The Need For A Shaykh
Over the last several months, I have come across a fair amount of discussion in different Group lists and chat rooms about whether, or not, one needs a living shaykh in order to pursue the path of tasawwuf. Included in this debate are questions about, among other things, the nature of ba’yat, its historical precedents, its function, and so on.
First of all, one might note that there are many spiritual practices which can be pursued quite independently of any association with a tariqa, Order, silsilah or sehjrah. The saying of Fatiha (the giving of thanks and the remembrance of, and seeking blessings upon, great spiritual personalities or just ordinary people of the past) can be observed on a regular basis; zikr can be performed on an on-going basis; nafl fasting can be undertaken; tahajjud can be offered; seclusions such as I’tikaf (the last ten days of Ramazan) can be pursued; the Qur’an and Sunnah can be studied and implemented in a rigorous fashion; sadaqat beyond the requisite zakat can be distributed to those in need; voluntary service to the community can be contributed; seeking to become more patient, forgiving, kind, loving, tolerant, just, pious, humble, modest, sincere, honest, compassionate, generous, and repentant can be struggled with; striving to realize deeper and deeper states of iman and ihsan can become important goals –– and so on –– all of these can be done individually, and one does not need a shaykh’s guidance in order to try to realize any of these practices in one’s life. But, none of the foregoing, either singly or in combination, constitutes the essence of the Sufi Path even though all of the previously mentioned practices are likely to show up on a ‘things to do list’ of any authentic shaykh and silsilah.
The very word tariqah (path or way) implies travel or suluk. Moreover, the whole idea of a guide is someone who can help one navigate through territory with which the person in need of a guide is unfamiliar –– territory which can be extremely dangerous and fraught with traps, pitfalls, dead-ends, seductions, illusions, delusions, anomalous events, tests, and poisonous, deadly forces.
So, where, God willing, does the Sufi path go? It takes one: to the essence of one’s identity; to the possibilities inherent in one’s spiritual capacity; to the truth of the fixed potential which defines human existence; to the center of one’s identity; to the zenith of life’s purpose; through stations such as tauba (repentance), sabr (patience), tawwakil (dependence), shukr (gratitude), taqwa (piety), ishq (intense love); to the inner functioning of heart, sirr, ruh, kafi, and aqfah and the different kinds of knowledge which are transmitted through these spiritual facets of human nature; across the manifestations of Divine Names and Attributes; to yaqueen (spiritual certainty concerning the truth of various modalities of knowledge); through the realms of Nasut, Malakut, Jabrut, Lahut, and Hahut and the 70,000 worlds of light and darkness which are encompassed therein; to being the sort of ‘abd, or servant who gives expression to all manner of worship through the concentrated understanding of fana and baqa, thereby, coming to realize the full meaning of Sha’riah and Deen for the first time.
Any person who believes that she or he can traverse all of the foregoing on one’s own is a fool. Any person who believes that such a journey can be undertaken independently of expert assistance really hasn’t been paying attention to the history of mysticism.
There are a few instances in which certain individuals, seemingly isolated from any sort of human assistance, have reported profound experiences, of one kind or another, which have helped transport them along various aspects of the spiritual path. But, upon closer examination, one usually finds that someone such as Khizr [a mysterious patron saint of the Sufi Path who has a special teaching function -- such as happened in the case of Moses (peace be upon him) which is recounted in the Qur’an (see the Surah of the Cave, 18:65 onward), or one of the spirits of the Prophets or awliya of Allah, has taken these people by the hand and helped guide part of their journey, and, consequently, these are exceptions which tend to prove the rule about the need for a guide.
Indeed the Qur’an says: “It belongs not to any human being that God should speak to that person except by revelation, or from behind a veil.” (42:51) And, Hazrat ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) is reported to have said: “The one who would step onto the way of tasawwuf without benefit of a guide, has Iblis for a shaykh.”
Now, since the Sufi masters agree there is no reality but Allah, then, Iblis, too, is one of the veils through whom, or from behind which, Divinity speaks to us for Divine purposes. Therefore, one needs to be able to distinguish veils of guidance, light, knowledge, and wisdom, from veils of mis-guidance, darkness, ignorance, and dissolution.
Up to a certain point, every human being has a moral responsibility to struggle to discern differences of intention among such veilings. The Qur’an has been given to help us with this task, as has the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and many of the people of taqwa -- whether Sufi, or non-Sufi.
Beyond a certain juncture, however, the nature of the aforementioned moral responsibility changes, somewhat, and if one wishes to proceed further, one is required to seek special assistance in order to learn how to navigate through the Divine play of veils, rather than attempting to negotiate such difficulties on one’s own. The Sufi Path is one such juncture.
