Prohibited Forms of Dhikr by Shaykh Abdul Fattah Abu Ghuddah

A few weeks back, this humble and unworthy slave was working on a retranslation of certain portions of Shaykh 'Abdul Fattah Abu Ghuddah's commentary on Imam uhasibi's !"isalat al- ustarshideen! #the original translation, entitled !$he Sunnah %ay of the Sufis!, having numerous mistakes and inconsistencies&' I had nearly completed a particular portion of the book which described permissible and impermissible dhikrs according to the early predecessors and imams when I came across that very same portion having been already re-translated and posted on the $he$ranslators blog' Although there are differences between our translations, the general meaning has been conveyed similarly, and so I reproduce it here for the benefit of all' The portion translated by this humble slave will insha'allah be posted soon, including the paragraphs that were omitted by Br. A. Haque.( Shaykh )Abdul Fattah Abu Ghudda $ranslated by A' *a+ue, As for the type of dhikr performed by some people which comprises of rhythmically coordinated movements of the body, melodious hymns and songs, jumping, leaping, hopping, bending forward and then straightening up, and violent twisting and shoving, then this form of dhikr is forbidden, for a sound fitra finds it repugnant, and a heart in khushu) is far removed from the likes of such things. As the noble tabi)i Sa`id ibn al- usayyab !may Allah be pleased with him" said, #ad the heart of this man been in khushu), his limbs would be in khushu) as well.$ Moreover, engaging in this type of dhikr has not been transmitted from the salaf whose generations were commended for their excellence. As for the reasoning put forward for these physical movements and leaping up and down, that they prevent the mind from being distracted away from Allah the Exalted, then it is rejected due to the well-known example of the salaf. ndeed, they were the most vigilant of all people in safeguarding their minds and hearts, and making them in sync with Allah the Exalted. !et, they never engaged in such acts. "o the contrary, when these kinds of acts were brought to their attention, they strongly censured them. "hey were a nation whose example is meant to be studied and adhered to. #hat follows, then, are excerpts from their discourse regarding the aforementioned type of dhikr. `A%isha !may Allah be pleased with her" said, Abu &akr entered while two slavegirls of the Ansar were with me. 'hey were singing the rhymes of the Ansar for the (ay of &u`ath, though they were not singers )$*&ukhari, )Idayn, ++,.bn #ajar e/plains0 A group of Sufis used this report as evidence to support the permissibility of singing and listening to songs, whether accompanied by musical instruments or not.

.t suffices as a response that `A%isha herself clarified the words of the report by saying, 1they were not singers,% negating what could be interpreted from the first part of her report *i.e. 1they were singing%-, because ghina- *singing- refers to raising the voice, the melody which the Arabs call nasb, and the chanting of the caravan leader. 'he performer of this act is not called a mughanni *singer-, which is a term that refers to those who sing by elongating and breaking the words, stimulating and provoking the listener by way of allusive and e/plicit descriptions of indecency. 2urtubi , he is the hadith scholar Abu al-`Abbas Ahmad bin `3mar, the commentator of Sahih uslim and the teacher of the 2ur%an e/egete al-2urtubi, says, 1'he statement of `A%isha 4 they were not singers 4 means that they were not of those who are e/perts at singing like professional singers. 'his is an indication by `A%isha !may Allah be pleased with her" of her wariness and reservation from the customary form of singing, which moves the motionless, and arouses what is deeply hidden. 'his is a type of singing whose impermissibility is agreed upon, if it consists of poetry that depicts the attractive features of women, into/icants, and other forbidden things.% #e continues, 1As for what the Sufis have innovated in this regard, then it is impermissible without disagreement. #owever, a large number of those attributed with virtue have been overcome by their appetitive souls, to the e/tent that many of them have displayed acts that are normally associated with children or the insane, such as dancing with organi5ed steps and synchroni5ed movements. Some of them even have the audacity to deem these acts as righteous deeds and a means of seeking nearness to 6od. 'hey claim that these acts help to attain e/alted states, while in reality they are among the indicators of .andi+a *heresy- and the statements of magicians. And Allah is the source of all help7% .n fact, the truth is the reverse of what they say0 these acts help to attain the most evil of states.$ * .bn #ajar, Fath al-/ari, ++8'he poet says, censuring the statements and acts of these enamored souls0 #as Allah said, 19lap for me and sing, Say words of evil, and claim that dancing is dhikr:% 2adi .yad said about .mam alik on the authority of al-'innisi0 ;e were with alik while he was surrounded by his companions, when a man belonging to the people of <asibin said, 1'here is a group of people among us called Sufis. 'hey eat e/cessively, then they begin to sing, and then they get up and dance.% alik asked him, 1Are they children:% 'he man replied, 1<o.% alik asked, 1Are they insane:% 'he man replied, 1<o. 'hey are a group of mashayikh *religious scholars- and other intelligent people.% alik replied, 1. have never heard of anyone from the people of .slam doing such a thing.% 'he man said, 1&ut these people eat, and then get up and dance tirelessly, some of them striking their heads, and some striking their faces.% #earing this, alik

laughed, then rose and went inside his house. 'he companions of alik said to the man, 1=erily you have brought bad omen to our companion. ;e have been in his company for more than thirty years, and we never saw him laugh until this day.%$*2adi `.yad, $artib al- adarik, 80,+2urtubi, the Sufi 2ur%an e/egete, says commenting on the statement of Allah the >/alted, 0/elievers are those who, when Allah is mentioned, feel a tremor of fear in their hearts, and when they hear *is ayaat rehearsed, find their faith strengthened, and put all their trust in their 1ord- *2ur%an, ?08Allah the >/alted describes the believers in this ayah feeling fearful when #e is mentioned. 'his is because of the strength of their faith, and cogni5ance of their @ord, as if they are right before #im. Similar to this is the ayah, 0Give the good news to those who humble themselves 2 to those whose hearts, when Allah is mentioned, are filled with fear3- *2ur%an, 880A+-A,- and Allah%s statement, 0#$hose& whose hearts find satisfaction in the remembrance of Allah.% *2ur%an, BA08?'his is due to the perfection of their ma)rifa *gnosis- and trust *in #im-. Allah brings the two meanings together when #e says, 0Allah has revealed the most beautiful message in the form of a book, consistent with itself, #yet& repeating #its teachings in various aspects&( the skin of those who fear their 1ord trembles thereat( then their skins and their hearts soften to the mention of Allah3- C *2ur%an, AC08A- 'hat is, their souls find rest due to their certainty in Allah, even though they fear #im. 'his, then, is the state of those who know Allah. 'hey fear #is power and retribution, unlike the clamor and shouting of the ignorant among the masses and the innovators, and their making sounds that resemble the braying of a donkey. .t is said to those who occupy themselves with these acts, claiming that they constitute wa4d *ecstasy- and khushu) D 'he essenger and his companions were superior to you in their ma)rifa, fear and reverence for Allah, yet their state while receiving admonition was that of increased comprehension and weeping out of fear from #im. 'his is why Allah has described the state of those who know #im upon hearing #is mention and the recitation of #is &ook as, 0And when they listen to the revelation received by the essenger, you will see their eyes overflowing with tears, for they recogni.e the truth' $hey pray( 56ur 1ord7 %e believe8 write us down among the witnesses #to the truth&'*2ur%an, ,0?+'hat is the true description of their state. ;hoever does not behave like this is not upon their guidance, nor traversing their path. ;hoever seeks to have a role model, let him take them as his role model. As for those who wish to occupy themselves with the states of the insane and insanity, then he is worse than the insane. .ndeed, insanity comes in many forms7

Anas b. alik !may Allah be pleased with him" said, 1Ene day, people kept posing Fuestions to the Grophet !peace be upon him" regarding an issue, until the number of Fuestions became superfluous. So the Grophet !peace be upon him" climbed the pulpit and proclaimed, 1Ask me7 . will answer every Fuestion that you ask me as long as . remain at this spot.% ;hen the people heard this from him, they became silent. 'hey were terrified that something horrible might happen soon. . began to turn right and left, and . saw everyone covering his face with his robe, weeping.% * uslim, Fada-il, BB,H &ukhari, Fitan, +A.`.rbad b. Sariya said, 1'he essenger of Allah !peace be upon him" delivered a powerful speech one day, causing tears to flow, and hearts to tremble with fear.% *'irmidhi, )Ilm, ++. 'irmidhi graded this hadith hasan sahih.#e didn%t say that the listeners screamed, or danced, or struck their feet against the ground as the dancers do, or stood up7$ *2urtubi, al-9ami) li-Ahkam al-:ur-an, I0AJ,'he eminent scholar and #anafi jurist Shaykh Ahmad al-'ahtawi writes the following0 As for the acts that are committed by those who claim to be Sufis - such as dancing, clapping, clamoring, or playing musical instruments such as cymbals and trumpets - then all of these acts are impermissible by consensus, because they are from the characteristics and acts of disbelievers.$ 'hose who indulge in the aforementioned form of dhikr insist that these coordinated movements do not go beyond the bounds of permissibility. .f they will not submit to the statements of the scholars that prohibit these physical movements, then at least let their statements of prohibition cast doubt in the permissibility of these acts, and let this be reason enough to leave off these practices, by way of distancing away from that which the scholars have deemed forbidden. Kor the Sufi is defined as he who protects himself from all doubtful matters, and leaves off even some of what is permissible out of fear that he may fall into the offensive, much less the impermissible7 *al-'ahtawi, *ashiya )ala ara+i al-Falah; Allah alone is the 6uide for those who seek 6uidance from #im. E Allah7 6uide us to that which Lou love, and leads to Lour 9ontentment.$ M A. #aFue is currently a first year student studying in the iddle >ast