A Muslim Convert Once Before

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ Why is there not much literature in English about Sufism? ”   There is a tremendous amount of literature on Sufism, or taswawwuf .   However, books on this subject matter, often address other aspects of the religious sciences such as theology and jurisprudence.   This phenomenon of texts of the religious sciences being classed as a book of jurisprudence, narrations or otherwise is a relatively recent phenomenon.   Previously, such books were themselves extracts of larger texts.   Many books of Sufism are not labelled as books of Sufism.   Books of Sufism have also been categorised as works of ‘irfan , taswawwuf , ihsan , and adab .   For example, Imam Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Ghazali’s ( r.a. ) Ihya’ ‘Ulum ad-Din addresses Sufism, jurisprudence, theology and many other areas of the religious sciences.   However, it is not classed as a ...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ Do all Muslims believe in an eternal hell?   If so, why would Allah ( s.w.t. ) sentence people to an infinite punishment for their finite deeds of not believing? ”   Many scholars, including Imam Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali ibn Isma’il al-Ash’ari ( r.a. ) himself, say that there are those who are Sent to the Fire without hope of Salvation.   And there are opinions that state that the disbelievers, the hypocrites and the polytheists abide in forever.   There are verses in the Qur’an that may be read such. The word “ ila al-abad ” is translated as “forever”.   However, it may also be understood as a very long time, beyond human reckoning.   Also, we must also consider the following verses:   سُوۡرَةُ هُود فَأَمَّا ٱلَّذِينَ شَقُواْ فَفِى ٱلنَّارِ لَهُمۡ فِيہَا زَفِيرٌ۬ وَشَهِيقٌ (١٠٦) خَـٰلِدِينَ فِيہَا مَا دَامَتِ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتُ وَٱلۡأَرۡضُ إِلَّا مَا شَآءَ رَب...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ If everyone can be Forgiven by God, will there be anyone in Hell? ”   I am considering this from a Muslim theological perspective, which has a slightly different take from the doctrines of the Vicarious Sacrifice.   Firstly, from an orthodox perspective, whilst everybody can be Forgiven does not mean everyone will be Forgiven.   Personally, I do believe that it is tenable to believe that everyone will be Forgiven.   There is nothing in the Qur’an that argues explicitly for salvic exclusivity.   We know this because the Qur’an always refer to the mu’minin , believers, as Saved; never “ muslimin ”.   The term “ muslim ”, in the Qur’an refers to those who have submitted to Divine Will.   This is distinct from our contemporary understanding of “Muslim”, meaning an adherent to the organised religion we call Islam.   The ahadits , prophetic narrations, spea...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali ibn ‘Utsman al-Hujwiri ( q.s. ) said, “The deterioration of the entire nation is based on three things: when the ruler is uneducated, when an ‘alim does not practice upon his knowledge, and when the poor lose faith in Allah ( s.w.t. ).”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali ibn ‘Utsman al-Hujwiri ( q.s. ) wrote, in his Kashf al-Mahjub , “The glory of spiritual poverty is this, that the poor man’s body is Divinely Preserved from base and sinful acts, and his heart from evil and contaminating thoughts.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali ibn ‘Utsman al-Hujwiri ( q.s. ) said, “The Sufi shuyukh are physicians of men’s souls.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali ibn ‘Utsman al-Hujwiri ( q.s. ) said, “To worship successfully, the position of manifestations, and observations is reached.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali ibn ‘Utsman al-Hujwiri ( q.s. ) said, “It is the inward glow that makes the Sufi, not the religious dress.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali ibn ‘Utsman al-Hujwiri ( q.s. ) said, “In the mystic path, he who says, ‘I have arrived’, has gone astray.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali ibn ‘Utsman al-Hujwiri ( q.s. ) wrote, in his Kashf al-Mahjub , “When Moses conversed with God, he asked, ‘Lord, where shall I seek You?’   God Answered, ‘Among the broken-hearted.’   Moses continued, ‘But, Lord, no heart could be more despairing than mine.’   And God Replied, ‘Then I am with you.’”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali ibn ‘Utsman al-Hujwiri ( q.s. ) wrote, “The glory of poverty is this, that the poor man’s body is divinely preserved from base and sinful acts, and his heart from evil and contaminating thoughts.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali ibn ‘Utsman al-Hujwiri ( q.s. ) said, “When a man washes his hand, he must wash his heart clean of worldly things.  When he puts water in his mouth, he must purify his mouth from the mention of other than Allah.  When he washes his face, he must turn from all familiar things and turn towards Allah.  When he wipes his head, he must resign his affairs to Allah.  When he washes his feet, he must not form the intention of taking his stand on anything except according to the command of Allah.  So, he will be purified twice.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali ibn ‘Utsman al-Hujwiri ( q.s. ) wrote, “And among the Ahl al-Bayt is the shining light of the Family of Muhammad ( s.a.w. ), the Lord of his Age, Abu ‘Abdullah al-Husayn ibn ‘Ali ibn Abu Thalib, ( r.a. ).   He was from among the truthful saints and the beacon for the oppressed everywhere.   He was murdered in the deserts of Karbala.   All those adhering to our path are agreed that he was absolutely righteous in his cause because he was pursuing truth as long as it was manifest.   And when truth faded away, he unsheathed his sword in its cause and did not desist until he offered his blessed soul as a sacrifice and was martyred in the Way of God.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The Qur’an and ahadits are explicit that there is Hell, that it is indeed filled with fire with flames the size of castles and of such heat that a rider 70,000-years horse journey would feel its heat.   It has both a literal and metaphorical meaning.   On the issue of damnation, there are several opinions of the scholars.   Many scholars, including Imam Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali ibn Isma’il al-Ash’ari ( r.a. ) himself, say that there are those who are Sent to the Fire without hope of Salvation.   And there are opinions that state that the disbelievers, the hypocrites and the polytheists abide in forever.   There are verses in the Qur’an that may be read such.   The words “ ila al-abad ” is translated as “forever”.   However, it may also be understood as a very long time, beyond human reckoning.   Also, we must also consider the following verses, the Shaykh ‘Abdullah Yusuf ‘Ali ( r.a. ) translation:   سُو...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Sufism is generally accepted to be the mystical dimension of Islam.   Imam Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali ibn ‘Utsman al-Hujwiri ( q.s. ), in the eleventh century, presented several views of the origin of the term, “Sufi.”   Some scholars say Sufism is derived from the word Ahl asw-Swuffa , or the People of the Bench, which refers to the platform on which the Holy Prophet Muhammad ( s.a.w. ) and the believers used to sit while worshipping Allah ( s.w.t. ).   Others say that they were named Sufis because of their habit of wearing swuf , wool.   The habit of wearing wool next to the skin dates back to the first master of Sufis.   While this theory of the derivation of the word does have a foundation in the practices of Sufism, the words of Shaykh Mir Quthb ad-Din Muhammad Angha ( q.s. ) clarify this point, “While every Sufi wears swuf , not every person who wears swuf is a Sufi.”   Others have concluded that Sufis were named so b...