To try to lend some concreteness to the present discussion, as well as to convey just a small sense of the enormity of the problem confronting us, please reflect on some of the following considerations. Perhaps, these issues will help bring a modicum of sobriety to those who wish to dash off on their own to engage in mystical travel.
According to the teaching of the Sufi masters, Alam al-mithal, or the world of symbols and similitudes, is the barzarkh or ithmus which connects, on certain levels, the realm of Nasut (corporeal material existence) with the realm of Malakut (which, among other things, deals with the inner soul or reality of things and is non-corporeal/non-material in nature). One of the functions of Alam al-mithal is to give expression to symbols and similitudes that are capable of transmitting knowledge that joins corporeal and non-corporeal issues of significance concerning Being.
There are many forces inhabiting Alam al-mithal –– some of these are good (e.g., the spirits of Prophets) and some of these are problematic (e.g., the spirits of satanic forces). If one does not know how to distinguish between these two sets of countervailing forces, then, one easily can become lost, confused, misguided, and exploited in this realm.
Furthermore, Sufi masters indicate that dreams arise out of Alam al-mithal, and the symbols and similitudes through which the message(s) of dreams are given expression are constructed from corporeal and non-corporeal modes of understanding that require interpretation to be properly assessed. Just as there are active forces in the realm of Alam al-mithal which can mislead one while journeying in that realm, there also are active forces which can corrupt the things (such as dreams) which one brings back with one from that barzarkh by providing incorrect interpretations of such dream events.
Everyone is intrigued with dreams and believes them to be harbingers of a mysterious sort of wisdom concerning life. In addition, many of us enjoy interpreting such events, but there are dangers in doing this –– especially, for the individual whose dream is being interpreted, but in an incorrect or problematic fashion.
There are a number of Sufi shaykhs who have indicated that once a dream has been misinterpreted, a great deal of the spiritual value of the dream may be lost, never to be regained. Misinterpretation acts like a virus which tends to destroy the spiritual fabric of the dream and undermine its original purpose.
A gift is given, and misinterpretation taints the dream and blocks its true possibilities. Only someone who enjoys the barakah of a sehjrah or silsilah or the special support of Divinity can serve as a locus of manifestation for proper understanding of a dream, and one places oneself at spiritual risk whenever someone who is not authorized to do this undertakes providing such an understanding of the dream’s significance.
Interpretations can be interesting, make sense, have a value, but none of this necessarily means that such an interpretation is correct. In order for the dream to be properly understood, or in order for someone’s journeying through Alam al-mithal to be correctly gauged, there are a great many factors which come into play concerning the character, potential, spiritual station, life context, practices, and so on of an individual.
In his book, Path of the Bondsmen of God, Najm al-din- Razi indicates that just a single symbol such as fire may have a multiplicity of possible meanings, ranging from Divine anger to the light of guidance [such as with Moses (peace be upon him) on Mount Sinai], and from the presence of devilry to the presence of intense mystical ardor. Fire is but one of an indefinite number of symbols and similitudes whose true meaning in any given case requires a great deal of insight and understanding concerning the individual to whom the dream has occurred or to whom certain experiences have taken place.
A mureed of Hazrat Ahmad Sirhindi (may Allah be pleased with him) once came running to his shaykh, proclaiming: “I have seen God, I have seen God.” After getting the man to calm down, the shaykh asked the mureed to describe his experience.
When the individual did so, the shaykh listened carefully, and when the man had finished his description, his guide said: “You silly fool, you have seen nothing more than the nur or light of your ablution.”
There are many kinds of nur and many kinds of darkness, and not everyone is vouchsafed the knowledge of how to distinguish among these differences. Having an altered state of consciousness is one thing, and understanding the meaning of that altered state is quite another matter.
There was a follower of Hazrat Junayd (may Allah be pleased with him) who, after many years of association with the shaykh, felt that a point had been reached where further spiritual travel could be done without further physical contact with his teacher. As a result, he proceeded to continue on, by himself, with various practices without consulting the shaykh.
The very first night, this person had an incredible, waking experience. Two beings on either side of a Buraq-like creature [the Prophet (peace be upon him), prior to his mi’raj or ascension, was transported to various places via a celestial being that was somewhat similar to a horse] invited the mureed to mount the creature, and when he did, the man was whisked away to a Paradisical-like state in which all that he asked for or desired was granted to him. Night after night this happened, and each time, the experience was more fantastic than the events of the previous evening.
