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Ba’yit/Ahed

Ba’yit or Ahed is a solemn pledge. It hallmarks an agreement between the Sheikh and a spiritual aspirant. That is, in order to gain Allah swt’s pleasure the aspirant agrees to receive and obey the guidance and instruction from the Sheikh. And the Sheikh kindly accepts to direct him accordingly.

This is the reality of ba’yit.

Outwardly it takes the form of holding the hand of the Sheikh, who recites some Quranicverses, hadith and ask the mureed to repent for all previous sins and make a solemn affirmation of not committing them ever again. Also he announces that the aspirant is now a member of xyzSufi order. Then he instructs him accordingly.

Indeed, this outwardly form of ba’yit is filled with barakah. Being a Sunnah (ghair muakkidah) and the practice of saintly elders it has its own benefits. It is not an ordinary thing.

However, without the above mentioned reality it is a form devoid of soul.

History of religions is evident of the fact that with passage of time and spiritual decline means become goals by themselves and realities are ignored. Rituals and ceremonies eclipse the real meaning intended.

Same has happened with Tasawwuf. Ba’yit has become a ceremony. It is considered to be a goal by itself. This is not the correct teaching of Tasawwuf. Essential thing is continuously receiving instructions and acting on them as guided.

For this reason, in our tariq, ba’yit is deferred initially. The instruction and guidance starts immediately. However, the ba’yit is as a principle is delayed till the Sheikh is satisfied that the individual is sincere to follow the path and is doing so to the best of his ability. And, moreover, the potential mureed understands and agrees with the methodology of the Sheikhand himself acknowledges increasing benefit from these instructions.

This time period may be days or years.

The best deal is: Try before you buy.

Once the potential mureed sees himself grow spiritually, the real importance of ba’yit will become evident to him. However, if such is not the case, he will be free to try his luck somewhere else.

Ba’yit/Ahed

Ba’yit or Ahed is a solemn pledge. It hallmarks an agreement between the Sheikh and a spiritual aspirant. That is, in order to gain Allah swt’s pleasure the aspirant agrees to receive and obey the guidance and instruction from the Sheikh. And the Sheikh kindly accepts to direct him accordingly.

This is the reality of ba’yit.

Outwardly it takes the form of holding the hand of the Sheikh, who recites some Quranicverses, hadith and ask the mureed to repent for all previous sins and make a solemn affirmation of not committing them ever again. Also he announces that the aspirant is now a member of xyzSufi order. Then he instructs him accordingly.

Indeed, this outwardly form of ba’yit is filled with barakah. Being a Sunnah (ghair muakkidah) and the practice of saintly elders it has its own benefits. It is not an ordinary thing.

However, without the above mentioned reality it is a form devoid of soul.

History of religions is evident of the fact that with passage of time and spiritual decline means become goals by themselves and realities are ignored. Rituals and ceremonies eclipse the real meaning intended.

Same has happened with Tasawwuf. Ba’yit has become a ceremony. It is considered to be a goal by itself. This is not the correct teaching of Tasawwuf. Essential thing is continuously receiving instructions and acting on them as guided.

For this reason, in our tariq, ba’yit is deferred initially. The instruction and guidance starts immediately. However, the ba’yit is as a principle is delayed till the Sheikh is satisfied that the individual is sincere to follow the path and is doing so to the best of his ability. And, moreover, the potential mureed understands and agrees with the methodology of the Sheikhand himself acknowledges increasing benefit from these instructions.

This time period may be days or years.

The best deal is: Try before you buy.

Once the potential mureed sees himself grow spiritually, the real importance of ba’yit will become evident to him. However, if such is not the case, he will be free to try his luck somewhere else.

Sheikh-Mureed Relationship: Practicality

This effort of self-reformation appears to be long, tedious, and exhausting. It seems to require real motivation and determination.

This is very true in ordinary situations.

How many of us have felt frustrated by our failed hard work in following the injunctions ofShariah, repeatedly?

However, this is not the case for those involved in Tasawwuf.

Once the Mureed starts the sincere effort of this self reformation Sheikh instructs and tries to develop love of Allah swt (mauhabbat/ta’aluq ma’aAllah) in him.

Love of Allah swt becomes the driving force in all this seemingly strenuous effort. It makes it easy and pleasurable.

Following example may make this more understandable:

Imagine I have to travel from Mycity to Makkah e mukkarramah. The distance between these two cities is 2000 miles. This is a long journey. It requires extraordinary effort. May be months of travel. In addition to this imagine the hostile weather and unfamiliar geography. This will be certainly true if I travel by foot or on a donkey, horse, camel, car or even bus. However, if I board a jet airliner, being flown by an expert pilot, I can traverse this distance in 2-4 hours.

