IS IT POSSIBLE TO LEAD A GOOD ISLAMIC LIFE WITHOUT SUFISM?
Osman Nûri Topbaş
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An Interview with Osman Nuri Topbaş on Sufism
In your book "from faith (iman) to internalisation of faith (ihsan), you state that the sufi method is very important in the life of a Muslim. What are the benefits of sufi method in the propagation of Islam as well as in perfecting and guiding the human soul to the truth?What are the secrets of its success?
"Sufism has an exclusive method of training people in practising Islam. The external aspect of Islam, sharia, uses the concepts of reward and punishment in order to lead man to a virtuous life. In other words paradise and the hell are the basic figures of the Sharia in shaping the life of the Muslim. On the other hand, Sufism, which is the internal aspect of Islam, uses love and mercy as their important methods in addition to rewards of paradise and punishment of hell. Today people are suffering from their sins and falling away from the protective shield of religion as a result of enslavement to their base desires. A prescription of salvation can be offered to the sinners through mercy and love for them. Therefore the methods of Sufism have gained extra significance since the sinners need the soft hand of the Sufi methods. It has been observed not only in our country but also in the western world that the Sufi methods have achieved in turning people to Islam. To offer Islam as a life giving breath to those who have been drowning in the grip of the ego andlogic, we should approach the sinners not with hatred in order to take revenge but give them hope through mercy and compassion. The sinners are like those who are drowning in the sea of sins, it is our duty to extend them a hand. Swearing at them and telling them off is not enough to save them from their terrible situation.
Human beings, even though they are far away from their real purpose of life,posses a great value and honour due to their innate value of being a human being. The similarity of a sinner is like the holy black stone when it is thrown in to the dust or a valuable gem in the dust. No one can be indifferent to the sad situation of this black stone.They rush to clean and place itinthe proper place, since this stone has fallen from the paradise and has great value in the eyes of the Muslims. Similarly when we see a human being we cannot be indifferent to him/her, we should rush to help him, be it materially or spiritually. Allah the Almighty informs us that He has exhaled into manHis own spirit when He created the human being. Therefore man possesses divine secrets since he is the eyeball of the creation. Whatever the amount of the sins he/she commits, he/she has an innate value that cannot be destroyed by anything.
As Hadrat Mawlana describes, man is similar to the pure and clean water, one can see through it. However, when this clean water is muddied and mixed with dirt it does not let us see through. In order to see the divine light one needs to purify this water from the dirt, in other words sufism tries to purify man's soul (the clean water) from the desires of the flesh. The sufis do not exclude anyone from this process of purification on the basis that the disciple is very dirty, they always want to offer a chance to anyone who is ready to accept it. There are many examples in the life of the prophet (pbuh) as to his mercy for all sorts of sinners.
As an example the Prophet (pbuh) did not exclude Wahshi from his mercy even though he killed the most beloved uncle of the prophet. The prophet felt very sad when his uncle was killed by him at the battle of Uhud. The prophet (pbuh) sent him a messenger to accept Islam and get eternal salvation. Wahshi in return sent the following message: "O Muhammad! How can you offer me salvation when Allah states in the Quran: And they who do not call upon another god with Allah and do not slay the soul, which Allah has forbidden except in the requirements of justice, and (who) do not commit fornication and he who does this shall find a requital of sin; The punishment shall be doubled to him on the day of resurrection, and he shall abide therein in abasement; (al-Furqan, 25:68-69).I have committed all the sins mentioned in this verse, is there any possibility for my salvation?"
Upon this conversation Allah the Almighty has revealed the following verse:
Say: "O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (Zumar, 39:53)
When Wahshi heard this verse he became very happy and said, "O my Lord how great is your mercy." He repented very strongly from all his sins with the purpose of never repeating them again and accepted Islam with his friends.
Sufism received its illumination from this kind of example from the life of the prophet (pbuh) and valued man as the recipient of the perfect manifestation of the divine characteristics, who has been favoured to receive the divine revelation. According to the sufis, man possesses a high place in the scale of the creation, since he has been created with the potential of becoming the vicegerent of Allah on the earth. Therefore he is like the pupil of the eye in contrast with the rest of the creation. No sin can eradicate this innate value, however, sufism does that in a very balanced way. The sinner is tolerated but this tolerance is never extended to the sin itself. We should hate the sin but show mercy to the sinner in order to save him from the pit into which he has fallen.
Because of this method sufism provides humanity with the most fruitful method of invitingman to Islam. It is in the nature of man that they always yearn for those who extend their arms to them with love and mercy like Abdulqadir Qaylani, Yunus Amrah, Bahauddin Naqshband, Rumi and other friends of God.
You have shown us how sufism is able to perfect man and clean his impurities, with this respect what place should sufism occupy in the life of a Muslim? In other words is it possible to lead a pious life without sufism?
"You have asked a very important question. I would like to answer this question by narrating the following story which was told me by my father Mûsâ Efendi (May Allah bless his secret).
We had a neighbour who had converted to Islam (from Christianity). One day I asked him the reason for his accepting of Islam.
"I have become Muslim due to the good morality of my neighbor Rabî Molla, who had a good conduct in his trade. He had cows and would earn his livelihood by selling milk. One day he came to our house and gave me a large pot of milk saying 'this is your milk'. 'We did not require milk from you' I answered, supposing that he made a mistake by delivering this milk to me.
This nice and noble person explained why he brought the milk to me saying, "Unfortunately I have seen my cows grazing in your garden when I was unaware. Therefore this milk is yours and I will keep bringing milk to you until the grass is cleaned from its stomach."
I told him, "Do not mention it.The grass the cows ate in my garden is nothing valuable and I do not ask anything in return." He insisted that the milk is my share. Hence he brought the milk to my house until the grass is cleaned from the rumen of the cow.
This noble behavior of Rabi Molla moved me very deeply and the veil of heedlessness is removed from my eyes. The sun of guidance has risen in my heart and I accepted Islam saying to myself: the religion of such a straight person is definitely the true path. No one can doubt the truthness of a religion that has suchnice, just, kind, and perfect followers like him. Hence I pronounced the words of profession."
As this incident,and many other countless examples prove, Sufis and their method of perfecting the morality of the believers are indispensable in the way of spreading Islam. Sufism works in both ways firstly in perfecting the morality of the believers and secondly in spreading Islam through the good examples of the Sufis. It shows the merciful face of Islam to the non-Muslims and helps in representing the correct form of Islam.
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