Sufi Compassion

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Sufi Compassion - The Path of Infinite Grace

Origins, Sects, and Where Do I Go from Here? - Part Two

If one accepts the Qur'an as one of the revealed Scriptures or Books which has been given to humankind from time to time via the Archangel Gabriel through certain Prophets - in this case, Muhammad (peace be upon him), then certain aspects of what is taught, for example, by the Nation of Islam is incorrect. Most importantly, in this respect, is their recognition of Elijah Muhammad as a prophet of God when the Qur'an clearly specifies that Muhammad (peace be upon him) was the Seal of the Prophets and there would be no Prophets after him in this cycle of time.

It was this truth, among others, which entered into the heart of Malcolm X when he went on Hajj or pilgrimage. When he returned from this set of spiritual experiences, he renounced many fundamental features of the teachings of the Nation of Islam, and it was for these acts, apparently, that he was assassinated by some misguided souls.

The son of Elijah Muhammad, W. Deen Muhammad, broke with his father and the Nation of Islam for many of the same reasons as did Malcolm X. Subsequently, W. Deen Muhammad became a Muslim who follows the teachings of the Qur'an and the traditions or hadith (sayings) of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

I agree with your comments concerning the positive influences which the Nation of Islam has had upon many black individuals and communities. The lives of many individuals in the black community have been turned around in a very positive fashion, by the grace of God, in response to the work which the Nation of Islam has been doing.

In addition, in certain parts of the United States, representatives from the Nation of Islam have been willing to take on, struggle against, and by the grace of God, be victorious over neighborhoods which had been infested with all manner of drugs and the problems associated with drug pushing and usage. In doing this, they have done, with God's help, what many people in the regular Muslim community have been unwilling to even attempt to do.

Furthermore, I find a great deal of the political, economic, legal, educational and social analysis of some of the leaders of the Nation of Islam to be right on the money. They have, by the grace of God, developed a keen insight into a wide variety of the corrupt and sordid aspects of many dimensions of both the domestic and foreign policies of certain segments of American government activity.

Nevertheless, in a way, this only serves to underline the points being noted in the foregoing comments. Although the Nation of Islam serves as a source of constructive and beneficial influence for many people in the black community, nevertheless, it accomplishes this at the expense of, in effect, misleading these same people with respect to a variety of more fundamental and essential truths concerning the nature of the spiritual relationship between Divinity and human beings.

Whatever injustices, inequities and racial prejudices that are being addressed, and rightly so, by the Nation of Islam, these are being used, knowingly or unknowingly, to veil truths which are equally, if not far more, important to the spiritual well-being of individuals in both the short run, as well as the long run. Why limit oneself to the teachings of - at least, from an Islamic perspective - a non-Prophet (namely Elijah Muhammad) and, thereby, deprive oneself of the teachings of, and, more importantly, the grace or barakah which, by the leave of Allah, flows through the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) as well as the book of revelation which came through the Prophet?

If one is going to take on the responsibility of invoking the name of Islam as the Nation of Islam has done, then one ought to abide by all the duties, observances, etiquette, values, beliefs, and principles that are entailed by the term "Islam". One is not free to invent whatever set of beliefs and actions one likes and call that Islam simply because it may prove to be convenient or expedient to do so in relation to one's political and social agenda.

Why not address the sort of problems in which the Nation of Islam is interested without sacrificing the unlimited spiritual possibilities which are inherent in the original Divine guidance of Islam but which are not inherent in the sectarian creation of a non-Prophet, irrespective of however well-intentioned that human invention may have been? The Nation of Islam has done well with borrowing a few of the pages of the Book of Islam, God willing, they would do even better if they accepted the entire book.

There are two major (and numerous very minor) exoteric groups among Muslims. These are the Sunni and the Shi'a.

The Sunni comprise somewhere between 80 to 85 % of the world's Muslim population of 1 billion people. The primary form (there are a number of secondary and tertiary forms) of the Shi'a community constitutes about 10 to 13 % of the Muslim population around the world.

Both of these groups agree upon the first five "pillars" of Islam as well as the first six articles of faith of this spiritual tradition. In other words, they both agree that: [pillars] (1) one must attest to the fact there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the Messenger of Allah; (2) there are five periods of obligatory worship each day which must be observed; (3) providing one is physically and circumstantially able to do so, one must fast each year during the month of Ramadan, the ninth month of the lunar calendar; (4) if an individual has savings accrued over a year which are above and beyond the basic necessities of life, then one must purify that money through the payment of a zakat - which works out to be approximately 2 and ½ % of such savings; (5) if one is physically and financially in a position to do so, then at least once in one's life time, one must perform the rites and observances of Hajj or pilgrimage to the holy places in and around Mecca and Medina.