Amazing!

The point of origin and destination remains the same, the distance between the two cities remains the same, the only thing that has changed is the transport.

By creating and nurturing the love of Allah swt, Tasawwuf does the same.

Just to remind: The goal is the attainment of Allah swt’s pleasure. Its means (distance) are by rectifying the external actions and inner moral states, i.e. by following Shariah completely. Love of Allah swt developed by Tasawwuf adds momentum to it.

Beware! This love has to be acquired and developed under the close supervision of theSheikh. Excess of it is sometimes equally detrimental as is the lack of it.

Love alone without the guidance of a perfect Sheikh is like a stray jet which may crash anywhere and lead to destruction.

While excess of it may cause such an overwhelming state that the individual looses his corporeal senses and is permanently adsorbed in spiritual realm ( becomes a majzoub). This will lead to abandoning of physical worship and neglect of family/dependent rights. Eventually leading to Allah swt’s displeasure. Allah huma hafizna.

But True Love, is as Moalana Rumi ra says;
Az muhabat talakh ha shereen shawad
The love is the elixir, which makes unpalatable things sweet & tasty

May Allah swt gives us all some tiny fraction of His true love. Ameen

Sheikh-Mureed Relationship

As mentioned earlier, this is a physician-patient relationship.

The mureed tells/writes about his spiritual ailments seeking remedy. He has to be explicit and candid about his condition. Hiding vital information leads to nowhere and eventually mureed himself is the looser.

The Sheikh reviews mureed’s condition, taking into account his spiritual ailments/deficiencies, physical and working requirements and environment. He then prescribes a treatment plan. There may be multiple components of this plan.

The mureed has to follow this plan unconditionally.
If he faces difficulties in doing so he has to inform the Sheikh. And then follow the next advice.

The doctor may be the best in the whole world.
His diagnosis may be 100% accurate.
The treatment prescribed and made available may be the finest.
With all this in place,
if Mr. Mureed decides not to use it or use it partially, (using his brains)
how can a cure be imagined, less achieved?

A sincere mureed’s duty is to inform the Sheikh of his present condition.
That is, he reviews his daily activities, dealings and intentional thoughts. He analyzes them. He looks for any blame worthy traits that may be active in his intentions and actions or any praise worthy states that are deficient. He describes the actual case scenarios and asks assistance from Sheikh for diagnosis and treatment. He follows the recommendations ofSheikh and reports back. Adjustment may be made, treatment fined tuned and tailored accordingly. This process continues for a considerable period of time till a healthy spiritual state is reached, that is, achievement of nisbat-e-batini(a sustainable mutual relationship with Allah swt).

As every patient’s condition is different so is the treatment plan.

It is this individual attention and instruction which gives Tasawwuf a unique effectiveness in bringing about a permanent, durable and wholesome change for a complete Islamic life in its fullest sense.

The Sheikh

A person starting on the path of Tasawwuf is like ill person seeking treatment.

His spirit is afflicted with the diseases of blame worthy internal moral states and is deficient of the healthy praise worthy moral traits.

This requires the services of a qualified physician. A physician who can diagnose, treat and follow the course of these spiritual illnesses/deficiencies to prevent relapse and ensure perfect health.

This spiritual physician is the SHEIKH. He can be called a pir, mentor or spiritual advisor.

He is indispensable.

There is agreement between all the various schools of tasawwuf regarding this reality.

P.S. No sick person who takes his illness seriously will ever dare to treat himself, especially by just reading books.

How does one find a Sheikh?

Islam is the religion of Allah swt till the end of time. Means and methods of keeping this religion till that time will always persist.
The changes in our socioeconomic & moral conditions, perception of piety and the influence of the worldly environment may make recognition of a true sheikh difficult. But he is here. You just have to look for him. And most importantly ask Allah swt’s guidance in this feat.

Scholars have described certain characteristics to look for, in facilitating this search. They are:

1. He should possess the necessary knowledge of the religion (fiqh).

2. His believes (aqaid) must be that of Ahle Sunnah & the demeanor of his actions and habits must be reflective of Sunnah.

3. He must be God-fearing (muttaqi), conscientious and pious in following shariah in his every day life. It is essential that he abstains from all major sins (kabair) and does not persist on any minor sin (saghair).

4. He must have traversed the path of tasawwuf under the guidance of a sheikh himself and have received explicit permission (verbal or written) to teach and treat others.

5. He must be attached to an authentic Silsilah (chain of authority). Their lineage tracing back to Holy Prophet sallalaho alehey wa alehey wasalam without gaps and omissions.

6. The contemporary scholars and unprejudiced sheikhs should hold a good opinion about him and encourage people to benefit from him.

