Pages 26 and 27 - Chapter
Two: "By and large, drunken Sufis tend to de-emphasize the Sharia and declare
union with God openly, whereas sober Sufis observe the courtesy (adab) of a
servant’s relationships with his Lord. The sober fault the drunk for disregarding the
Sunnah, and the drunk fault the sober for forgetting the overriding reality of God’s
mercy. Those who, in ibn Arabi’s terms, ‘see with both eyes’ keep reason
and unveiling in perfect balance while acknowledging the rights of both sober and
drunk."
Commentary: One
wonders about the data base which supposedly backs up the author’s conclusion that,
"by and large", so-called drunken Sufis "de-emphasize the Sharia" and
made certain judgements concerning those who are sober, or that ‘sober’ Sufis do
this or that while faulting intoxicated Sufis for the latter’s alleged failure to
regard the Sunnah of the Prophet. Undoubtedly, some historical instances can be found
where a few individual’s may have made statements of one sort or another about the
matter.
However, in the absence
of specific cases (and the author offers no help in this respect), one is not in a
position to know who said what, or what was meant by that which was said, or whether the
people speaking were really qualified to address the issue. Moreover, being able to cite a
few, scattered historical examples is a long way from demonstrating something so sweeping
as the phrase: "by and large".
What evidence is there
that "drunken Sufis tend to de-emphasize the Shari‘ah? Has the author followed
all of these people around and jotted down their errors of omission and commission?
Presumably, all drunken
Sufis bear witness that there is no reality but God and that Muhammad (peace be upon him)
is the Messenger of God. Therefore, not only do they not de-emphasize this facet of
Shari‘ah, but, by the Grace of God, they have had important dimensions of the reality
of this pillar of Islam opened up to them.
In addition, since these
people are in a state of intoxication, staying away from ritual prayers actually may be
acting in compliance with the command of the Qur’an. After all, one cannot assume
that the Quranic prohibition against performing prayers while in a state of intoxication
pertains only to those are inebriated through alcohol - especially since this Divine
warning mentions that those who are in such a condition may not be conscious of what they
are saying.
If these people who are
in a condition of spiritual intoxication are poor, then, they may not be obligated to pay
anything in the way of zakat. For the same reason, they may not be in a financial position
to go on Hajj or pilgrimage, and, if this is the case, then, the observance of this Pillar
of Islam is not incumbent upon them.
As far as fasting is
concerned, Allah knows best. However, as was noted earlier - when citing a Hadith of the
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), there are many people who fast, and all they derive
is hunger and thirst.
Therefore, just because
someone complies with the external requirements of obligatory fasting does not mean such
an individual has fulfilled the conditions of fasting. Moreover, an individual who is
spiritually intoxicated may not be mentally competent, and the obligation to fast pertains
only to those who are mentally able to meet the requirements of the fast.
People should be careful
about what charges and allegations they bandy about concerning the spiritual observances
of other people, and, instead, pay more attention to their own possible short-comings.
More importantly, in the light of the allowances which are made within Shari‘ah for
different conditions and circumstances, one wonders what aspects of Shari‘ah
supposedly are being ‘de-emphasized’ by drunken Sufis.
Furthermore, there are
many verses of the Qur’an and traditions of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)
which, if one has any humility, should make one pause and wonder where one’s life
fits into the measure of things when placed upon the Scales of Divine exactitude and
evaluation. For instance, consider some of the following possibilities - which are but a
few of the many examples that could be given.
"Shall We tell you
who will be the greatest losers in their works? Those whose striving goes astray in the
present life, while they think they are working good deeds." (18:104) Can anyone be
sure that the striving of a Sufi, drunk with spiritual intoxication, will go astray while
the deeds of those who are not intoxicated with such unveiling will find favor with God?
Is it not foolhardy to make presumptions about what God will and will not do and about
whether or not we are deceived about the "value" of our own deeds?
"Have you seen him
who has taken his caprice to be his god, and Allah sends him astray purposely, and seals
up his hearing and his heart, and sets on his sight a covering?" (45:23) Is an
individual’s resistance to mystical possibilities a sign that they are rightly guided
or could it be an indication that a seal has been placed on her or his hearing or heart
and that a covering has been placed over the individual’s vision due to the many ways
in which the person’s caprice is the god which is served?
The Prophet Muhammad
(peace be upon him) is reported to have said: "This world is prohibited to the people
of the next world, and the next world is forbidden to the people of this world, and both
worlds are forbidden to the people of Allah." If a person’s spiritual ambition
is to attain Paradise, then, praise be to God, but those who are inclined in this way
should not condemn those who may be in a condition of spiritual intoxication, for among
the latter are those who care neither about this world nor the next, but only seek the
Countenance of their Lord - and these are the ‘people of Allah’ to whom the
Prophet alluded in the foregoing Hadith.
Where is the evidence
that drunken Sufis do not follow the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)?
People follow the Sunnah in accordance with their capacity to do so, and most people fall
far short of perfection with respect to realizing the fullness of Prophetic practice.
The Sunnah of the Prophet
includes, among other things, kindness, generosity, selflessness, honesty, compassion,
love, sincerity, integrity, courage, steadfastness, patience, gratitude, friendliness,
forgiveness, service to others, and many other qualities. Can one automatically assume
that people in a condition of spiritual intoxication abandon such things?
Are the people who are in
a condition of spiritual intoxication lacking in faith? Do they fail to remember their
Lord ? - and, one should keep in mind that God said in the Qur’an: "Lo! Ritual
worship preserves an individual from lewdness and iniquity, but, verily, remembrance of
Allah is more important." (29:45)
Are the people of
spiritual intoxication lacking in ihsan? Are they not very aware that God sees them, and
do they not worship God "as if" they could see Him given that every Divine
unveiling is a form of "as if" even if such an unveiling may be something less
than full realization of an individual’s spiritual capacity?
To mention, as the author
of Sufism - A Short Introduction does, allegations that drunken Sufis
‘de-emphasize the Sharia’ or fail to follow the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad
is merely to regurgitate the charges of various Muslim theologians down through the ages.
In addition, like all too many of these theologians, the discussion in the author’s
book is devoid of any evidence to warrant perpetuating such allegations.
The author clearly is
merely passing on what others supposedly have said. Nonetheless, in legal terminology,
this constitutes hearsay testimony and calls for conclusions based upon facts which have
not yet been placed into evidence.
The foregoing problem is
not resolved by noting, as the author does, that: "Those who, in ibn Arabi’s
terms, ‘see with both eyes’ keep reason and unveiling in perfect balance while
acknowledging the rights of both sober and drunk." For, aside from the author’s
failure to understand what ibn al-‘Arabi means by ‘reason’ and the nature
of spiritual balance, one is still left with questions - questions which the author has
helped to raise - such as: do drunken Sufis really de-emphasize the Shari‘ah? Have
they abandoned the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)? Do drunken and
sober Sufis really throw charges and counter-charges back and forth at one another like so
many bickering children? Have sober Sufis really forgotten the "overriding reality of
God’s mercy"?
No useful purpose is
served by approaching the issue in this manner. In fact, doing things in this way tends to
help create confusion rather than remove it.
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