Somehow, Hazrat Junayd (may Allah be pleased with him) came to hear about these experiences, and sent word to the mureed that the next time such a event took place, the man should recite a certain spiritual formula. After receiving this communication, the mureed felt that out of respect for the shaykh and their past association, he would do as the shaykh had requested.
That night, when the same set of events began to transpire, the mureed recited the litany which has been given to him. Immediately, there was a loud set of shrieks, everything disappeared and the man found himself on a mound of dust and bones.
The mureed understood that his shaykh had intervened on his behalf and saved him from a satanic seduction. He repented to Allah and his shaykh and continued, once again, to keep in close association with his guide.
Is the foregoing a ‘ghost story’ intended to frighten impressionable people to stay tied to the apron strings of a authoritarian teacher? Not really –– in fact, the real point or moral of the foregoing account ... at least in the present context ... is that the interpretation of both ‘normal’, as well as anomalous, events in our lives is not child’s play. It is serious spiritual business, and not everyone –– indeed, most of us –– really don’t know what we are doing in such circumstances.
We have theories, impressions, opinions, biases, prejudices, inclinations, ideas, and interpretations, but that is all they are –– the uttering of the ignorant. Consequently, when someone brushes up against our lives who claims to be able to sort all of this out for us and, in the process, guide us through the shadowy, ambiguous, hazardous aspects of the spiritual journey, we tend to become quite excited without really knowing if such a person actually knows what he or she is talking about and claiming in this respect.
Hazrat Jalaluddin Rumi (may Allah be pleased with him) is reported to have said words to the effect that the spiritual journey is one which would take two hundred years on one’s own, but just two days with the assistance of a true awliya of God. I believe that Hazrat Rumi (may Allah be pleased with him) said these words after meeting Shamsi Trabriz (may Allah be pleased with him), not before their series of encounters -- because before he met Shams (may Allah be pleased with him) he had not come anywhere close to completing his spiritual journey and, therefore, would not have known the truth of what he only learned after his encounters with his beloved friend –– learning which was manifested in the Mathnawi and other post-Shams writings.
There are many people on the Sufi path today who have spent more than two days with their shaykh who –– if external behavior is any indicator –– have not, yet, completed the spiritual journey. This would suggest a number of possibilities.
One of these possibilities is that some of these so-called shaykhs are not what they claim to be. Another possibility which is borne out by the teachings of the Sufi masters, is that not all shaykhs are necessarily of the same spiritual accomplishment, and by saying this, one should not suppose that this possibility precludes the reality of the first possibility –– namely, that there are people running around claiming to be a shaykh who have not been authorized by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), through the permission of Allah, to serve in such a capacity.
In essence, a shaykh is someone who has been selected, for reasons best known to Divinity, to be a locus of manifestation through which certain kinds of barakah or Divine Grace are transmitted which runs from Allah, to the Prophet (peace be upon him), down through his household, and through the subsequent ones who have been entrusted with this function of serving as such as locus of manifestation of spiritual guidance for the journey of tasawwuf. Such a shaykh may, or may not, be a great alim or scholar of Qur’an, Hadith, or fiqh –– and, doesn’t have to be for there are others who may and can serve in such a capacity.
A shaykh is a spiritual, catalytic touchstone which provides support, help, assistance, direction, and transformational possibilities, God willing, for travelers of the Sufi Path. Without the presence of this alchemical-like elixir, the spiritual journey of tasawwuf becomes, unless Allah wishes otherwise, impossible ... although, naturally, the regular journey of a Muslim who seeks Paradise is still available.
There was once a shaykh who was quite elderly and about to pass on to the next world. Before he passed on, he wished for a successor to be named.
The individual which God, through his Prophet (peace be upon him) selected, was an individual who –– as far as the Qur’an, Hadithic literature, and issues of fiqh (the application of Shari’ah to everyday life) were concerned –– was quite ignorant and who never had any formal training in these disciplines. As a result, many of the other mureeds were quite perplexed with the decision.
In time the elderly shaykh passed away, and the successor assumed the responsibilities of being a shaykh for the silsilah in question. Almost immediately, some of the other mureeds began to test the new guide, peppering him with questions about the Qur’an and Hadith.
To their surprise, the humble man answered all of their questions with such detail, insight and wisdom, that they were completely nonplused by the man’s capabilities. As many times as they tested him, beautiful answers were forthcoming from the man’s lips.
One of the mureeds, who was bolder and more curious than the others, approached the new shaykh and inquired about how the latter could give such wonderful discourses on all manner of subjects given that he never had any formal training in these areas. The shaykh smiled and indicated: “Whenever any of you ask me questions, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is at my side, instructing me what to say.”
