Fundamentals of Tassawwuf..............[ part 1 & 2 ]

[ of Tassawwuf, Aqidah, and the kalimah Shahadah.....a Ma'al Hijrah special ]

I have always been curious and open-minded about a particular group of Muslims labelled as sufi/ tasaswwuf / tarekat [ ter- ikat, to their Malaysian detractors as per 'tied by the necks', an unfair labelling no doubt without firm basis and without any scholarly dissection ! ] etc etc.

To be frank, personally , beyond the straight 'jacketing' and dry stuff of the 'fuqahas',[ who oftentimes resort to serious name-calling ] I do find these 'travelers' have more to offer to millions of ordinary people like you and me who want to get beyond the level of practising Muslims, towards love for HIM, improved spirituality and Ihsan.

But this is just a personal opinion. This is still a free world, even within the realm of faith and Islam.

They called themselves, 'travelers in this life'.
What make these 'travelers'/ salik/ lovers, tick ? How they 'thinks'? What moves them ? etc etc and etc.

They come under many labels but as we already know, labels are pretty misleading. Let us examine a 'traveler',Dr 'Shakyh' Hussien Abdul Sattar. By most standards he seemed pretty young, 39 or at the most 40. He lectures here on 'The Fundamentals of Tassawwuf. Give him say 3 hours of your valuable time, just listen to him. Make your own judgement on Tassawwuf after that. The 1st lecture is quite didactic but I find the 2nd part very meaningful. If we can 'tolerate' him I will publish his remaining discourse later, if we can't, we will throw him into the dustbin of obscurity, and forget about him.

About the speaker :
........................

"Shaykh Husain [may Allah preserve him] was born in Chicago (USA) in 1972. After completing his primary education at schools in his hometown near Chicago, he joined the University of Chicago where he studied Biology, Arabic and Islamic Civilization. It was during this period that he began his study of sacred knowledge, studying Arabic grammar (nahw), Hanafi Fiqh and Usul al-Fiqh under ulama (scholars) in Chicago. In 1994 Shaykh Husain also began training in tasawwuf (Islamic spirituality) under Shaykh Zulfiqar Ahmad, one of the leading shaykhs of tasawwuf.
After obtaining his undergraduate degree, Shaykh Husain enrolled in the Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago. Along with his medical studies, he continued his studies of sacred knowledge. In his final year he took leave from medical school to focus on his religious studies, traveling to Syria and then Pakistan, where he studied a traditional curriculum for a number of years under some of their greatest scholars.
Throughout his years of study, Shaykh Husain continued his training under Shaykh Zulfiqar Ahmad. He was blessed with the close company of his Shaykh, learning the science of the purification of the heart. The deep taqwa and firm adherence to the sunnah and Shariah that characterized his teacher were eventually transferred to the student and Shaykh Husain was formally authorized in tasawwuf by Shaykh Zulfiqar in July 2001.
Shaykh Husain has completed medical school and currently works as a Physician at the University of Chicago Hospitals. During his free time, he teaches and lectures across the United States on various subjects of Islamic knowledge, including purification of the soul.
Shaykh Husain is presently engaged in editing and publishing the translations of his teacher’s books into English. In addition, he is completing his own written works including the popular series, “Fundamentals of Classical Arabic” and a manual on Hanafi fiqh entitled, “The Stairs to Bliss.”






Introduction to Tassawwuf:
click here

2nd part:
Allowing the soul to blossom; Looking for that 'one moment in time'
click here,


It is imperative and goes without saying that, a 'traveler' need a very firm, unshakeable foundation of faith [ Aqidah ] and this had been discussed previously by Dr Abdullah Yasin in this blog.
Dr Abdullah Yasin was in my neighbourhood last night giving a scintillating lecture, as typical of Dr Abdullah yasin, on Aqidah, Tauhid Rabbibiyah, Tauhid Maksud etc and etc.
Down here I load a previous lecture of his on Foundation of Aqidah. Please give him some time and listen. Aqidah is foundational and of prime importance. It is a difference between eternally gravitating as the living firewood and fuel of Hell or gracing the High Heaven, despite a life full of prayer and ignorant piety :
click here,

Shaykh Yasir Qadhi, dealt in great length and depth on the meaning and ramification of The Shahadah, "La ila haillllalah, Muhamadarasullallah "
A 6 hour lecture altogether. We Muslims in this Nusantara take lightly our understanding of the kalimah and thus our aqidah, stressing too much on the details of the solat etc and etc, to the point we as an ummah are easily mislead into the greater error of 'syiriq' and 'bidaah'.
click here,

Today is the eve of Ma'al Hijrah. I am presenting to you guys a soothing symphony of 'Bach & Mozart' equivalent for your souls. Do listen and ponder.
Islam is for those who THINK!

May Allah give us all blessing and Rahmah in the Here and the Hereafter....