A Muslim Convert Once Before

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ What is the view of the 4 major a’immah of fiqh on Sufism? ”   Sufism, otherwise known as taswawwuf , or ‘irfan , is the field of spirituality, one of the religious sciences.   It is neither a distinct sect, nor can it be divorced from Islam.   A Sufi is a master of this field of the religious science.   A practitioner of Sufism is not actually a Sufi, any more than any person who studies fiqh , jurisprudence, is automatically a faqih , jurist.   Almost every major scholar of Sunni Islam either subscribes to some of the doctrines of taswawwuf , or had teachers who did.   In effect, they were almost all Sufis.   The founder of the Maliki madzhab , Imam Abu ‘Abdullah Malik ibn Anas ( r.a. ) said, “Whoever practices taswawwuf without learning shari’ah corrupts his faith, while whoever learns shari’ah without practicing taswawwuf corrupts himself. ...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ What is the Ahl al-Ahadits faction during the Abbasid era mihnah , inquisition, and how were they different or similar to the now established Sunni orthodoxy, and modern Salafism? ”   The Ahl al-Ahadits , the People of Narrations, are one of the two broad movements in Sunni jurisprudence.   The other being the Ahl ar-Ra’yy , the People of Rational Thinking.   Then, as now, the nucleus of the movement was the Shafi’i and Hanbali madzahib , schools of jurisprudence.   The Ahl al-Ahadits emphasised the use of narrations, whether ahadits or atsar , over common sense and rational deduction, out of a sense of wara’ , caution.   This is the opposite of the Hanafi and Maliki schools, which emphasised common sense over narrations, also out of a sense of wara’ .   This is because in the formative period of the Ahl ar-Ra’yy , the science of accreditation and aut...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Shams ad-Din Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ahmad adz-Dzahabi ( r.a. ) was a student of  Shaykh Taqi’ ad-Din Ahmad ibn ‘Abd al-Halim ibn Taymiyyah  ( r.a. ).   However, he differed with his teacher on the issue of tabarruk , taking blessings from the relics of the pious.   He stated explicitly that those who opposed it were like the Khwarij .   He cited, as evidence, that Imam Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal ( r.a. ) himself, used to engage in tabarruk , from the relics of the Prophet ( s.a.w. ).   He wrote, in his Siyar A’alam an-Nubala’ , “‘Abdullah ibn Ahmad said, ‘I saw my father take a hair that belonged to the Prophet ( s.a.w. ), put it on his mouth, and kiss it.   I believe I saw him put it on his eyes.   He also dipped it in water and drank the water to obtain cure.   I saw him take the Prophet’s ( s.a.w. ) bowl, wash it in water, and drink from it.   I saw him drink Zamzam water in order ...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal ( r.a. ) recorded this hadits in his Musnad , and Imam Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullah al-Khathib at-Tabrizi ( r.a. ) in his Mishkat al-Maswabih .   Both are major compilations of ahadits .   The text as from Musnad Ahmad reads on the authority of Sayyidina Shurayh ibn ‘Ubayd ( r.a. ) that when the people of Sham were mentioned in Sayyidina ‘Ali ibn Abu Thalib’s ( k.w. ) presence, someone said, “O Prince of the Believers, curse them!” Sayyidina ‘Ali ( k.w. ) replied, “No!   I heard Allah’s Messenger ( s.a.w. ) saying, ‘The Abdal will be in Syria.   They are forty men; whenever one dies, Allah ( s.w.t. ) Replaces him with another man.   By virtue of them, He Provides rain and by virtue of them, He Provides Help against the enemies.   By virtue of them, punishment is Averted from Sham.’”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal ( r.a. ) related that Sayyidina Abu Hafsw ‘Umar ibn al-Khaththab al-Faruq ( r.a. ) said, “Judge yourselves before you yourselves are Judged; and weigh yourselves in the Balance before you yourselves are Weighed in the Balance.  When you are Brought to account tomorrow, it will be much easier for you if you have already brought your selves to account today.  So, do so, before you come to the Final Gathering for on that Day you will be exposed, whatever you have hidden will no longer be hidden.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal ( r.a. ) founded the Hanbali madzhab .  It was related, from Imam Ibrahim ibn ‘Abdullah al-Qalanisi ( r.a. ), that Imam Ahmad ( r.a. ) said, about the Sufis, “I do not know people better than them.”  This was recorded by Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ahmad as-Saffarini al-Hanbali ( r.a. ), in Ghidha’ al-Albab li Sharh Manzhumat al-Adab .   Advising his son, Imam ‘Abdullah ibn Ahmad ( r.a. ), Imam Ahmad ( r.a. ) said, “O my son, you have to sit with the people of taswawwuf , because they are like a fountain of knowledge and they keep the remembrance of Allah ( s.w.t. ) in their hearts.  They are the ascetics and they have the most spiritual power.”  This was reported, by Shaykh Muhammad Amin ibn Fathullah Zadah al-Kurdi ( r.a. ), in his Tanwir al-Qulub .

