Q619 :May I know what is meant by “tareeqah”,
“ma’rifah” and “haqeeqah”. Some people suggest that in addition to
normal and statutory prayers, there are other prayers which bring a
person in closer netmunication with Allah. The practice, according to
them, was taught by the Prophet to his cousin Ali, who imparted the
knowledge to certain selected persons and the tradition has been kept
among those who make an effort to maintain it with diligence. They
neither desire the life of this world nor that of the life to nete,
except the netpany of Allah Himself and the Prophet. It is said that
they experience amazing things and do hear the reply of their
salutation to the Prophet. Please netment.
A619 : The word tareeqah means “way or method”,
while “ma’rifah” means “knowledge” and “haqeeqah” means “truth”. Those
who follow some sufi trends make much of these terms and try to
establish a division between them and the ordinary acts of worship
which are applicable to all of us. They claim that the ultimate goal is
to arrive at the truth, through the proper knowledge of Allah, which is
attainable only by following the correct method of worshipping Allah
and remembering Him. While this is acceptable in absolute terms, it is
certainly far from acceptable when taken within the framework of the
practices of sufism. Let us examine what you have mentioned about
“secret” teachings imparted by the Prophet to his cousin Ali. If this
has been done by the Prophet on instructions from Allah, it means that
Allah has selected a section of His servants for a special favor which
He has chosen not to grant to others. Far be it from Allah, the Most
Just, to make such an arbitrary distinction. The fact is that Allah has
created us all with the same susceptibility to accepting the faith,
regardless of our origin, race, or education. When the message of the
truth, i.e. submission to Allah is put to us, we can all respond to it
and accept it without hesitation, once we free ourselves of the
shackles of our circumstances or position or desires or any other type
of pressure. It is needless to say that an intellectual person who has
received good education is able to understand the message of Islam much
better than one who has not been so privileged. But the two may have an
equal strength of faith. We should not forget that Allah puts all to
account on the day of judgment and He gives us the same type of reward
for our good deeds, while we may incur the same type of punishment for
our sins. It follows, considering Allah’s absolute justice, that we
should have the same susceptibility to accepting the message of the
truth if we have to face the same reckoning. In view of the foregoing,
it simply does not fit with Allah’s justice that he gives secret
knowledge to a section of the people, no matter who may be in that
section. Moreover the Prophet has been required to convey Allah’s
message to mankind. Allah describes the Prophet who has been “sent as a
mercy to all worlds.” The Prophet fulfilled his task in a most
exemplary way, requesting his netpanions and all Muslims to impart the
knowledge he has given them to the rest of mankind. Allah has
guaranteed that the message of Islam will remain preserved for all time
so that it remains accessible to people. To suggest that the Prophet
advised or taught any particular knowledge to his cousin in a secret
manner is most objectionable because it means that he has favored a
certain group of people or a certain individual with important
knowledge which he withheld from others. Far be it from the last
messenger of Allah to do so. Why should he? And why should there be any
group of people who is more favored than the rest of us? That certainly
does not fit with the Divine Justice. The truth is that Allah has
revealed Islam as a message to all mankind. It is addressed to every
single one of us and Allah tells us in the Qur’an that implementing
Islam is the sure and only way to get the maximum reward in the
hereafter, namely, admission into heaven. Allah says in the Qur’an:
“Whosoever obeys Allah and the messenger shall be those on whom Allah
has bestowed His grace of Prophets, saints, martyrs and righteous
people. Good netpany are these indeed,” (4;69). As is clear from this
verse, the highest netpany to which any person can aspire is to join
prophets and righteous people in heaven. For this reason, every good
believer prays Allah all the time to grant him the greatest privilege
of all, namely admission into heaven. These people suggest that there
are two grades of reward. The first is that of heaven and the other is
something superior. They claim this to be netmunion or netpany with
Allah and the Prophet. But when the Prophet speaks of the highest grade
which may be achieved by anyone, he says “Whoever brings up well two
girls until they have grown up shall be my netpanion in heaven.” This
Hadith tells us that the Prophet shall be in heaven. How will these
people want to go any higher? What support do they have for their
aspiration? Where do they get their information from? They claim to
hear the answer to the greetings they offer to the Prophet. What
nonsense. Where does it nete from? How can they recognize whose voice
it is? This is simply an exercise in self-delusion. The Prophet has not
told us about anything like this. Therefore, we cannot accept it from
anyone. What the Prophet has not told us about is simply untrue.
Therefore, the claims of these people are certainly untrue. I realize
that some people will tell me that there is a Hadith which says that
the Prophet answers the greetings of all people. Yes, there is such a
Hadith and this is a special privilege Allah has granted to the
Prophet. But the Hadith does not tell us that we hear him answer these
greetings, nor does the Hadith tell us how the answer is given. It is
simply a matter of the spirit, the knowledge of which Allah has chosen
to keep for Himself. Therefore, we do not try to determine how it is
done, because we cannot have any certain knowledge about it. It is
sufficient for us to know that the Prophet has been granted the
privilege of answering our greetings.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )