Following
are some quotes from the books of
Deobandis…
1.
Moulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi says about his
Pir (spiritual guide), “Haji Sahib (Haji
Imdadullah Muhajir Makki) was greatly
over-powered by Tawheed[1]…
As for Wahdat al-Wajood, it seemed as if
he was an eyewitness to it. Once, he was
listening to Soorah Ta-Ha, a condition
overcame him when he heard the verse:
“Allah! There is no God but He, to Him
belong the Best Names (al-Asma al-Husna).”
He said in the explanation (Tafseer) of
this verse: “A question may be raised
from the first part of this verse that
since there is none other than Allah,
(then) what are these Hawatith?[2]
The answer is thus, (as in the next part
of the verse), ‘Lahul Asma al-Husna’
meaning that all are the Madhahar[3]
(manifestations) of Him (Allah). Someone
has said (in a poem): “In the garden, I
saw every flower.
Neither does it
have Your color nor Your fragrance.”
Haji Sahib (Imdadullah Muhajir Makki)
said: “This poet is a Dhahiri (only
aware of the outward matters). If he
were an Aarif[4],
he would have said: “In the garden I saw
every flower. They all have Your color,
they all have Your fragrance.” However,
expressing such sayings or relating them
is not for everyone.”[5]
(click to view the scanned image of this
quote)
Imdadullah Muhajir Makki has also
written a book on Wahdat al-Wajood.[6]
2.
Moulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi said, “He (Imdadullah
Muhajir Makki) used to say that the
human being is outwardly a slave and
inwardly (Batini) the Haqq (Allah).”
Moulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi further
elaborates, “The batin is the reality
which is manifest in the human, and the
batin should not be considered a part of
the human…”[7](click to view the scanned image of this
quote)
3. Once,
Moulvi Muhammad Ahsan, a resident of
Mecca, expressed his skepticism on the
issue of Wahdat al-Wajood to Moulana
Ashraf Ali Thanvi. He (Moulvi Ahsan)
remarked that this issue seems to oppose
Eemaan. Ashraf Ali Thanvi replied:
“Someday listen to my lecture on this
issue, then you will yourself say that
Eemaan cannot be complete without the
belief in this (i.e. Wahdat al-Wajood).”
Then, Ashraf Ali Thanvi gave a speech of
two hours on a Friday morning. After the
lecture, Moulvi Ahsan could not help
saying: “Belief in this (Wahdat al-Wajood)
is so crucial that without it Eemaan
cannot be understood.” The biographer of
Ashraf Ali Thanvi comments, “Ashraf Ali
Thanvi declared the belief of Wahdat al-Wajood
as the completion of Eemaan. But
Muhammad Ahsan went much further by
saying that Eemaan rests on the belief
in Wahdat al-Wajood.”[8]
4. Ashraf
Ali Thanvi says: “You are amazed at
people who claim Prophet-hood… People
have claimed Lordship. However, nobody
must think that Hussain bin Mansoor (al-Hallaj)
in his saying, ‘Aanal-Haqq’ [I am the
Haqq (Truth meaning Allah)] claimed
Lordship (i.e. claimed to be God).
Because upon him was a condition,
otherwise he also believed in Abdiyaah
(the state of being a worshiper) and
therefore he offered Salaah. Someone
asked him (al-Hallaj): “Since you are
Allah, to whom do you prostrate?” He
(al-Hallaj) answered: “I have two
states, one outward and the other
inward. My outward self prostrates to my
inward self.”[9]
(click to view scanned image of this
quote)
5.
Moulana Zakariyah says: “Hazrat Shaikhul
Islam, Moulana Madani said that the same
kaifiyat (spiritual state) which
constrained Mansoor al-Hallaj to
proclaim: “Anal Haqq (I am the Truth
i.e. Allah) prevailed for six months on
Hazrat Mainji (Nur Muhammad) [who was
the Pir (Shaikh) of Imdadullah Muhajir
Makki].”[10]
6. In
Shamaaim-e-Imdadiyah, a story of a Fakir
(hermit) who believed in Wahdat al-Wajood
is mentioned. After approving the
Aqeedah of the Faqir, the author says:
“It is Shirk to differentiate between
the worshiper (Aabid) and the Worshiped
(Ma'bud)… To summarize, based upon the
explanations of our predecessors, we
understand that this position is Haqq
(true) and there is no doubt about it.
However, its reality is experienced only
when a disciple becomes distant from his
own self by striving hard and ignoring
every danger. Because when a person
becomes unaware of his self, he is
unaware of everything. Nothing remains
in his thoughts or his sight except
Allah. Therefore, all concentration of
the disciple is upon Allah. When nothing
distracts his attention and he meditates
his mind on Allah; then when he opens
his eyes, he sees nothing but Allah. (At
this stage) the Dhikr of Hu Hu (He He)
turns to Ana Ana (Me Me). This stage is
called Fanah der Fanah … (Similarly)
from the special Ummah, Ba Yazid Bastami[11]
said: ‘Subhaani maa Aadhaam-Shaani
(Glory be to me, Far removed am I from
all imperfections, how great is my
state) and Mansoor Hallaj said:
‘Anal-Haqq’ (I am the Truth).[12]
(click to view scanned image of this
quote)
Comment:
The Religion of Islam, as taught by the
Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi
wa-sallam) rejects the pagan claim of
Allah having a son or a daughter, let
alone the claim of someone to be Allah.
