It is well establish that the people of Tasawwuf, those who practiced purification of the self, among the salaf (first generation of muslims) also had turuq (many Tariqa’s). A tariqa is the way by which a person achieves tazkiyah nafs and so it existed in the teacher student relationship between the prophet and companions, and the companions and first generation of muslims, each companion had his own way of achieving purification, in fact this how the madhhabs of fiqh themselves were created. The Hanafi Madhhab which began in Iraq primarily learnt from and relied upon the opinions of Imam Ali, Ahl al bayt, and those who emigrated with him to Iraq because they are the teachers they had access to. Imam Malik and the Maliki Madhhab relied on the opinions of the companions who lived in Madinah, each school of Law relying on the companions who taught their teachers and in turn taught them because the proper understanding of knowledge can only be taken from a living shaykh.
This is why t is impermissible in fiqh to revive a dead madhhab from books, you can read the books but you won’t be able to interpret it’s words the same way those earlier schools did. This holds true even today, any student can pick up a text book but they will each understand different things from it, so a teacher is needed to give the correct interpretation, from this reality the Ijaza system was established and based upon it the chain of narrators used to grade ahadith, in Tasawwuf this is called a silsila and it refers to the lineage of scholars you took your Tariqa from and how it goes back to the prophet (saws).
Because each person is different, each persons path to Allah is also different, what is the same is that tazkiya (purification) was achieved within the frame work of the Islamic religion, and the number of tariqah’s varied almost as much as there are different dua (prayers) and adhkar (ways of remembering Allah) from the prophet (saws), each culture and locality had it’s own personality, Allah himself creating people into various nations, so the psychology was different from region to region as well as how to deal with people.
The tariqa leading up to Ma’ruf Al-Karkhi (d.200AH) for example is a well-known fact. There is one teacher in the chain from him to Ali-bin Abi Talib (ra) through Dawood Al-Ta’i, and another chain through Imam Ali Al-Rida also leading up to Ali bin Abi Talib (ra) which is a known historical fact.
Here’s what Imam Al-Dhahabi states:
أخبرنا أبو الفضل بن عساكر سماعا عن المؤيد الطوسي ، أخبرنا أبو الأسعد بن القشيري ، قال : ألبسني الخرقة جدي أبو القاسم القشيري ، ولبسها من الأستاذ أبي علي الدقاق ، عن أبي القاسم النصرآباذي ، عن أبي بكر الشبلي ، عن الجنيد ، عن سري السقطي ، عن معروف الكرخي ، رحمهم الله تعالى .
قلت : وما بعد معروف فمنقطع ، زعموا أنه أخذ عن داود الطائي ، وصحب حبيبا العجمي ، وصحب الحسن البصري ، وصحب عليا رضي الله عنه ، وصحب النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم
We also know the first generation of Muslims had the murid-murshid link (formal student teacher chain) – can anyone, for example, deny this about Abu BakrAl-Shibli (d.946AD) and his teacher Junayd al Baghdadi (d.910AD), etc..?
The words of the early Tabiin who were Sufis are preserved, and we find (in them) statements like ’our tariqa…’.
So are the wrods ‘our tariqa…’ simply referring to zuhd? (Asceticism) No – there’s more than that. The zuhhad were known, and the ‘arifeen’ (gnostics) were distinct from them.
Their speaking of the subtleties (Lataif) of the ruh (soul), ma’rifa (Gnosticism) and similar matters are proof of that. The chain of Imam Ali al-Rida is the father to son chain leading up to his grandfathers the Prophet (saws) and Imam Ali (ra).
The chain (silsila) of the Tariqah is as follows: Ali Al-Rida > Musa Al-Kadhim > Ja’far Al-Sadiq > Muhammad al-Baqir > Ali ibn Hussain (Zayn al Abidin) > Husayn ibn Ali > Ali ibn Abi Talib > Muhammad Al-Mustafa (saws).
