Imam Nawawi and Sufism

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"The Rules of the Sufi Way"

7.1 The basic rules of the way of Sufism (def: 8.11) are five: 1. having godfearingness privately and publicly, 2. living according to the sunna in word and deed, 3. indifferences to whether others accept or reject one, 4. satisfaction with Allah Most High in scarcity and plenty, and 5. turning to Allah in happiness or affliction.

1. Godfearingness is attained by scrupulousness and uprightness;
2. Following the sunna is attained through caution and good character;
3. Indifference to other's acceptance or rejection is attained through patience and trust in Allah;
4. Satisfaction with Allah is attained through contentment with what one has and submission to the will of Allah;
5. Turning to Allah Most High is attained by gratitude to Him in happiness and taking refuge in Him in affliction.

The Foundations of the Rules
7.2 The foundatiosn of all of thse consists of five things 1. high aspiration, 2. keeping Allah's reverence, 3. giving the best of service, 4. keeping one's spiritual resolves, and 5. esteeming Allah's blessings.

1. Whoever's aspiration is high, his rank rises;
2. Whoever reveres Allah, Allah maintains his respect;
3. Whoever's service is goodly is necesarily shown generosity;
4. Whoever keeps his spiritual resolves continues to have guidance;
5. Whoever esteems Allah's blessings will be grateful for them, and whoever is grateful for them will necessarily see them increased.

The Signs of Sufism
7.3 The principles of Sufism' ssigns on a person are also five: 1. seeking Sacred Knowledge in order to perform Allah's command; 2. Keeping the company of sheikhs and fellow disciplines in order to see with insight; 3. forgoing both dispensatiosn from religious obligations and figurative interpretations of scripture, for the sake of cautiousness; 4. organizing one's time with spiritual works to maintain presence of heart; and 5. suspecting the self in all matters, in order to free oneself from caprice and be safe from destruction.

1. Seeking Sacred Knowledge is vitiated by keeping the company of juveniles, whether in age, mentality, or religion, who do nto refer from guidance to a firm principal or rule;

2. Keeping the company of sheikhs and disciples is vitiated by self-deception and concern with the unimportant.

3. Leaving dispensations and figurative interpretations is vitiated by leniency toward the self;

4. Organizing one's time with spiritual works is vitiated yb looking for more and more supererogatory worship.

5. Suspecing the self is vitiated by satisfaction at its goodliness and uprightness.

Curing the ego.
7.4 The principles of curing the ego are also five: 1 lightening the stomach by diminishin one's food and drink; 2. taking refuge in Allah Most High from the unforeseen when it befalls; 3. shunning situations involving what one fears to fall victim to; 4. continually asking Allah's forgiveness (istighfar) and His blessings upon the Prophet (saw) night and day with full presence of mind; and 5. keeping the company of him who guides one to Allah."

p 95 - 97 of "Al Maqasid"

Shaykh Uthman Dan Fodio

He was a mujaddid in Western Africa.

He was a great scholar from the Maliki madhab in fiqh and the Ashari madhab in aqeedah and he was a Qadiri Sufi (???).

He gave dawah in a time of jahilliyah.

He performed hegira.

He established a Khalifa.

He engaged in Jihad.

The following is an excerpt from Dawa'u 'L-Waswas or "The Cure for Satanic Whispering"

"Section 1
On the Explanation of the Favors of Allah for Those Who Make Strenuous Effort of Avoiding Heedlessness in the Prayer"

Realize, that Allah has made the obligation of prayer the most important obligationa fter belief (al-imaan). It has reaches us in a Prophet tradition, "The first thing which will be examined on the Day of Standing from the deeds of a person, will be the prayer. If he did it the way he was commanded, it will be accepted from him and the remainder will be accepted as well. If not, then it will be rejected and the remainder of his actiosn will be rejeted."

It must be noted that whenever Allah mentiosn the prayer, He always mentions the prerequisite of establishing it. This includes performing the prayers during its proper times along with all the other prerequisites of the prayer. Among the most important prerequisites of the prayer is the presence of the heart with Allah where the heart is not preoccupied with anything of the affairs of this world. Whoever takes his prayer as a mere custom, performing the outward aspects only, without the presence of the heart will not obtain the rewards and blessings of the prayer.

The Prophet (saw) said, "The prayer is to the deen like the head is to the body. Whoever has no head has no subsistence. Likewise, whoever has no prayer has no deen." One of the wise men once said, "Whoever prayes whil being heedless of his prayer is like someone who gave a dead slave girl as a gift to the king."

Among the excellence of prayer is that it is included among the principles of Islam. These principles include those, which are obligatory only once, in a lifetime: like the pronounciation of the shahaadatyan and the performance of pilgrimage. There are also those, which are obligatory to perform once a year: like the fast of Ramadan and the giving of the obligatory alms. On the other hand, the prayer is an obligation, which must be performed five times throughout each night and day.

Among the excellence of prayer is that Allah has gathered in it every variety of worship for our benefit. Included within the prayer are the following: 1. the remembrance of Allah (dhikrullah); 2. recitation of the Book of Allah; 3. supplication to Allah; 4. glorification of Allah; 5. praising Allah; 6. extolling Allah; 7. magnifiying Allah's greatness; 8. avoidance of speech devoid of the remembrance of Allah; 9. intimacy with Allah; 10. rejection of all besides Allah; and 11. struggling against Satan. In addition to these are 12. avoiding eating and drinking during the prayer, making ti equivalent to fastin. 13. facing the direction of the sacred House of Allah making it equivalent to the pilgrimage. 14 Making supplication for the Muslims in the prayer making it equivalent to giving alms. All these distinctions that Allah has gathered in the prayer are in addition to the fear and humility which are essential during every bowing, prostration, standing, sitting, and intimate conversation with Allah.