Does the foregoing anecdote mean that any Tom, Dick or Harriet who comes along will be afforded such assistance? No, it doesn’t, but it does indicate that when someone is properly authorized by Allah to serve in a given function, then, God willing, whatever is necessary to fulfill the duties of that function will be forthcoming.
Not all shaykhs are of the caliber of a Shams, Rumi, Junayd, Ibn al-Arabi, Ahmed Sirhindi, or Muhammad al-Alawi (may Allah be pleased with all of them). Not all shaykhs have the same mission on earth, even as they all share in providing spiritual guidance for those who seek to traverse the path of tasawwuf.
There was an individual who went in search of mystical truths. He began with the spiritual guide who was available in that locality.
Soon, however, this seeker became dissatisfied with what that shaykh had to offer after the former individual heard about a person who was described as being the greatest shaykh of the time. The man’s heart began to burn with desire to study with the great shaykh, and, therefore, he asked his current teacher’s permission to seek the great shaykh out, and, his guide consented to the request.
After some time spent in physical travel, the seeker found the great shaykh and sought an audience, which was granted. As the seeker was ushered into the spiritual guide’s room and was about to sit down, the shaykh said to him: “Why do you seek a goldsmith when an iron-smith will do? Go back to your shaykh, for he has all that you will be able to take advantage of at this stage in your life.”
All authentic shaykhs can help, but not all seekers are destined for the same spiritual rizqh, and, therefore, not all shaykhs need to be the qutb of the age in order to be able to serve as a locus for Divine assistance. Indeed, the Sufi masters have noted that Divine manifestation does not repeat itself, and, consequently, there will only be one Rumi, or one Hafiz, or one ibn al-Arabi and so on. The task of each individual is to struggle toward realizing whatever the nature of one’s spiritual capacity may be, and not to seek to become what one is not –– and to realize that even in the most humble and lowly of human beings, there is a spiritual potential for coming to know the Hidden Treasure in accordance with the properties of that individual’s spiritual capacity.
Someone who is not an authentic shaykh has no appreciation or understanding of such differences and subtleties. Someone who is not an authentic, properly designated guide, becomes like the person who interprets dreams incorrectly, and, as a result, undermines the spiritual condition and potential of an individual.
The stakes are enormous. The possibility of spiritual realization and completion of the purpose of one’s life, versus the possibility of spiritual dissolution and the loss of the chance to struggle toward realization of such a purpose.
Many people do not know if their shaykh is authentic or not. However, because so much is at stake, many people are unwilling to look into the abyss and ask the question –– Does the person with whom I have taken ba’yat serve as an authorized locus of manifestation for assisting people to travel on the Sufi Path, and how can I confirm this?
This is an enormously complex question and not necessarily all that straightforward a problem. There is a Hadith Qudsi which says: “The most enviable of My awliya close to Me is a believer whose possessions are few, whose joy is prayer, who accomplished the service of one’s Lord to perfection and obeys God in secret. This person is obscure among human beings, and no one points to that person.”
A shaykh who took no, or few, mureeds but who taught my shaykh Persian when the latter was much younger and was, in addition, a good friend of my shaykh, once said: “There are so many Rumis who have never uttered a word.” We think we know who the people of Allah are, and we think we can tell who those close to Allah are, but we are largely ignorant of the reality of things.
Some people with very big reputations are not legitimate shaykhs although many people suppose them to be so. Some people who are completely invisible to most of us –– except the people of discernment –– are legitimate shaykhs, yet, few seekers find their way to them.
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) informs us that: “This world is maintained in illusion.” Most of us go about our business as if there were no truth to what he said, or act as if we actually knew what he was talking about and, consequently, could distinguish among the veils of light and darkness which, on their own level are true, but, nonetheless, camouflage still deeper truths about human existence.
At Hudaibiyah, all who were with the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) took ba’yat. When the Prophet passed away and Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) was elected Caliph by a majority vote, ba’yat was again taken by many individuals, but not everyone joined in.
The two instances of ba’yat are not necessarily the same. One obvious difference is that a Prophet was involved in one case, but not the other, but to speculate beyond this invites error.
In both cases, allegiance was sought from those who took ba’yat. In both cases, it was true that: “Those who swear allegiance to thee, in truth, swear allegiance to God. God’s hand is above their hands. So, whoever breaks one’s oath, breaks it only to the hurt of one’s soul.” (Qur’an 48:10)
If one takes ba’yat with a fraudulent shaykh, the oath one takes is to Allah and not to the person. The very nature of the ba’yat one is taking forbids one to follow mis-guidance.
