Ahlul-Bidah Wal Hawa

The Naqshabandi Tariqah Unveiled
Author: Al-Hidaayah, Colombo Sri Lanka

Verily all Praise is for Allah, we praise Him, seek His aid and ask for His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evil of ourselves and the evil of our actions. Whomsoever Allah guides then there is none who can misguide him, and whomsoever Allah misguides then there is none who can guide him. I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped except Allah alone, having no partners and I bear witness that Muhammad (sallAllahu `alaihi wa sallam) is His slave and Messenger. May the peace and blessings of Allah be on the final Prophet Muhammad (sallAllahu `alaihi wa sallam), his family, his companions and all those who follow in their footsteps until the last day. To proceed:

This article is a modest attempt to analyse and expose the teachings and practices of the Tariqat ul Naqshbandi in the light of the Glorious Qur’an and Sunnah, and is done purely in fulfilling our obligation to enjoin the right and forbid the evil. Over the years many deviant movements have arisen in the Muslim world bent on corrupting the teachings of Islaam and thereby mislead the Muslims. One of the most dangerous of the contemporary movements is the group known as the Naqshbandi Tariqat.

Like most deviant groups, they claim that the Muslim masses are ignorant and are therefore in need of a Sheikh (leader) who is supposed to possess the secret knowledge of the unseen. They also claim that all religious texts have an obvious outer meaning known to the masses and a hidden meaning known only to the Sheikh, and that the masses are unable to contact Allah on their own and hence are in need of an intermediary (Sheikh) who will get them close to Allah if given unquestionable and unconditional obedience.

The greatest danger of this group lies in the fact that they, while wearing the cloak of Islam, are striving to destroy it from within, in a vain attempt to extinguish the light of Islam and divert the Muslims from the reality of the religion.

Realizing the grave threat posed by this group, we have undertaken the task of exposing the falsity of this group, seeking only the pleasure of Allah (subhaanahu wa ta`aalaa), we hope that the absurdities, fallacies, and the extremely deviant nature of this group would be clearly exposed to those trapped in its clutches and as a timely warning to those contemplating to join them.

The simple method we have adopted in exposing the group’s deviant beliefs is to quote what Allah (subhaanahu wa ta`aalaa) says in the Qur’an and what His truthful Messenger Muhammad (sallAllahu `alaihi wa sallam) has said in the authentic Ahadith, and then to quote the group’s beliefs or position vis-a-vis the same issue, taken from their own publications printed by ‘Arafat Publishing House’, and where necessary commented upon.

In all firmness to this group we have given the names of the books, along with the page number from where we have taken these quotes. Reference to the Qur’anic Aayaat and authentic Ahadith too have been provided.

Due to lack of space we are compelled to deal with only some of the serious issues of the group’s beliefs and teachings which are directly in conflict with the pure Islamic teachings as revealed in the Glorious Qur’an and authentic Sunnah.

This article is by no means a complete exposition of the entirety of this group’s deviant beliefs and teachings and all Qur’anic Aayaat quoted are only translations of the meanings of the Qur’an.

We pray that this article serves to remove the confusion and ignorance that the people are suffering from regarding this important issue and that it will save all those sincere seekers of truth from falling in to Shirk.

1. THE ISLAMIC BELIEF: Allah is the Only Truth

Allah (subhaanahu wa ta`aalaa) says in the Qur’an -

“That is because Allah – He is the Truth and it is He who gives life to dead.” (Qur’an, Chapter 22, Verse 6)

THE NAQSHBANDI BELIEF: Aba Yazid al-Bistami is the Truth

On page 15 of the book ‘The Naqshbandi Way’ it reads -

“Whoever recites this Ayah even a single time will attain a high rank and a great position, … he will get what the Prophets and saints could not get, and will arrive at the stage of Aba Yazid al-Bistami, the Imam of the order who said: ”I am the Truth (al-Haqq).“

The above statement ‘I am the Truth’ – is a clear example of Shirk (association) in the aspect of the Names and Attributes of Allah, since Al-Haqq in the definite form, is one of Allah’s unique attributes and is not shared by any created being or thing unless preceded by the prefix `Abd meaning “Slave of” or “Servant of“. (In fact the Mystic al-Hallaaj was publicly executed as an apostate for daring to openly claim divinity in his infamous pronouncement “Anal-Haqq“- I am the Truth.) Read more…