The reality of Tasawwuf is knowledge coupled with practice
- According to me (Hazrat Thanwi RA), Tasawwuf,in reality, is nothing other than knowledge coupled with practice.
Knowledge here refers to that which was taught by Rasulullah ﷺ and which is within the ability of the seeker.
Apart from the above, all else is surplus – if one is blessed with anything else, or one’s Sheikh prescribes it, then it is a bounty which should be appreciated.
If nothing else is given to one, or it is taken away after being given, then in the path (of Tareeqat) it is not permissible to be concerned about regaining it or feel hurt about losing it, rather this is very harmful for one’s inner self no matter how seemingly serious one’s loss may seem.
- It is necessary to inform one’s Shaikh of all one’s conditions.
In this path, it is not permissible in the path to act on one’s own opinion or on whatever comes to one’s mind.
After informing one’s Shaikh, he will prescribe a course of action relating to what needs to be done and what needs to be abstained from.
The Shaikh is not responsible for more than this, so for the seeker along the path to request or expect more than this is not permissible.
Similarly, any sickness, anything real or imaginary affliction, any inner or outer problem, be it temporary or permanent – sorting all these issues out is beyond the scope of the Shaikh’s actual responsibility. (Tarbiyatus-Saalik)
- It is proven from experience in most cases that it is harmful to engage the seeker in prescribed forms of Zikr and Shaghl before entrenching in him the importance of rectifying his actions, because he then begins to regard himself as being a pious person.
This tends to happen more so when, through the Zikr and Shaghl , he begins experiencing spiritual states in his solitude, as a result of which he then regards himself as having attained sainthood with certainty.
What relationship do these spiritual states have with sainthood?
Through intense efforts and exerting themselves, sinners and even non believers are able to attain such spiritual states.
When one regards such spiritual states to be piety, then one will not perceive the need to rectify one’s self and one’s actions.
The mind will not go in this direction, so one will always remain blissfully unaware and deprived of the actual objective, which is to reach Allah Ta’ala, and which, according to the Quraan Shareef and Hadith Shareef, can only be attained through rectification of actions.
(Ashraf us Sawaanih Pg.195)
Regarding his form of Tarbiyat, Hazrat Waalaa RA would mention that the original sequence employed by the Mashaa-ikh e Chishtiyah was to first pay attention to rectifying the outer and inner actions, and to then start Zikr and Shaghl.
The latter day Mashaa-ikh, seeing the shorter lives and lessening of courage of the people, did not maintain this sequence, but prescribed Zikr and Shaghl together with rectifying the actions, hand in hand.
Considering the needs of the seekers, I have taken an approach in between the two methods – I engage the seekers firstly in rectification of the actions for a few days, and when I see that the importance of rectifying the actions has been properly understood and they are giving it it’s due importance, I then prescribe Zikr and Shaghl and thereafter focus on both together.
In short, after seeing the colour of the method of the latter day Mashaa-ikh in the personalities of the seekers of our times, due to necessity, I only made a slight modification – They would pay attention to both things simultaneously from the start, and I combine both after a few days.
(Ashraf us Sawaanih V.2 Pg.191-192)
