Sufism 21st Cent

In the west there is constant criticism that Islam didn’t sufficiently develop its theological and philosophical system so that a believer may be able to orient himself more easily in ‘modern’ times. Whilst Muslims constantly declare the superiority of our faith, our dismal failure at presenting a workable Islamic model has left us to be dominated by the prevailing world order, and the adherents of Islam constantly resorting to the western alternative as a life model.

Our lack of insight of the challenges of the 21^st century and our inability to articulate a comprehensive Islamic response, which is a consequence of our narrow-minded view of Islam, is a major contributing factor to the present dilemma of the Muslims. An attempt will be made in this paper to elucidate some of the modern challenges, and to proffer the most workable Islamic solution; that which will not only thwart the advances of the kuffar but can also contribute most significantly to Muslims realizing the extent of their spiritual potential. Insha’ Allah

In former times when savagery prevailed, when force and compulsion ruled the world, empires were established with the conquests of land and the subjugation of its inhabitants. When ‘civilization’ however, prevailed, the greatest weapons in the hands of any conqueror were science and knowledge. 21^st century warfare bears testimony to this. Since power and rule has passed to the hands of science, and with the advancements in science and technology, and the resulting emergence of the age of mass communication, the battlefield for 21^st century conquests has also changed. The struggle between truth and falsehood, belief and unbelief, is for the most part a battle for hearts and minds, a battle of persuasion, of ideas and civilization. It is primarily a war for economic and cultural dominance. Man’s most effective weapon today is in ‘eloquent expression’-the unique ability to make others accept one’s ideas through eloquence and persuasion. Thus, in this age of information, mass media has pervaded all aspects of life.

Manipulation of information to achieve one’s own ends has become the driving force behind the tragedies of modern history. As long as a person or persons have a monopoly over the mechanisms used for the promulgation of information, they are 'free' to exhibit their views, ideas, and propagate their ideals in the manner they see fit. The "Age of Information" has rather created an " Age of Misinformation" controlled by a few, impacting on the lives of billions The cost could be at the cost of the infringement of the basic rights of millions of people or it could be at the loss of the lives of millions.

Mistakenly attributing the scientific advances from which clearly the military and economic superiority of the West had sprung to Western thought and civilization, Muslims too, unfortunately began discarding Islam by relegating it to the mere formal observance of rituals, instead of the dynamic progressive scientific and organic life system that it is. A cursory glance at history testifies to this reality that Islam was the forerunner in all fields of science and technology in the previous millennium, and is the bedrock of all western scientific advancement and ‘civilization’.

In fact, Islam gave birth to the scientific and ' information age' the moment the first revelation descended to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) The first command of "Iqra’” ushered in this information age. The angel Jibraeel (Alaihis salaam) transmitted the message from the divine source and the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) relayed it to the rest of humanity. The network of the Sahaba collected the data of Al-Qur'aan as per the instructions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam), which contains all the guidance and directives for society.

Present systems of communication for the promulgation of information such as newspapers, television, satellites, computers etc. existed in the era of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam)- albeit not in the present form. The revelations to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) far outstrip any mode of satellite communication today.

The message of the kuffar as portrayed in the media is diametrically opposed to the system of Islam. Both these systems however, have their basis in communication and information. The Islamic system revolves around the dissemination of information of the message of the Creator-Allah, to His creation. The media and the powers behind it are presenting the message of Shaitaan whilst the responsibility of every Muslim is to put forth the message of Ar-Rahman. However, in the present context this is almost impossible to achieve as all the mechanisms are in the hands of the Kuffar. What, then, is the alternative?

A deficient understanding and application of Islam has played a major role in the backwardness of the Muslim Ummah today. The experience of Islam on four levels i.e. Sura al-i-Imraan 3:Verse 164

as taught by the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) has not been realized, and its potential has not been harnessed. If these four levels were to be accessed, then, the modern age of Internet and computers have not reached the heights reached by followers of previous prophets- leave alone the Ummah of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam)!

An incident in the era of Sayyiduna Sulaiman (Alaihis salaam) and Asif Barkhya in Sura Al Naml shows the ability of a person who has been endowed with" knowledge of the book" by Allah to bring the throne of Bilqees which was over 1500 kilometers away to the court of Sulaiman (Alaihis salaam) quicker than the batting of an eyelid: Sura Al Naml 27:Verse 38-40.

