Tuesday, September 07, 2004

What is NOT Tasawwuf?

Various misconceptions exist regarding tasawwuf.
It is of utmost importance that these misconceptions must be cleared upfront.
This mental re-conditioning is necassary otherwise, ages will pass without success & salvation.
Some of them are:
  1. Becoming aware of future or hidden affairs (khasf e kuni) or performance of supernatural phenomenon (karamat) is not necessary for tasawwuf.
  2. Salvation is not guananteed in hereafter by itself for any one who claims to be in tasawwuf (one has to strife and follow shariah for it).
  3. Success in wordly affairs or increase in one's income or cure from some illness or fortelling of future events is not promised.
  4. Neither does it entail that by sheikh's spiritual powers (tasarrufat) mureed's condition will improve itself, without his detemination to strife for good works and abstain from sins. [common error].
  5. Nor does it assure that his intelligence & memory may increase for hifz of Quran or religious knowledge.
  6. Nor is there a time limit that such a spiritual state is reached that one finds pleasure in worship, does not get distrubbing thoughts, cries a lot (either from love or fear of Allah swt), or reaches a state where he in unaware of everything else except Allah swt. [This is the most common error].
  7. It is not necessary that one sees lights (anwar) etc. or hears voices during dhikr or shugal (special rememberace techniques)
  8. Nor seeing good and spiritual dreams is necessary.

BUT

The real objective of Tasawwuf

is to attain

Allah swt's pleasure.

Next:

  • Example: How the internal moral states form the basis of our bodily worship?
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