Truth trumps falsehood: “The Real has come and the unreal has vanished away. Lo! falsehood is ever bound to vanish.” (Qur’an 17:81) –– but, of course, first one has to go through the Divinely ordained tribulation of coming to discover the nature of the falsehood with which one is dealing.
To the extent that the individual whose hand one takes is authentic, then, keeping one’s oath to the shaykh is, in fact, keeping one’s oath to Allah. As the Qur’an stipulates: “So, the one who has obeyed the Messenger has obeyed God,” (4:80) and since an authentic shaykh is someone who, by Divine permission, has been authorized by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), then, to follow the guidance of the shaykh, is by analogy, to follow the guidance which is being transmitted through the shaykh via the barakah which flows through the Prophetic fountain of spirituality by Divine decree.
The idea of ba’yat among the Sufis is modeled primarily after what took place at Hudaibiyah, but there is also resonance with what transpired in conjunction with Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him). The essential theme is that of taking an oath of a spiritual nature but one which has this-world ramifications –– an oath taking which, ultimately, is between an individual and Allah but which is played out in the context of a specifically authorized veil –– namely, an authentic shaykh.
Is the taking of a hand necessary to establish ba’yat? Not necessarily.
I remember when I began associating with my shaykh, I was very anxious about going through the formal ceremony which I saw others going through, and the more time that passed without this happening, the more worried I became that, perhaps, I did not belong on the Sufi Path. Finally, the shaykh toward whom I was inclined indicated one day that on such and such an occasion, near the end of Ramazan, I was to be formerly initiated.
When I told him about my worries in this regard, he smiled. He said, actually, he already had considered me part of the silsilah for quite some time, but the formal initiation process was going to take place to make it official for everyone concerned.
I knew in my heart, my oath of allegiance already was with him before any formal taking of hands had occurred. So, did he.
Finally, sometimes, as in my case, one’s shaykh passes away. I felt that I still needed some spiritual guidance, and, so, when an opportunity arose, I went with it –– mistakenly, as it turns out, but as Shakespeare once wrote: “All’s well that ends well,” and to have been freed from the influences of such a mistake sits very well with me indeed, and I consider it as, by the Grace of Allah, a barakah from my earlier guide which, because existence is the way it is and we have to go through whatever Allah wishes, took time to manifest itself in my life.
The general rule among the Sufis is that if one’s teacher passes away, one is free, without prejudice, to seek further guidance from another authentic guide of the way, or, alternatively, to remain with the teacher who has passed away, for the Sufis accept the truth of: “Think not of those who are slain in the way of Allah, as dead. No, they are living. With their Lord, they have provision. Jubilant (are they) because of that which Allah has bestowed upon them of His bounty.’ (Qur’an 3:169- 170) Moreover, the phrase, “slain in the way of Allah”, in the foregoing does not necessarily refer to those who die in armed, physical combat, as so many Muslims are inclined to suppose, but has a deeper, richer meaning which encompasses all those who have devoted their lives to the service of Allah –– those who swear: “Say: Surely, my prayer and my service of sacrifice, my life and my death are all for Allah, the Lord of the worlds.” (Qur’an 6:162)
When I was brought into contact with my shaykh, I, literally, did not know what I was doing. but, by the Grace of Allah, it turned out fine. When I was brought into contact with the so-called shaykh, I, literally, did not know what I was doing, but, by the Grace of Allah, it turned out OK –– although, I must say that I liked the scenery and company in the first part of the journey a lot more than the scenery and company in the second part of the journey –– but, I quibble.
There are psychological and spiritual advantages to being with a shaykh who is among those living in this world. Unless one is extremely well-advanced and established on the path of tasawwuf, having a living guide is probably the better part of valor –– it is not an absolute necessity, and, to some extent, it really depends on the kind of relationship one had with one’s initial teacher, whether anything was indicated to one by the teacher, how confident one feels struggling with the unknown on one’s own (especially, when it comes to traveling through jalali territory), the nature of one’s understanding, and so on.
I remember once when traveling in India, I visited the shrine of one of the great saints of our silsilah, and, during a conversation with one of the caretakers of the shrine, inquired about going to a certain nearby mosque known as the ‘mosque of the jinn’. The man asked me what I knew, and I understood by his words, he was asking me what spiritual knowledge did I have –– to which I answered, not much. He suggested that since it was near sunset, now would not be the best time to go there.
The Sufi path is sort of like this. If one doesn’t have the requisite knowledge to go about things in a wise manner, one probably should wait for a more propitious time –– namely, when one has access to the sort of help which may be of constructive value to one’s spiritual journey. They tend to know all the best watering holes and taverns.
| Return to Spiritual Abuse Menu |
|