Let us consider a chain in fiqh, it is a well-known fact that Imam Abu Hanifa took his fiqh from his teacher Hammad, who took it from Ibrahim Al-Nakha’i who took it from Alqama and Al-Aswad who took it form Ibn Mas’ud, who was a faqih from the companions of the Prophet (saws).
This well-known chain of fiqh is not like a chain of hadith, because it is not words that are taken, but understanding (literally: fiqh). I’m not denying that Abu Hanifa reported ahadith from Hammad, but what I am trying to get at is that fiqh is an overall understanding, a methodology, a noor, that is passed from the teacher to the student.
Or a chain in hadith transition, Imam Bukhari said the soundest of all chains of hadith transmission was Imam “Malik from Nafi from Ibn Umar” who was a companion of the prophet (saws), the scholars called this the golden chain and there 80 narrations with this chain in Imam Malik’s famous work al Muwatta.
The Silsila (genealogy) of the Sufi Tariqa is exactly the same as these, who a person learnt from is important because that is the interpretation he received of the Deen, contrast this to people who learn religion from books according to their own interpretations and we can see the former is far safer and superior.
Most Tariqa’s trace their lineage back to Imam Ali (ra) and through him back to the prophet (saws), this has been our history through out the Islamic world because it was what Allah decreed as the prophet (saws) instructed and advised “I am leaving among you something which is very important and should (both) be followed, you will not go astray if you get hold of it after I am gone, one part of it being more important than the other: Allah’s Book, which is a rope stretched from Heaven to Earth, and my close relatives (Ahl al Bayt), who belong to my household. These two will not separate from one another till they come down to the reservoir (al Kawthar, on the day of judgment), so consider how you act regarding them after my departure.” (Tirmidhi)
The prophet (saws) in clear words said the ummah will find guidance in the prophets household after he is gone and this will remain the fact until the day of Judgment, every tariqa on earth traces it’s lineage through more than one of Ahl al bat, many of the Shaykh found in the chain are themselves from Ahl al bayt and many of the founders of each Tariqa were from Ahl bayt, Imam Ahmad al Rifai who founded the Rifai Tariqa was from ahl al Bayt, Shakh Abdul Nadir al Jilani who founded the Qadiri Tariqah was from Ahl al Bayt through both his mother and father, Abu Hassan al Shadhili who founded the Shadily Tariqa was from Ahl al bayt similarly through both his father and mother, the list of scholar who began Tariqa’s and were from the prophets descendants is very long and it is one of the most important facts in Islamic history because the prophet 9saws) foretold it and instructed his Ummah to adhere to it.
Yazid b. Hayyan reports: I went along with Husain b. Sabra and ‘Umar b. Muslim to Zaid b. Arqam and, as we sat by his side, Husain said to him: Zaid. you have been able to acquire a great virtue that you saw Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) listened to his talk, fought by his side in (different) battles, offered prayer behind him. Zaid, you have in fact earned a great virtue. Zaid, narrate to us what you heard from Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him). He said: I have grown old and have almost spent my age and I have forgotten some of the things which I remembered in connection with Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him), so accept whatever I narrate to you, and which I do not narrate do not compel me to do that. He then said: One day Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) stood up to deliver sermon at a watering place known as Khumm situated between Mecca and Medina. He praised Allah, extolled Him and delivered the sermon and. exhorted (us) and said: Now to our purpose. O people, I am a human being. I am about to receive a messenger (the angel of death) from my Lord and I, in response to Allah’s call, (would bid good-bye to you), but I am leaving among you two weighty things: the one being the Book of Allah in which there is right guidance and light, so hold fast to the Book of Allah and adhere to it. He exhorted (us) (to hold fast) to the Book of Allah and then said: The second are the members of my household I remind you (of) the members of my family. He (Husain) said to Zaid: Who are the members of his household? Aren’t his wives the members of his family? Thereupon he said: His wives are the members of his family (but here) the members of his family are those for whom acceptance of Zakat is forbidden. And he said: Who are they? Thereupon he said: ‘Ali and the offspring of ‘Ali, ‘Aqil and the offspring of ‘Aqil and the offspring of Ja’far and the offspring of ‘Abbas. Husain said: These are those for whom the acceptance of Zakat is forbidden. Zaid said: Yes.” (Muslim)
This is because Allah revealed the following verse about the prophets descendants until we reach al Kawthar on the day of Judgment “Allah intends only to remove from you impurity, O people of the [Prophet’s] household, and to purify you with [extensive] purification”(33:33) and it was from the scholars of Ahl al bayt (descendants of the prophet) that the tariqa’s of Islam came which taught this purification all mentions in the Quran, this has been our case through the entire history of Islam.