7. The effect of his companionship (suhba) must be a decrease in love of the worldly & an increase in the Love of Allah swt. This is evident by performing good deeds, abstaining from sins and preparing for hereafter.

8. He must be more venerated by intellectual religious folks than by common lay public.

9. The majority of his pupils (mureed) must be following Shariah. Their outward condition conforms to the demands of the Shariah and their behavior is reflective of the inward progress of getting rid of blame worthy traits, especially love of the worldly.

10. He must be sincere in training his disciples (mureed). Working for their spiritual improvement & progress. Not leaving them on their own but correcting them in timely fashion, by words and deeds. Reprimanding them when the need arises.

11. He must not consider himself to be perfect and be satisfied with his present state. He must engage in extra-worship, dhikr, fikr and other devotional practices to keep progressing.

12. He must not be boastful of his piety and faultlessness. For making such declaration is a sign of the blame worthy state: Love of fame and authority.

Following qualities are not essential to be present in a Sheikh;

1. Performance of supernatural acts (karamat).
2. Telling in advance about the hidden and upcoming matters.
3. Immediate acceptance of all his prayers (dua).
4. Performing extraordinary actions by his spiritual powers, for example, mind reading, creating an overwhelming emotional condition in mureed, etc.
5. Abandonment of means of earning.

If one keeps looking hard enough, he will, inshaAllah, finds such a Sheikh with Allah swt’sguidance and help.

Until then, he must make it a habit to pray(dua) after each salah:

“O Allah! I want to live by Shariah.

My nafs and satan have overtaken me.

Please, remove these obstacles

and make it easy for me to do so.

Give me the determination & strength for this and

provide me with a Sheikh who can help me in this effort.”

Ameen.

Example: How the internal moral states form the basis of our bodily worship?

As mentioned earlier the purpose of Tasawwuf is to develop and cultivate the praise worthy(PWMS) and remove the blame worthy internal moral states(BWMS) (iklaq e batini).

Why is this important?
Isn’t practicing shariah commands itself sufficient?

This is a very intelligent question and if one understands the answer he will not have any doubts regarding the necessity of Tasawwuf.

Try to understand this by means of an example;

Shariah commands that each and every Muslim should pray five times daily on appropriate time, with the method according to Sunnah.

A Muslim, who is unaware of the importance of rectifying the internal moral states and has not worked to develop and refine them in his every day life, may fall into following traps;

1. Some times he may skip the prayer all together, maybe out of laziness or being busy in worldly affairs. This is reflective that he does not have the love of Allah swt (PWMS) and instead has love of this world (hubb e dunya)(BWMS).
2. Sometimes he prays to show his fellow Muslims that he is regular in his prayer or a pious person. At other times he thinks that his praying will make him outstand in his community. These are showing off (riya) (BWMS) and mark the absence of sincerity(ikhlas) (PWMS) .
3. Even if he prays, he does so hastily, without the proper demeanor. This is reflective of absence of love of Allah swt (PWMS) and occupation in worldly affairs (BWMS) .
4. Sometimes the demeanor of his prayer changes if he notices that someone is watching him. This is show off (riya)(BWMS) .
5. And when he prays on time and in proper manner, his inner self is absent from that prayer. He is busy thinking about some worldly affair. This is reflective of absence ofkhashoo (awe/internal quiteness) (PWMS).
6. At other times he demeanor does not reflect humility before his Lord. This is arrogance (kibir)(BWMS).
7. Sometimes when he prays he feels he is superior to the other fellow mussalis. This is self praise (ujub)(BWMS) .
8. At other times he is thinking of his own superiority plus the inferiority of others which is arrogance (kibr)(BWMS).
9. At times when he see someone better than himself, he thinks that he himself was more deserving of this better trait and whishes that this may go away from that person. This is envy (hasad) (BWMS) .
10. During his prayer he can not comtemplate that he is standing before his Lord and He is watching him. This is absence of slavehood (ihsan & uboodiyah).
11. After praying he may boast to others that he prayed or feel superior to them. This is a arogance (kibr)(BWMS) .
12. Or he may feel dejected by the poor concenteration he had during salah and become disappointed. This is disappointment (yaas)(BWMS) .

This is just a quick list of deficiencies.

We should take a moment and think, where do we stand?

If we do not have these qualities, then is our worship up to the mark of being accepted byShariah’s standards?

Indeed, these internal moral states are the very soul of bodily or physical form of worship making it capable of being accepted and rewarded.

Two units of an A’rif (a Muslim who has realized and mastered these internal moral states) is better than 100,000 units of an ordinary Muslim.

wa ma taufiqi ilabillah