He (Sulaiman) said: "O chiefs! Which of you can bring for me the throne of Bilqees before they come to me surrendering themselves in obedience?" And Ifrīt from the jinn’s said: “I will bring it to you before you arise from your place. And verily, I am indeed strong, and trustworthy for such work." One with whom was knowledge of the Scripture said: "I would bring it to you would then before the twinkling of an eye!" - then when Sulaiman saw it placed before him, he said: This is by the grace of my Lord to test me whether I will be grateful or ungrateful!

Modern media and technology has enabled us to process information only via the Internet at great speed and has not even reached the position to transport physical objects at great speed! The crucial question is how can Muslims unleash this spiritual potential?

The primary function of Al-Shariah is the transformation of the human personality on the basis of faith and surrender to Allah. This transformation is essentially an internal process, in order to reach the goal- in its case being God. This requires that a person journeys on the path to Allah meaningfully and purposefully, rather than formalistically and ritualistically.

The method (Al-Tariqah) that is employed for this purpose has been supplied in the teachings of the Holy Qur'aan and of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam). It has been termed as Tazkiyah in the Holy Qur’aan -Tazkiyah being the eradication of the positive and negative evils that obstruct or keep in abeyance the development of the human personality in the spiritual dimension, and consequently in the moral dimension. For this purpose Islam employs as its instruments spiritual devotions to God, spiritual contact with the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam), intellectual grasp of the value system of Islamic code of guidance, study of nature and history, practice of social morality, meditation, contemplation and periodic seclusion. The scheme of placing the basic elements of the religious quest in the obligatory religious routine of a Muslim makes it possible for every Muslim to undertake it in accordance with his capacity and the availability of opportunity, and not only for a select few.

This crucial method (Tariqah) of tazkiyah which, is primarily achieved through spiritual contact and a direct link with the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) unfortunately is looked upon with scorn and disinterest especially by the youth of today, offers the most sophisticated possibilities, but is rarely being practiced by the Muslims.

This great knowledge of purification of self (tazkiyah) and ‘knowledge of the book’, which the Sahaba had inherited from the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) was transmitted with the blessing of Allah by the Sahaba -primarily by Sayyiduna Abu Bakr and Sayyiduna ‘Ali (radiallahu anhu) This field of Islam, like other fields of knowledge of Islam such as Tafsir, Fiqh, Hadith has been transmitted since the era of the Sahaba This great science which in the Holy Prophet's (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) era was a 'reality without a name' was classified as "Tasawwuf" and practitioners of Tasawwuf –or Sufism as it is popularly known-have since been called Sufis.

The amazing transformation of the human personality through tazkiyah can be gleaned from this famous incident of Sayyiduna ‘Umar (radiallahu anhu)

He was on the Pulpit giving the Friday sermon in Madinah when all of a sudden he exclaimed: "O Sariya, the mountain!" The battle was taking place in Persia and Sayyiduna ‘Umar miraculously perceived the enemy about to ambush the Muslim army from behind the mountains. This amazing feat of Sayyiduna ‘Umar whilst on the pulpit in the mosque of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) 'seeing' this dangerous situation thousands of kilometers away, is a great example of the degree of knowledge which the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) had imparted to the Sahaba.

The Sahaba themselves had developed these capabilities under the guidance of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) and it is an indication to us what we can accomplish using our own Allah - given faculties without the use of primitive physical media such as telephones television, computers etc. More attention and emphasis needs to be paid to this aspect of Islam, which holds the key to our success in our jihad against the Kuffar.

Awliya’ Allah (Friends of Allah) have cultivated this capability through strict spiritual strivings which are, without a shadow of doubt in keeping with the teachings imparted by the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) with mind-boggling results.

It is the striving of the Awliya’ Allah through dhikr etc. and strict spiritual striving [mujahada] in the manner of the Sahaba, as taught to them by the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam), which has elevated them to the rank of Awliya’ Allah. Stories of their feats [karamat] that, were brushed off previously as mere legends, are now regarded as 'marvels of technology' when accomplished in a yet primitive form by the kuffar today.

It is for this reason that the jihad against Kuffar should be fought on the very same platform that they have been using to destroy us- ironically, a system that first evolved in the era of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) Above all Islamic sciences Tasawwuf, holds the key to unlocking our most weighty response to the challenges of the enemies of Islam in the 21^st century.

The time has come wherein we beat the Kuffar at their own game- not with sophisticated machinery, but by developing our own personalities with the Nur of Iman, so that no force may be able to engulf us, and we as Muslims may lead others from the abyss of misguidance to the path of truth.

International Sufi Order