This verse was revealed when the Prophet (saws) was sitting with his daughter Fatima (ra), her husband Ali (ra), and their sons Hassan (ra) and Hussain (ra) through which the majority of the prophets descendants (Ahl al Bayt) come from. The event is known as the event of the cloak, or hadith al Kisa. Allah also says in the Quran “Say, [O Muhammad], “I do not ask of you any reward for it (religion) but love for my near relatives.”” (42:23)
Another important fact regarding the prophets descendants is that most rulers from ahl al bayt descended from Imam Hussan, while most saintly men (awliya) descended from Imam Hussain.
The exception to all this is the Naqshbandi Tariqa which traces it’s lineage through Abu Bakr (ra) back to the prophet (saws) rather than Ali (ra), but many of it’s scholars in the chain likewise are from Ahl al Bayt.
There also exists another exception to this, some people are instructed in tassawwuf by Rasul Allah (saws) himself through dreams or inspiration, they receive their silsila (lineage) from him directly, these are called Uwaisi after the Tabii Uwais al Qarni (ra), Allah taught him the prophets (saws) sunnah in abstention, these are accepted miracles surrounding him, but they revolved around receiving knowledge of Islam from a great distance.
Imam Malik said “Knowledge does not consist in narrating much. Knowledge is but a light which Allah places in the heart”, Imam Al-Dhahabi (along with many other scholars) similarly said, Knowledge (al-`ilm) “is not the profusion of narration but a light which Allah casts into the heart. Its condition is followership (ittibaa, following someone, akin to a teacher student relationship which is what following the sunnah meant to the companions) and the flight away from egotism (hawa) and innovation (which destroy that light).”, Imam Ali said: “Enlighten the heart with prayers.”
Revelation itself is knowledge received spiritually in the same manner described by Imam Malik but through the light of the Angel Gabriel. Because light is an electromagnetic wave in physics this is called the coherence of waves and Allah says in the Quran “For he (Gabriel) it is who hath revealed (the Quran) to thy heart by Allah’s leave” (2:97). The spiritual type of instruction received by those who are Uwaisi Allah himself established it’s existence in the story of Uwais al Qarni (ra) who lived in Yemen during the time of the prophet (saws) but could not visit him because he was committed to looking after his elderly mother. Allah allowed him to learn from the prophet (saws) from a distance and would often hear his words, see events or even pray by the Adhan of Madinah, (we have spoken about this in our work “Quantum Teleportation and The Uwaisi Transmission”).
The prophet (saws) spoke about him often, sometimes the Messenger of Allah would turn in the direction of Yemen and say in reference to sayidina Uwais: “I perceive the fragrance of love from Yemen,” and the prophet (saws) said about him “Uwais Qarni is the noblest of the Tabieen (successors) with Ihsaan (Human Perfection)”, and instructed Imam Ali (ra) and Umar (ra) to visit him and give him the prophets Juba (cloak), which they did, He also instructed them to seek his dua.
