Mysteries of Mysticism

Dear Pervaiz sahib,                                          June 07, 2005

It has been a pleasure to read these wonderfully written articles on Mysticism. This subject of mysticism has always fascinated me as there exists no specific answer to any spiritual query rather given answers create more questions pushing the enquiring mind into a loop of uncertainty. With this frustrating outcome, a seeker ultimately shouts:

Khirad ki gutthiyaan suljha chuka mein

Merey Maula mujhae sahib junoon kar

                                                          (Allama Iqbal)

Due to deep interest in this subject, I could not hold myself back, hence have tried to write a few lines:

Farzana Hasan sahiba has touched a subject that unfortunately has been considered an accretion to the religion of Islam by the majority of Muslims. These Sufi concepts of Wahdat-ul-Wujud and Wahdat-ul-Shahud appear to be beyond Islam by the followers of organized Islam, though considered absolutely Islamic by the Mystics of Islam. Most of the Muslims have not even got the slightest idea of these concepts. There is another reason to it, as the Sufis never believed in preaching their point of view vigorously just because unless and until ground is fertile, there is no use to sow seeds. One has to have a longing to understand the Truth, as music can only be learned by an individual who can appreciate silence, poetry only makes sense when an individual is ready to go beyond words. The journey from the gross existence to a subtle realm starts at a certain stage as Masud Shaikh sahib has pointed out in his article.

Once I asked my Murshid in Pakistan, why do not you talk openly about Wahdat-ul-Wujud when you consider it pure Islamic Tauheed. His response was twofold, firstly he quoted Hazrat Abu Huraira – a renowned Sahabi,

‘I have received two kinds of knowledge from Rasul-ul-Allah’ – one, I tell you openly and if I utter a single word about the other, you would consider me blasphemous enough to be killed’

Then an anecdote followed,

‘A person came to know about this concept of Wahdat-ul-Wujud from the Sufi doctrines. One day, while walking on the street, he noticed several people running for their lives as a mad elephant got freed from his chains and was on a rampage. He immediately remembered the Sufi doctrine and said to himself,’          I am God and this elephant is also God, so why to run and be afraid when we both are the same’. He waited while the elephant approached and crushed him to death”.

A few Quranic verses can be quoted here reflecting Wahdat-ul-Wujud or Tauheed-e-Wujudi:

Wherever you turn, there is the face of Allah.

Allah is nearer to you even from your jugular vein.

Allah is all encompassing.

Wherever you are, He is with you.

If the Ulemas/Orientalists/Historians find Tauhid-ae-Wujudi synchronizing with other religious paths, it is because Islam has never claimed itself to be a new religion. The similarities are bound to be there! Just as the human beings of every culture resemble each other in physical and mental characteristics, likewise different paths to God are bound to agree at some point. Not only that, Sufi path even serves as a unifying force between the Sunni and Shia sects of Islam. They say that worldly Khilafat had been passed on to Hazrat Abu-Bakr Siddique from Prophet Mohammad and then to Hazrat Umar, Hazrat Usman and finally to Hazrat Ali. However, spiritual Khilafat came directly to Hazrat Ali from Prophet Mohammad.

Now something about the philosophy of Wahdat-ul-Shahud! Majority of the Sufis till todate consider Wahdat-ul-Wujud as the Islamic Tauheed. Shaikh Sirhindi despite being a great Sufi Shaikh came up with this different concept of Wahdat-ul-Shahud, perhaps due to the political situation of India where Akbar’s Din-ae-Ilahi came as a threat to traditional Islam. As Tauheed-ae-Wujudi on surface resembles to Vedantic philosophy of oneness, Shaikh Ahmed modified it to counter the threat of merger of Islam with other faiths.

A few comments on the following passages written by Farzana sahiba:

God intoxication or “Ishq”.  It is this force that motivates union with the Divine as an intensely powerful feeling compelling the Sufi to acknowledge that the his soul is Divine, but that it is trapped in a  physical body. The Sufi therefore attempts to seek the Divine by denying the body the physical or worldly pleasures. He hopes that by denying himself the worldly pleasures the love of the Divine will increase.  

This is not correct! The Sufi path is life affirmative following the lifestyle of Prophet Mohammad. One of the distinguishing features of the Sufi path is to avoid monastic way of life. To them, this world is a reflection of Allah’s attributes (sifaat), hence they work, earn legitimate income and raise family. Infact, my Murshid is a Doctor – a graduate of Dow Medical College Karachi. The monastic way of life only fits on Yogis, Buddhists and Christian monks.

The two concepts: namely “fana billah” or “baqa billah” are again interpreted differently by those who subscribe to Wahdualt Wujud and those who believe in Wahdat ul  Shahud. 

Farzana sahiba! This term is Fana fillah i.e. Annhilation in God and not fana billah which you have used twice in your article.

The defining feature of Wahdut ul Shuhud is the recognition that God is above and beyond his creation and therefore transcendent, not immanent as he is in Wahdult ul Wajud

It is said in the Quran,

Allah is First, He is Last, He is Immanent, He is Transcendent

Hence, Wahdat-ul-Shahud digresses from the Quranic point of view.

Sirhinid therefore maintains that the world is not God (huma ust) but proceeds from God (huma uz ust) and has an existence independent of the Divine Being, but that it is only an illusory existence. In reality therefore Sirhindi also asserts that there is only One Real Being who is God. The created world being imaginary is therefore not of the same Divine essence. In Sirhindi’s view, the world is in essence non- existent and therefore unreal. 

This perception of world makes the ascension (Meraj) of Prophet Mohammad illusory that will be against the very meaning of Meraj. It is absurd to consider a meeting of shadow with sun. About Meraj, Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi beautifully says:

Usee kae jalwae usee sae milnae usee sae us ki taraf gayae thhae

As far as the philosophical aspect of Tauheed-e-Wujudi is concerned, it is surrounded by words upon words like Ahadiyat, Wahdat, Wahidiyat, Fana, Baqa, Ta’ayun, etc. etc. Overall however, the Sufi path is a simple way of remembering Allah at all times. The emphasis is not on disciplining outwardly rather inwardly. An individual may live a worldly life and enjoy theatre, dance, music etc. but all these art forms should be capable of leading him towards a dimension that could mirror his spiritual journey from gross plane to a subtle realm.

Kindly convey my regards to Dr. Khalid Sohail sahib.

Regards

Hasan N. Mirza