Who is a Sufi?

Bismillaah ar-Rahmaan ar-Raheem.

Beloved brothers and sisters,

I'd like to share a little reminder concerning the reality of Sufism.
This is in order to guard ourselves against the trappings of kibr
(pride) that have infected many of those who claim "Sufihood"
nowadays. Merely walking as a Salik (Wayfarer) in a particular
Thariqah does not make one a Sufi. Merely composing poems about love
and longing does not make one a Sufi. Merely joining a halaqah of
dhikr does not make one a Sufi. Merely engaging one's self in sema'
does not make one a Sufi. Often nowadays, especially in the West,
Sufism only exists upon the tongue. If it exists in the heart at all,
it only exists as a disease called pride and prestige, whereas the
real Sufis of earlier times really sought the extinction of personal
attributes at the most hidden station of Sincerity (Ikhlas).
Astaghfirullaah. By Allaah, it is often the case that the real Sufi is he
who is most silent about his inner states among us.

Who is a Sufi?

It is known that the greatest Ulema and Awliyya in the history of
Islaam have been Sufis. Therefore, do not call yourselves "Sufis" out
of pride if you are unsure of your states. Speak of Sufism and Lovers
you may, but do not be necessitated by the vainglorious nafs to claim
the reality of Walayah. If you wish, call yourselves "Wayfarers"
("Dervishes" or "Door Seekers") instead. Let the reality of this
blessed station (al-Maqam al-Shufiyyah), which singularly and
essentially belongs to the Holy Prophet of Allaah, Muhammad Nurin min
Nurillaah shalla Allaahu alaihi wa alihi wa sallam, alone, be
sanctified among this Ummah. By my soul, it is to Nabi shalla Allaahu
alaihi wa alihi wa sallam alone that Allaah Jalla wa Jalal reveals His
Essential Reality, al-Huwwiyyah al-Haqiqiyyah. Only Nabi shalla
Allaahu alaihi wa alihi wa sallam sees al-Haqq Azza wa Jalla the way
He Azza wa Jalla desires to be seen. It is only with the Light of his
shalla Allaahu alaihi wa alihi wa sallam Reality that the Face of
Allaah, the Face of Absolute Beauty, can be seen.

The ultimate, genuine, truthful Sufi, therefore, is he who stands at
the Muhammadan station of excellence and sees nothing else next to
that station, not even the station of a great particular Wali, for he
shalla Allaahu alaihi wa alihi wa sallam alone is the Absolute Wali
(al-Wali al-Mutlaqah) in the Presence of Divine Intimacy (al-Hadhrah
al-Qurb). He shalla Allaahu alaihi wa alihi wa sallam alone is the
possessor of Absolute Sainthood (al-Walayah al-Mutlaqah al-'Ammah).
No one else is addressed in the Divine Presence except the Beloved Prophet
shalla Allaahu alaihi wa alihi wa sallam. We are but particles under his
cloak that enshrouds all particular existences, whether seen or unseen.

Seeing Allaah Ta'ala with the Muhammadan Eye (Haqqul Yaqeen) means
annihilating one's self in the Muhammadan Reality, al-Haqiqah
al-Muhammadiyya, for whose sake the worlds and whatever they hide in
their shadows came into being. This is the reality of fanaa' fi Rasul
that can only be achieved by very few of those who are drawn near
among the Muqarrabun and Shidiqqin. This is Ihsaan. The end-point of
Ihsaan (that is, Fanaa') is not known to us. It is beyond all
generalities and particularities concerning our knowledge of
"knowing". It can only be said that the Reality of being extinct in
al-Wujud al-Zaat (Allaah Subhaan Huwa Ta'ala) is infinite. Those who
are drawn towards the essential reality of the Unity of Witnessing
(al-Wahdah al-Syuhud) are those who have passed the station of
"wanting Allaah" and have been placed by His Ta'ala Hand of Mercy at
the station of "being wanted by Allaah". I have no words for this
sweetness. Subhaan Allaah.

***

How could the greatest ulema of Islaam not be Sufis? There's no other
way towards al-Haqiqah, towards Ma'rifatullaah, except this Door into
the Muhammadan Knowledge and Reality, whose resplendent Gate is Hazrat
'Ali karram Allaahu wajhah as the hadith says,

"I am the City of Knowledge and 'Ali is its Gate."

A true inheritor of the Muhammadan Prophetic Reality is he who
combines the Two Seas, sometimes also called the Two Wings (Dhul
Janahain), the Esoteric and Exoteric Realities. This, then, is the
real Sufi, the real Muslim. The Sweet-Faced Holy Prophet shalla
Allaahu alaihi wa alihi wa sallam said in a famous hadith,

"Shari'ah is my sayings, Thariqah is my actions, and Haqiqah is my
inner states."

Tashawuf (Sufism) is none other than the Heart, nay, the Rooh, of
Islaam. It is the kernel of the kernel of knowing al-Haqq Azza wa
Jalla. When this science is ignored, the rest of the Deen becomes
useless (redundant). Without it, the conditions that determine the
presence of the heart cannot be known.

Ta = Tauhid (whose first gate is Taubah), Sha = Shafa, Wa = Walayah,
Fa = Fanaa'.

Know that the first state of Sufism, Tauhid (through Taubah), is also
its last state, Tauhid (in the most perfect sense: Tauhid al-Zaati).
Whosoever ignores this great science ignores the whole Deen of Islaam
and his actions are therefore rendered corrupt. A Sufi is he who
masters seeing al-Haqq and being seen by al-Haqq. Someone who is still
in the process of mastery is therefore not yet a Sufi. He is a mere Salik.

Read (comprehend) the Holy Qur'an and follow the Prophetic Sunnah.
With regard to the Qur'an, the Beloved Prophet shalla Allaahu alaihi
wa alihi wa sallam said,

"In truth the Qur'an possesses an inner and outer, and the inner
contains seven dimensions."

With regard to the Sunnah, he shalla Allaahu alaihi wa alihi wa sallam
said,

"Whosoever truly loves me, he shall keep my Sunnah."

Whosoever discards the Standards, the Qur'an and the Sunnah, merely
for something else (such as poetry and music) is a fake lover. These
are two Gifts of Love from your Rabb Who is the Light and Essence of
the Total Uniqueness of Existence (al-Ahadiyya wa al-Wujud al-Mutlaqah). Take 'Ilm
(Knowledge) from the Experts, from real Knowers, those who are gifted
with the Islamic sciences, not simply from the hearsays of mere claimants.

This is but a simple reminder. And Allaahu Ta'ala knows best.

Allaahu, Allaahu, Allaahu Haqq.

Huwa, Huwa, Huwa.

Huwa Rabbul Qudrat wa Rabbul Jabarut wa'l Malakut wa'l Mulk.

Wa Huwa Nurun alaa Nurin.

Ya Hu, ya Haqq.

Shalla Allaahu alaa Siraj al-Munir wa Ruh al-A'zham wa Sayyid
al-Mursalin wa Taj al-Muqarrabun, Muhammad, Muhammad, Muhammad, Sir
Allaah, Habib Allaah, Nur al-Wajh Allaah, Nur wa Sabab al-Maujud, wa
alaa alihi wa sahbihi ajma'in.

Ishq,

Dani