One of the most powerful ways to understand things is through a lens of historical context.

When examining Shariat (Divine Law) we often think of the historical context, even if it is involuntary. We may understand the Shariat as a need that came to a people of lawlessness and injustice. We may further understand the books of Hadith through the need to capture and maintain the traditions of the Prophet (Sallalahu’alaiheewassalam) for future generations. While we know that Tassawuf (also known as Tazkiyat and Tariqat) much like Shariat, existed for all times with different names and slightly different means, we can certainly examine the rise of Tassawuf in an Islamic and historical sense.

Where do we put the spiritual sciences, Tassawuf, or the Tariqats in the larger context of history?

The best way to come to build a historical context for the Tariqat is to examine the society around the great saints and namesakes of the Tariqats.

All of these high saints and their large bodies of students came from societies very different from the one we live in today. They were surrounded by Muslims, they lived in societies where praying in Jamaat was the norm. This is where everyone in the country (and beyond) was fasting and giving their zakat. Pilgrimage was much more arduous, yet performed by thousands. If someone didn’t rise for Tarawih, they became the talk of the town.

It is within this environment that we see the great Saints of Islam rising and gather students. Teacher of the likes of Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani (R), Shah Naksiband (R), Moinuddin Chishti (R) were all living in the reality of a ubiquitous Shariat, when the laws of Islam were being canonized. They lived in the type of society of Imam Ghazali (R), from whose writings we can witness the high level and respect that religious scholars of Islamic Law and doctrine were given. In fact, we can see from his writings in the “Deliverance from Error” how the people considered him insane for leaving his high teaching position in order to pursue the inner side of Islam.

Tassawuf, and Tariqat flourished in this environment. What was about its message that was so uniquely fitted within this time period?

The central message seemed to be: All this… all this is not enough.

We see Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani (R) saying to us:

Most of you are out of touch with reality. You are pretending to practice Islam, when in actual fact you are doing nothing of the kind. Woe unto you! The mere name of Islam will do you no good at all. You may be performing the required observances [shara'it], but only on the surface [zahir], devoid of inner content [batin], so your performance does not amount to anything of value. Your external form may be there in the prayer-niche [mihrab], but your inner being is putting on a show and your outer self is playing the hypocrite. From a superficial point of view, your conduct is considered pious and devout, even though all the while your inner being is full of things that are unlawful [haram].

This constitutes worshipful devotion [ta'abbud] as far as your physical frame is concerned. Its performance will therefore render you outwardly exempt from punishment under the sacred law [shar'], since you have not committed any obvious infringement of that law, but true knowledge ['ilm] will condemn you to agony and chastisement. You may see yourself as having dodged the penalty today, but who will let you get away with it tomorrow [at the Resurrection]?

You may see yourself as having been exonerated in the view of the legal experts [ahl al-hukm], but how can you pass for blameless in the sight of the people of knowledge [ahl al-'ilm], when they see by the light of Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) and recognize the Truth [Haqq] by indications with which they are familiar? As seen through the eyes of the common folk, you are a person who performs the ritual prayers [musalli], who keeps the fast [sa'im], who constantly extols the glory of the Lord [musabbih], who pays the alms-due [muzakki], who makes the pilgrimage to Mecca [hajj], who behaves with pious restraint [mutawarri'], who is devoted to duty [muttaqi] and dedicated to abstinence [zahid].

In the eyes of the people of knowledge, on the other hand, you are a hypocrite [munafiq], an impostor [dajjal], a denizen of Hell [jahannami]. As soon as you you come into their presence, they will notice the ruined state of your house, the house of your religion [din]. They will spot the mark of hypocrisy on your face. They will recognize you at once by your telltale demeanor, and yet they will not say so in words. The nearness of the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He) has sealed their mouths, His protective covering has kept their tongues in check, and the tongue of His noble generosity and forbearance restrains them. Were it not for this, they would not seem so tolerant!

-Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani (R) Jala’al al Khawatir, twenty ninth discourse

So we see that, while Muslims were progressing externally, they were losing something as well. Codifying Islam was beneficial, but also subject to being filled with ego. As any great empire grows the heart of it often is tested, and many have whithered. Islamic civilization’s response to this growth, success, and high intellectualism is found within Tariqat. That is what the high scholars turned to when they reexamined themselves.

Today we find that since we are crowded by un-Islamic things in our life, we (in our usual reactionary approach) jump into the idea that we need to change this or that about our appearance, this or that about the positions of our prayer, this our that about our families and communities. We, like the early Muslim communities, give high level of importance to religion scholars of hukm, of legal expertise, again forgetting about the inner aspect of life and of Islam. Worse yet, we have begun to look at Shaykhs of Tariqat with suspicion and distrust and confusion. They say “history repeats itself”, don’t they?

Indeed, the various reform movements that have propped up are really the same at their source. Their intense focus on the outward is intensely obvious. Each Muslim educational institution is focused on the idea that we make the masses into people of “hukm”.

In fact, Ilm (knowledge) has come to mean legal or doctrinal knowledge, that is the sad state of affairs for Muslims. We forget, as the Gawth states above, that while one can be pass by the people of hukm they cannot escape the people of ilm.

Of course, there is a real relationship there between hukm and ilm, but they are not equivalent. Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani (R) said:

The specialist in the law [sahib al-hukm] is concerned with storing the goods, while the specialist in knowledge [sahib al-'ilm] is concerned with their distribution. The law is associated with the pious abstainers [zuhhad], while knowledge is associated with the champions of truth [siddiqun], the loved ones, the intimate companions. Abstinence [zuhd] is associated with the law, while love is associated with knowledge. The one serves as a business partner [sharik], the other as a minister [wazir].

May Allah open us up to more real knowledge, the knowledge which benefits us inshaAllah.