Mind, Body, Soul

Lately, the focus of Muslim authors has been on establishing better relations and unity between what they term “Sufis” and “Salafis”. Yahya Birt has written an expansive piece on the subject which deserves reading. Others have chimed in on the necessity of coming together. Even Sh. Hamza Yusuf has spoken about the rivalry between students of his Zaytuna organization and Al-Maghrib Institute.

First, let us talk accurately about who we are discussing here. Sh Hamza Yusuf lovers, sufi sympathizers, simple fans of Sh Yasir Qadhi or Imam Suhaib Webb are not the problem here, all of these fan groups know too little about the details of their faith to really create any tangible disunity. They may fight on the internet occasionally, but they don’t decide the direction of organizations and content of their classes.

These fans generally aren’t even aware of the issues in question, often resort to one or other approach when presented with a choice. They are content to live on the gray border lines of dispute. Alhamdulillah to them, they deserve respect as well, especially if they are not entering into these topics to avoid disunity. But these ones should also understand that there are differences over real issues and ignoring the problems does not make them go away. Leaving all possible debate and concentrating on the basics is good, as long as it does not cause you to deny the methods of the traditional ways for those who are seeking.

From my limited perspective, the real issue has been between those who announce and have an established traditional Sufi tariqat, a Sheykh, and are learning in the traditional ways, versus actual trained Salafi’s in ideology.

The disunity has largely been originating from the Salafi side, whose fundamental creed is based on their own purification of other misguided groups.

Yahya Birt states accurately

To put it another way. Sufis can’t be expected to endorse a position that would seek to make them agree that tasawwuf is an optional add-on, a bad innovation, or, worse, even a heresy. Rather Sufis would like anti-Sufis to accept that placing tasawwuf at the heart of our religion is a valid interpretive possibility even if they disagree with it.

And then continues on with three issues for resolution of the above:

Three major issues in Sufi-Salafi reconciliation will be (i) the reclassification of some acts as fiqhi differences rather than as matters of basic aqida, as bid`a rather than as shirk, (ii) the recognition that there are primary and secondary issues in credal and legal matters and (iii) that the semantic approach adopted by some scholars of the East provides a means to diffuse differences between Asharis, Maturidis and Atharis over the description of God’s transcendence and immanence.

It is important to note that when reading these three elements, the common pattern is that the Salafi overzealousness is what is being tempered here. On the other hand, real Sufi’s have had no problem uniting with anyone, and I know in my Tariqat, we are very open and frank and enjoy the company of non-Muslims who have sincere hearts.

It is with a conciliatory attitude that Yahya Birt is presenting issue number #1, accepting Tariqat practices as Bida rather than Shirk. MashaAllah. Obviously, we don’t hold any of our practices to be anything but based on the Sunnah, but AllahuAlim. The truth that Yahya is subtly representing here is the reality that Salafi’s cannot unite with those they believe are fundamentally Mushriks, so at least they need to consider Tariqat people as Ahl ul Bida (People of Innovation) in order to work together. The idea here seems to be that some Tariqat people might be willing to be told that their practices are Bida rather than Shirk (still sinful, just less so). The suggestion is if this approach is taken the Salafi’s will have toned their message down, so we may be able to unite.

This is a fundamentally flawed approach as it expects Tariqat people to simply take less abuse for ‘unity’ to occur.

Issue #2 is, in my opinion, is representing the idea that the Salafi’s need to categorize what they feel are the primary and secondary levels of disagreement in matters related to Aqida and Fiqh. This is in order to give them, again, a priority of disagreement. “Fight over only the most important stuff” as it may be.

Again, fundamentally flawed. This conciliatory approach towards abuse is not the right direction for unity. Abuse, whether in the home or classroom, is abuse, and it has to stop.

Issue #3 mentions “to diffuse differences between Asharis, Maturidis and Atharis”. Let us be honest here: there is no huge disagreement between Ashari’s and Mutiridi’s. And Sh Muhummad Yaqubi in the talk ‘Advice to Seekers’ with Sh Hamza Yusuf did not consider Salafi’s to be Athari’s (and indeed, Salafi’s are hardly ever using this term). Can the differences be diffused? Possibly, as long as it is not a part of Salafi creed to consider others as innovators and mushriks, or guilty of ‘all three categories’ of shirk, etc.

Certainly there is no such extreme hostility coming from teachers of Tassawuf. Sheykh Maulana Nazim al-Hakkani has never even mentioned the name of a Salafi in any of his talks. And in general, tariqat people are much more involved and concerned with working on themselves to have that much time complaining about individuals and organizations. While Sh. Gibril Haddad does good work, profiling and attacking other Sheykhs is not the general example of the people of Tareeq.

But indeed, there has been a lot of talk about unity on the American Salafi side. For all of Sh Yasir Qadhi’s efforts, and internet personalities such as Amad, talk of unity has changed little between them and actual Sheykhs and students of Tariqat. People who are teaching or learning in the ways of the self in the manner of the Naksibendi, Shazili, Chishti, Qadiri, Ba Alawi, and other ways still seem to boil the blood of Salafi’s.

Amad, one of the key organizers of muslimmatters.org recently stated his criticisms at Saifuddin taking initiation with our Sheykh the other day:

Pictures of some of what goes on at this ‘dergah’ tell the story; everyone is free to check them out and make up their own mind, as I do not intend to delve into this hornet’s nest.

So Amad and others have a problem with my Flickr picture album, and that is what calls for a hate comments telling people to avoid a “hornet’s nest”. Is this the spirit of unity?

Numerous other incidents have occurred between this blog and anti-Tariqat folks. This blog, like myself, generally just tries to stay on positive topics and occasionally will enter a discussion to defend good people. As some might remember, not so long ago, a small defense of the Hadra created an eruption that everyone who was paying attention could feel the heat from. Accusations of Bida’, Shirk and Kufr are what the Salafi’s always resort to, and Yahya Birt is right, until they can get over that, there will be no real unity.

Unity may be able to exist between non-Tariqat people, who are creating untraditional forms of Tassawuf and joining with the Wahabi’s in that regard. They are free to do so with not one single ounce of complaint from my part. I would only advise them to be careful, as it seems they are not being grounded in the traditional ways of spirituality, and proximity without principles is only a door for assimilation, not appreciation.

Unity should not become its own idol. We need to understand that we are all for uniting with all people of faith, with sincere hearts and humbleness on all our parts. Uniting with enemies of that spirit of friendship is a contradiction, and by no means necessary.

So, the real issues will remain between what Amad has stated are ‘extreme’ Sufi’s (basically anyone who is actually in a Tariqa and a student of the Sufi ways) and Salafi’s. And it has nothing to do with hostility on this Sufi’s part.

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