In addition, both groups agree that: [articles of faith] (a) there is no god but Allah, and Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the Messenger of God; (b) one believes in the angels of God; (c}one embraces the Books of revelation which have been sent by God to humankind through certain Prophets via the agency of Archangel Gabriel; (d) one accepts all of the Prophets of God; (e) one acknowledges that there will be a Day of Judgement in which one will be held accountable before God with respect to the nature of the intentions underlying one's actions; (f) one maintains that God alone is the sole determiner of good and evil.

These two - that is, the Sunni and Shi'a - approaches to Islam arose after the Prophet passed away. Mostly, they involve differences concerning whether or not the leaders of the Muslim community must be of the Prophet's blood lineage (Sunni say no; Shi'a say yes) and whether or not these leaders were considered to be both spiritual and political heads of the community (Shi'a position), or just the political heads of the community (Sunni position).

The foregoing is, of course, a gross over-simplification of the situation and, therefore, leaves out many nuances, details and historical events. In essence, however, the divisions are along the lines indicated above. The rest of the debate tends to be derivative from these basic differences.

As far as your comments about not thinking "too much about heaven and hell" are concerned, rest easy, I do not hear what you are saying in a "bad light". Instead, I hear what you are saying with my heart and soul.

Ra'bia of Basra - who was not just a great woman saint of Islam/the Sufi Path but one of its greatest saints irrespective of gender issues - used to say a prayer along the following lines. O Allah, if I worship Thee out of desire for heaven, then deny me heaven, and if I worship Thee out of fear of hell, then throw me into hell, but if I worship Thee out of love for Thee and Thee alone, then grant me Thy vision.

If your concerns and interests revolve about salvation/heaven/hell - and there is nothing wrong with this since these are legitimate spiritual issues and aspirations - then the people associated with the mosques may be the people who, God willing, are best able to help introduce you to the basics of Islam as seen from that perspective. Simply go to one of the many mosques in any large metropolitan area near where you live, state your intention to the imam there, and, God willing, this individual should introduce you to people who may be able to provide you with whatever instruction, direction, and so on that may be necessary to help you work toward fulfilling, if God wishes, your stated intention.

If, on the other hand, your concerns are not primarily with matters of salvation - as seems to be the case - then you would, God willing, be much better off getting your introduction to Islam with someone who shares your perspective - namely, practitioners of the Sufi Path or tasawwuf (mystical science). A reputable and authentic Sufi master of your choice would be happy, God willing, to help you work toward realizing your true spiritual identity as well as your essential, unique capacity for knowing, loving, serving and cherishing Divinity.

However, if you are genuinely and sincerely interested in coming to Islam by way of Tasawwuf, then the most important consideration for you is in the choice of a spiritual guide or shaykh. Unfortunately, there are quite a few people roaming about in North America, and elsewhere, these days proclaiming to be a Sufi teacher but who, in point of fact, are not necessarily what they claim to be.

You have asked me: "can I guide you?" If you are asking for my guidance - irrespective of in however a restricted sense you may be asking for it - then, you should have trust in what I say, and the question which you need to ask yourself is this: why should you trust in such guidance?

If you are using "guidance" in the sense of 'can I offer you some suggestions', the same question must be asked. You must be clear in your mind and heart what it is that you are asking, and why you are asking it, and why you are asking one person rather than another.

I do not raise these questions lightly. Your future spiritual well-being and safety may depend on how you answer these issues.

Moreover, I am not posing these questions in order to put you off or because I am not prepared, God willing, to help you in whatever way I can. But, you ought to think about who I am and what I am about and what it is that I may, or may not, have to offer in the way of genuine guidance.

Right now, I am a faceless, featureless individual who you happened to contact and who responded to your queries. Is all of this coincidental and am I merely a fleeting link in your karass and wampeter, as Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. discussed in Cat's Cradle, or is something else involved?

It's your call, but whatever you decide, be clear what it is you are deciding and what it is that you are requesting and what it is that you are seeking and in relation to whom this all is being done.

Should you learn from an African-aligned mosque? Should you go to a regular mosque first, and, then, go to a Sufi group? Should you go straight to a Sufi group?

The Qur'an informs us there can be no compulsion in matters of Deen or in, that is, the process of spiritual realization involving one's essential capacity and true identity. Therefore, the decision must be, and, in fact, can only be, yours.

God willing, you should go where the inclinations of your heart and the sincerity of your intentions take you.

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