Quote:
Originally Posted by zzze
assalamu alaykum
Sufis claim they're spiritual? I know ''sufis'' who believe they're undeserving of the term as it's associated with purity and true closeness to God, and yet they're the kindnest most humble seekers masha Allah.
A characteristic that I've seen attract people to a 'sufi' is his/her tendency to apply the strictest ruling for themselves and the most leniant for others (and their gentleness  ) 'Salafis' don't tend to do this. |
Whenever Rasoolullah(S) had a choice between two halaal options, he would choose the easiest, and he is supposed to be the master of "tasawwuf".
Question: He used to pray so much as night his feet would crack. So he chooses the ease for himself, and yet he works so hard in ebaadah? How do we understand this
Answer: If one aims for Ishan and goes through hardship
as a side effect, then that is not a problem. But if one makes things hard on himself
on purpose, that is a misguidance.
It also known what happened to those three men who made things hard on themselves. One vowed not to sleep, one vowed not to enjoy the pleasure of women, and one vowed never to eat in the day. Rasoolullah(S) castigated them and said "Whoever turns away from my example is not from me". This demonstrates that the Deen is ease not hardship, but only those Allah favors can understand this. The end result of those who were overly strict on themselves in the name of self-rectification was
they later became from the khawaarij (a sect that split off from the Ummah, make takfeer of the Muslims and rebelled against the leaders).
There is a strictness when it comes to avoiding doubtful matters, but the other "strictness" is in
imposing certain kinds of behaviors or standards that Rasoolullah(S) and the Sahaabah did not impose on themselves. It is not necessary to consider yourself lower than a dog, or to wear the same fabric/color every day of the year to attain purity. In fact, that might even be
counter-productive to your goal, as tazkiyah doesn't mean to kill your nafs (which can never happen, by the way). It means both to clean and to GROW your nafs. Your nafs becomes bigger, not smaller when you purify it properly.
Strictest is not always better, because those who aim for hardship itself wind up misguided and suffer the same fate as the three 3 men mentioned above. And we see this in the form of groups who separate themselves and give themselves distinctive centers, style of clothing, titles, chains of narration, etc.
Ma'assalaam