“That is because Allah, He is the Truth,
and it is He Who gives life to the dead,
and it is He Who is Able to do all
things.”[13]
7. From
Shamaaim-e-Imdadiyah, “In the stage of
Uboodiyyah (The state of being Abd or
worshiper), there are three meanings of
the Kalimah – “Laa ilaha illa Allah”
8. In the
book Irshaadul-Mulook, a letter written
by Rasheed Ahmad Gangohi to his Pir,
Imdadullah Muhajir Makki, has been
mentioned in which Rasheed Ahmad Gungohi
writes at the end, “In reality I am
nothing. It is only Your Shadow – only
Your existence (i.e. Allah’s existence).
What am I? I am nothing. Only He is. You
and me are Shirk upon Shirk.”[15]
Comment:
In this letter, Rasheed Ahmad Gungohi
informs his Pir, Imdadullah Muhajir
Makki of his well being, and then says
that in reality neither he, nor his Pir
exists. And to differentiate between the
Creator and the created is Shirk.
Creation is only the Shadow of Allah.
So, then who is writing the letter to
whom? Sufism is full of
self-contradictions!!
Shaikh
al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (rahimahullah)
mentions a story in relation to the
theory of Wahdat al-Wajood in his book,
‘Al-Furqaan bayna Awliya ar-Rahmaa
wa-Awliya ash-Shaytaan’ on page. 101,
“The book, ‘Essence of Wisdom’ of Ibn
Arabee was read to at-Talmasani and
said: “This book of yours goes against
the Qur’aan.” To which he replied: ‘The
whole Qur’aan is associationism (Shirk),
Tawheed is only found in our writings.”
Then it was said to him: “If all
existence is only one, why is a wife
Halaal to a man while his sister is
Haraam?” He said: “Both of them to us
are Halaal, but he who is veiled says,
Haraam! And so we say Haraam for you.’
The Shaikh further mentions, ‘This
person, aside from his blatant belief
(Kufr), has also contradicted himself!
If all existence is one, who is the
veiled one and who is the one who veils?
Thus, one of their Shaikhs said to one
of his followers: ‘Whoever tells you
that there is anything other than Allah
in the Universe has lied.’ The student
then asked him: ‘Who then is the one who
lied?’ They said to another student:
‘These are nothing but appearances.’ He
said to them: ‘Are these appearances
other than that, you have introduced
relativity (no unity of existence!) and
if they are the same, then it is as I
said.’
[1]
The type of Tawheed that calls for
the negation of the existance of all
of Allaah’s creation.
[2]
Hawatith : Things that do not exist
originally, but come into existence
later.
[3]
Madhahar : The point of
manifestation. Here it means
(according to the explanation of
Haji Imdadullah Muhajir Makki) that
the creatures are nothing but the
visible manifestations of Allaah.
Just like Allaah’s Asmaa al-Husnaa
(Beautiful Names) are not other than
Him, similarly these Hawadith are
not other than Him.
[4]
Aarif: a Soofi who has reached the
stage of Ma’rifah, i.e. has gained
knowledge through mystical means.
[5]
Malfoodhat Hakeem al-Ummat (a
biography of Ashraf Ali Thanvi by
Muhammed Iqbal Quraishi) vol.1,
p.244
[6]
Mashaikh-e-Chist (Eng. Trans.)
p.225. This book has been compiled
in Kuliyate-Imdaadiyah (Chapter 10)
Daar al-Ishaat
[7]
Imdadul-Mushtaq ila Ashraful-akhlaq
(Urdu) saying no.74, p.62.
[8]
Maqtoobat wa-Malfoozaat Ashrafeeyah
(Writings and Sayings of Ashraf Ali
Thanvi), a biography by one of
Thanvi’s Khaleefahs, Moulana
Muhammed Shareef p.185-186.
[9]
Malfoozat Hakim al-Ummat (a
biography of Ashraf Ali Thanvi by
Muhammad Iqbal Qurayshi), vol.1,
p.251. The same belief is found in
the poem of Ibn al-Faridh, which he
entitled, Nudhum As-Suluuk.
[11]
Abu Yazld bin Tayfur bin ‘Isa al-Bistami,
one of the founders of Soofism
hailed from Bistam, a town in the
Iranian province of Khamis.
[12]
Shamaaim-e-Imdaadiyah, p.35 and 36. Sai
Baba used to make similar statements
such as, “I am Parwardigar (Persian
for God)” [The Life and Teachings of
Sai Baba, p.4.]