The Prophet Muhammad, upon whom be peace and blessings, would say of him. “I feel the breath of the Merciful, coming to me from Yemen.” Shortly before He died, he directed Umar (r.a) and Ali (r.a) to take his cloak to Uwais and said ‘ask him to pray for the forgiveness of my followers’ (Ummah). The reason for this was to show his companions the very high status of Saydina Uwais. Sayidinah Umar and Ali (Allah be pleased with them) asked the people if there was anyone from Qarni. One man came forward and told them how to find the place. They set out for Qarni in Yemen. When they arrived, they asked the people where Uwais was. The villagers answered their questions, but were very surprised to see the two prominent Companions asking for an unknown camel shepherd.
When Sayidina Umar and Sayidina Ali (Allah be pleased with them) reached him, they saw Sayidina Uwais praying. As he finished his prayers, he said, “It is the first time anyone has ever seen me praying. The two men passed on to him the Beloved Prophet’s message asking Uwais to pray for the forgiveness of the followers of Muhammad. This he did. After a while he said, “Allah has forgiven and rewarded as many of Muhammad’s followers as the hair on the sheep’s of the tribes of Rabia and Mazhar. They asked Sayidina Uwais, “If you loved Muhammad so much, why didn’t you visit him during his life time?” He did not answer, but asked if they took part in the battle of Uhud? And if so, which tooth had Muhammad lost there? (showing his knowledge of events). Sayidina Umar (ra) was greatly impressed by this simple person and asked Sayidina Uwais to pray for him. Sayidina Uwais replied, “I pray for the forgiveness of everyone at the end of every prayer. If you keep your faith in Allah and His Messenger Muhammad, you will receive my prayers in your graves.”
Umar (ra) said, “I heard Allah’s Messenger (saws) saying: There will come to you Uwais b. ‘Amir, of Qarni, a branch (of the tribe) of Murid, along with the reinforcement of the people of Yemen. He had been suffering from leprosy which would have been cured but for the space of a dirham. His treatment with his mother would have been very kind. If he would take an oath in the name of Allah (for something) He would honor it. Ask him to beg forgiveness for you (from Allah) in case it is possible for you. So (a person) came to Uwais and said.: Beg forgiveness (from Allah) for me. He (Uwais) said: You have just come from a sacred journey (Hajj) ; you, therefore, ask forgiveness for me. He (the person who had performed Hajj) said: Ask forgiveness for me (from Allah). He (Uwais again) said: You have just come from the sacred journey, so you ask forgiveness for me. (Uwais further) said: Did you meet Umar? He said: Yes. He (Uwais) then begged forgiveness for him (from Allah). So the people came to know about (the status) of Uwais. He went away (from that place). Usair said: His clothing consisted of a mantle, and whosoever saw him said: From where did Uwais get this mantle? (Muslim)
Haram ibn Hayyan (r.a) said, “A number of people had spoken to me about Uwais al-Qarni, so hearing that he was then living in Kufah (Iraq), I went there to find him, I found him sitting by the shore of the Tigris, and I recognized him by the description that I had been given of him.”Then I addressed him saying, ‘May Allah have mercy upon you, O Uwais, and forgive you, How are you?’ “Then my voice halted. For I could not speak my heart which was moved with deep gentleness towards him when I saw his state and that he had started weeping. I found myself also weeping. “Then Uwais said to me, ‘May Allah greet you. How are you my brother, ibn Hayyan, and who showed you the way to me?” “I answered him, ‘It was Allah.” “He said, ‘There is no God but Allah, praise be to our Lord. If it is the Wish of Allah, a thing is done. So this is Allah’s Wish.” I said, ‘How did you know my name, and my father’s name? For my name was Haram ibn Hayyan.’ Uwais said, ‘(Allah) The Knower told me, for my soul knows your soul when my self talks to your self.’ For the believers know each other in their love for Allah, even if they never met; and when they come to our resting place, they know each other even if they come from somewhere far distant.
Uwais al Qarni (ra) was presented the blessed cloak of Rasul Allah (saws) on the Holy Prophet’s (saws) instruction, it is still preserved today in Istanbul.
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