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal ( r.a. ) said, “No man should set himself up to issue fatawa , until he has attained five qualities: He should have a good intention, for if he does not have a good intention, he will not be Blessed and there will be no Blessings in his words; he should be knowledgeable, forbearing, dignified and calm; he should have a strong grasp of knowledge; he should have a strong personality, and not be affected by people’s criticism; and he should know what people are like.  These five qualities are the foundation for issuing fatawa .  If any of them are lacking, there will be a commensurate defect in the scholar.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal ( r.a. ) said, “When it is narrated to us pertaining to permissible and the forbidden, we are strict.  And when it is narrated to us pertaining to the merits of actions, then we are lenient.”  So, when Wahhabis and, ignorant Muslims, discredit fadha’il al-amal , and question permissibility of these acts on the basis of weak ahadits , they are engaged in an act that is contrary to the Salaf.

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal ( r.a. ) related, on the authority of Sayyidina Abu Hafsw ‘Umar ibn al-Khaththab al-Faruq ( r.a. ), that the Prophet ( s.a.w. ) said, “The intelligent person is the one who brings his self to account, and acts in preparation for what lies beyond his death; and the foolish person is the one who abandons himself to his desires, and cravings and expects Allah ( s.w.t. ) to Fulfill his futile wishes.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal ( r.a. ), advising his son, Imam ‘Abdullah ( r.a. ), said, “O my son, you have to sit with the people of taswawwuf , because they are like a fountain of knowledge, and they keep the remembrance of Allah ( s.w.t. ) in their hearts.  They are the ascetics, and they have the most spiritual strength.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ According to Imam Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal ( r.a. ), Jesus ( a.s. ) was known to have said, “Virtuous action does not consist in doing good to someone who has done good to you - that is merely returning a favour.   Virtuous action consists in doing good to those who have wronged you.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal ( r.a. ) said, “Turn to your heart to find out what is evil.   Good rejoices the heart, and your heart will call upon you to pursue it.   Sin creates anxiety and unease in the heart, even if other people call upon you to pursue it.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Husayn al-Bayhaqi ( r.a. ), in his Shu’ayb al-Iman , recorded that Imam ‘Abdullah ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal ( r.a. ) said, “I heard my father say, ‘I performed haj five times; thrice on foot and twice riding,’ or he said, ‘thrice riding and twice on foot.’   ‘Once when I was on foot, I lost my way; I started to exclaim, ‘O Allah’s servants, show me the way.’   I kept on repeating this until I came back on track.’”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal ( r.a. ) said, “If you claim that you are amongst those who seek Refuge from the Fire and desire Paradise, then strive for that which you seek and not be misled by your worldly desire.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal ( r.a. ) said, “The adzan is made in the baby’s ear at birth, while the prayer is delayed until his death; a sign that his life is short, just like the time between the adzan and the prayer.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal ( r.a. ) said, “There is no companion concerning whom are reported as many merits as ‘Ali ibn Abu Thalib.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal ( r.a. ) said, “Goodness lies in the person who does not see goodness within himself.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ When Imam Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal ( r.a. ) was asked about the Sufis, he said, “I do not know people better than them.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Ahmad ibn Muhammad Hanbal ( r.a. ) recorded, in his Musnad , “Anas ibn Malik ( r.a. ) narrated that the Messenger of Allah ( s.a.w. ) said, ‘I wish that I could meet my brothers.’   The companions asked, ‘Are we not your brothers?’   He replied, ‘You are my companions, but my brothers are those who will believe in me without having seen me.’”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal ( r.a. ) approved of, and practiced, tawaswswul .  Imam Ahmad ( r.a. ) used to make tawaswswul through the Prophet ( s.a.w. ) a part of every du’a , according to Imam ‘Ala’ ad-Din Abi Hassan ‘Ali ibn Sulayman al-Mardawi ( r.a. ).  He wrote, in his al-Inswaf fi Ma’rifat ar-Rajih min al-Khilaf ‘ala Madzhab al-Imam al-Mubajjal Ahmad ibn Hanbal , “The correct position of the madzhab is that it is permissible in one’s supplication to use as means a pious person, and it is said that it is desirable.  Imam Ahmad said to Abu Bakr al-Marwazi, ‘Let him use the Prophet ( s.a.w. ) as a means in his supplication to Allah.’”   To corroborate, this same report is found in Imam Ahmad’s ( r.a. ) Kitab al-Manasik , narrated by his student, Imam Abu Bakr ‘Abdullah ibn Ahmad al-Marwazi ( r.a. ).  The lengthy wording of the tawaswswul according to the Hanbali madzhab , as established by Imam Abu al-Wafa’ ‘...