi`i (d. 204)
Al-hafiz al-Suyuti relates in Ta'yid
al-haqiqa al-`aliyya
that Imam al-Shafi`i said:
I accompanied the Sufis and received from
them but
three words: their statement that time is a
sword: if
you do not cut it, it cuts you; their
statement that if
you do not keep your ego busy with truth it
will keep
you busy with falsehood; their statement
that
deprivation is immunity.(1)
The muhaddith al-`Ajluni also relates in his book Kashf
al khafa wa muzil al albas that Imam
Shafi`i said:
Three things in this world have been made
lovely to me:
avoiding affectation, treating people
kindly, and
following the way of tasawwuf.(2)
(1)Suyuti, Ta'yid al-haqiqa al-`aliyya p.
15.
(2)al-`Ajluni, Kashf al-khafa wa muzil
al-albas 1:341 (#1089).
Bismillah al-Rahman al-Raheem
was-salaat was-salaam `alaa Rasul-illah wa
'alaa alihi wa sahbihi wa sallam
[6] ON TASAWWUF
Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal (d. 241)
Muhammad
ibn Ahmad al-Saffarini al-
Hanbali (d. 1188) relates in his Ghidha'
al-albab li-sharh manzumat al-adab from
Ibrahim ibn `Abd Allah al-Qalanasi that
Imam Ahmad said about the Sufis: "I
don't
know people better than them." Someone
said to him: "They listen to music and
they reach states of ecstasy." He
said:
"Do you prevent them from enjoying an
hour with Allah?"(1)
Imam Ahmad's admiration of Sufis is
borne out by the reports of his awe
before al-Harith al-Muhasibi, although he
expressed caution about the difficulty of
the Sufi path for those unprepared to
follow it, as it may not be for all
people to follow the way of those about
whom Allah instructed His Prophet:
"And
keep yourself content with those who call
their Lord early morning and evening,
seeking His Countenance..." (18:28).
(1) al-Saffarini, Ghidha' al-albab li-sharh
manzumat al-adab (Cairo: Matba`at al-
Najah, 1324/1906) 1:120.
Bismillah al-Rahman al-Raheem
was-salaat was-salaam `alaa Rasul-illah wa
'alaa alihi wa sahbihi wa sallam
[7] ON TASAWWUF
Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal (d. 241)
Muhammad
ibn Ahmad al-Saffarini al-
Hanbali (d. 1188) relates in his Ghidha'
al-albab li-sharh manzumat al-adab from
Ibrahim ibn `Abd Allah al-Qalanasi that
Imam Ahmad said about the Sufis: "I
don't
know people better than them." Someone
said to him: "They listen to music and
they reach states of ecstasy." He
said:
"Do you prevent them from enjoying an
hour with Allah?"(1)
Imam Ahmad's admiration of Sufis is
borne out by the reports of his awe
before al-Harith al-Muhasibi, although he
expressed caution about the difficulty of
the Sufi path for those unprepared to
follow it, as it may not be for all
people to follow the way of those about
whom Allah instructed His Prophet:
"And
keep yourself content with those who call
their Lord early morning and evening,
seeking His Countenance..." (18:28).
(1) al-Saffarini, Ghidha' al-albab li-sharh
manzumat al-adab (Cairo: Matba`at al-
Najah, 1324/1906) 1:120.
Bismillah al-Rahman al-Raheem
was-salaat was-salaam `alaa Rasul-illah wa
'alaa alihi wa sahbihi wa sallam
[8] ON TASAWWUF
al-Harith al-Muhasibi (d. 243)
He was one of the earliest author of Sufi
treatises and the
teacher of al-Junayd. `Abd al-Qahir
al-Baghdadi, Taj al-Din
al-Subki, and Jamal al-Din al-Isnawi all
reiterate the
statement whereby "Upon the books of
al-Harith ibn Asad al-
Muhasibi on kalam, fiqh, and hadith rest
those among us who
are mutakallim (theologian), faqih
(jurist), and sufi."(1)
His extant works are:
*
Kitab al-ri`aya li huquq Allah (Book of observance of the
rights of Allah); Shaykh al-Islam al-`Izz
ibn `Abd al-
Salam wrote an abridgment of it.(2)
*
Kitab al-tawahhum (Book of imagination), a description of
the Day of Judgment;
*
Kitab al-khalwa (Book of seclusion);
*
Risalat al-mustarshidin (Treatise for those who ask for
guidance);
*
Kitab al-ri`aya li-huquq Allah (Book of the observance of
the rights of Allah);
*
Kitab fahm al-Qur'an (Book of the understanding of
Qur'an);
*
Kitab mahiyyat al-`aql wa ma`nahu wa ikhtilaf al-nas fihi
(Book of the nature and meaning of the mind
and the
differences among people concerning it);
*
al-Masa'il fi a`mal al-qulub wa al-jawarih wa al-`aql
(The questions concerning the works of the
hearts, the
limbs, and the mind);
*
Kitab al-`azama (The book of magnificence);
*
al-Wasaya wa al-nasa'ih al-diniyya wa al-nafahat al-
qudsiyya li naf`i jami` al-bariyya (The
spiritual legacies
and counsels and the sanctified gifts for
the benefit of all
creatures).
(1)`Abd al-Qahir al-Baghdadi, Kitab Usul al-Din p. 308-
309;
Taj al-Din Subki, Tabaqat al-shafi`iyya 2:275; Jamal
al-Din al-Isnawi, Tabaqat al-Shafi`iyya
1:(#9)26-27.
(2)al-Subki mentions it in Tabaqat al-shafi`iyya. A
copy of it is found at the Chester Beatty
Library, ms. 3184
(2).
Blessings and Peace on the Prophet, his
Family, and his Companions
GFH Abu Hammad
[1996-11-16]
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