Tasawwuf

Detailed Section - Information about Tasawwuf

Why Tassawuf is controversial?

It is sad that in today’s day and age, we have failed to comprehend the utility of tassawuf in contrast to our predecessors, who have spent their whole lives in this field.

The main reason behind this controversy is misconception about ways & means used to reach the destination in Tassawuf. The destination is indeed to please Allah سبحا ن ؤ تعا لئ by following the shariah path completely, however, as time progressed away from Hazrat Muhammad صلئ الله عليه وآ له وسلم, the hidden (batini) pollution of ummah (muslim nation) started increasing and it has reached levels that it cannot be brought down to acceptable levels (acceptable level means that batin do not create hurdles in following shariah rules) without rigorous spiritual training. These spiritual training modes are different in different times as per the needs of that time and mostly people argue on these ways & means and undeliberately deny the utility of tassawuf while confronting on its ways & means. The people who deliberately defy tassawuf are hopeless and nothing can be done to make them understand, however, those who defy its utility due to ignorance can be made to realize its usefulness.

Hazrat Moulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi RAH says in his tareeq-e-qalandur that, “Tassawuf could be derived from Quran & ahadith and those who deny that tassawuf is originated from Quran & ahadith are wrong. Monotonous religious scholars and Sufis often negate that tassawuf has its origin in Quran & ahadith and their stress is on manifested deeds at the cost of hidden (batini) deeds. Thus their manifested deeds also loose their essence due to their hollow inner self (batin).