Every society, the foundation whereof is on hypocrisy and not on sincerity, giveth no result whatever…When, outwardly to each other, they display reconciliation, and their heart is folded with hate, hopeless is their good, and expected their destruction…

Excerpt: Awarif ul Ma’arif, Shahabuddin Suhrawardi (Baghdad 1144-1234), Translated Arabic to Persian by Mahmud B. Ali Al-Kashani, Translated from Persian to English H.Wilberforce Clarke (1891), Sh.Muhammad Ashraf, Lahore, 1991, p.30, 37-41

For the murid, in the company of the shaikh, the observance of manners (whereby love of hearts is attracted) is most important.

When he is possessed of manners, he takes in love a place in the shaikh‘s heart; and is agreeable to God’s sight. Because, with mercy, favour, and care, God ever looks at the hearts of His own friends (the dervishes)…Save by manners, one cannot gain the rights due to the shaikh‘s instruction. The honoring of ulama and of shuyukh is a great right, the non-performance whereof is exceeding disobedience as is stated in the hadith: “Whoever does not perform the shaikh’s rights is defective in the performance of God’s rights.”…

When sufis intend to alight at a khanqah they try to reach it before the afternoon…at sunrise they proceed to the khanqah and make (a) two rak’ats (of prayer) as salutation to the spot; (b) salam (peace-wishing); (c) haste to embracing and to hand-shaking those present.

The sunnat is that to the dwellers they should offer some food or something as a present.

In speech, they make no presumption; so long as they do not ask, they do not speak…

The dwellers of the khanqah meet the travellers with: (a) tarhib (you are welcome); (b) regard; (c) affection; (d) expansion of face (through joy)…If a traveller, unaccustomed to the customs of sufis, reach the khanqah, they should not look at him with contempt, nor should they prevent him from entering..Kindliness to man is the best of manners; ill-naturedness is the result of ill nature…

The men of the khanqah should outwardly and inwardly, observe concord to each other, and should, at the time of eating, assemble at one table-cloth, so that outwardly they may not be separated; that the blessing of outward association may penetrate into the heart…If from one heart of another, a foul deed should pass, they should instantly efface it, and with him not pass life in hypocrisy…

Every society, the foundation whereof is on hypocrisy and not on sincerity, giveth no result whatever…When, outwardly to each other, they display reconciliation, and their heart is folded with hate, hopeless is their good, and expected their destruction…

The true sufi is he who strives in the purifying of his heart, and allows no pollution to abide in him…

Excerpt Awarif ul Ma’arif, Shahabuddin Suhrawardi (Baghdad 1144-1234), Translated Arabic to Persian by Mahmud B. Ali Al-Kashani. Translated from Persian to English by H. Wilberforce Clarke (Calcutta, 1891), Sh.Muhammad Ashraf, 1991, Lahore, p.93-95

Ilm is a light from the candle of prophecy..is the special description of man; from it is excluded the understanding of his sense, and ‘aql (reason)…’Aql is a natural light, whereby becometh distinguished good from evil…

Ilm is special to the faithful; ‘ilm and ‘aql are necessary for each other.

The eye of ‘aql (of the next world) is luminous with the light of guidance, and anointed with the kuhl of the Shariat. In its essence, it is one, but it has two forms:

(a) One in respect of the Creator. Its meaning is the ‘aql of guidance, special to the faithful.

(b) One in respect of the created. Its meaning is the ‘aql of livelihood.

For people of faith and for seekers of God and of the next world, “the ‘aql of livelihood” is obedient to “the ‘aql of guidance”.

Whenever these two ‘aqls agree, they credit “the ‘aql of livelihood,” and according to exigency act: whenever they disagree, they discredit it, and to it pay no attention.

Thus, to the seekers of God, the man of this world ascribe weak ‘aql.  He knows not that outside their ‘aql is another ‘aql.

Ilm is of three kinds:

(1) Ilm-i-Tauhid, Knowledge of the Unity of God

(2) Ilm-i-Ma’rifat, Knowledge of the Work of God

(3) Ilm of the orders of the Shariat of orders and prohibitions.

Each one of these three paths has a separate traveller…(the sage of God, the sage of the Next World, and the sage of this world)…

Sayyid ‘Abd al-Husayn Sharaf al-Din (b.1872, Lebanon), related to Imam Musa ibn Ja’far (a.s.), was returned to Iraq by his father for his studies…during that period the movements of Jamal al-Din al-Afghani and Al Mashrutah wa al-Mustabidah were emerging in the Ottoman and Qajari states…Sayyid Sharaf al-Din gained the level of Ijtihad at the age of 32 and returned to Lebanon…In 1331 A.H/1913 A.D. he visited Egypt and met Shaykh Salim al-Bishri, the head of Al-Azhar. The outcome of their discussions and long correspondence was the book AL-MURAJA’AT…

The Chishti Order is famous for its emphasis on love, tolerance, openness and ecstasy. The Order traces its origins through various saints all the way to Ali and Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be Upon him) himself.

Sama or Qawwali is a type of devotional music to enhance the remembrance of Allah and is not a part of worship or prayer.

In a Sama qawwali songs are usually arranged as follows:

1. They start with an instrumental prelude where the main melody is played on the harmonium, accompanied by the tabla, and which may include improvised variations of the melody.
2. Then comes the alap, a long tonal improvised melody during which the singers intone different long notes, in the raga of the song to be played.
3. The lead singer begins to sing some preamble verses which are typically not part of the main song, although thematically related to it. These are sung unrhythmically, improvised following the raga, and accompanied only by the harmonium. After the lead singer sings a verse, one of the side singers will repeat the verse, perhaps with his own improvisation. A few or many verses will be sung in this way, leading into the main song.
4. As the main song begins, the tabla, dholak and clapping begin. All members join in the singing of the verses that constitute the refrain. The lyrics of the main verses are never improvised; in fact, these are often traditional songs sung by many groups, especially within the same lineage. However, the tunes are subtly improvised within the framework of the main melody. As the song proceeds, the lead singer or one of the side singers may break out into an alap.

• Instrumental
• Hamd (Praise of Allah -swt)
• Naat (Praise of Prophet Muhammad – pbuh)
• Manqabat-e- Ali
• Manqabats in praise of Sufi saints
• Manqabat Shaikh: Praise of the Shaikh/Pir if the performance is at an Urs celebration
• Rang or Badhawa: If it is an Urs performance, then it is usually Rang, a poem by Amir Khusro. The audience is often asked to stand when the Rang is sung. If it is the Shaikh’s birthday, it is usually the Badhawa.

http://www.aulia-e-hind.com/Chisty.htm; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qawwali

Excerpt: www.nahjulbalagha.org; http://www.nahjulbalagha.org/sermons.php; http://www.nahjulbalagha.org/misconceptions.php,

Nahj-ul-Balagha comprises various issues that cover major problems of metaphysics, theology, fiqh, tafsir, hadith, prophetology, imamate, ethics, social philosophy, history, politics, administration, civics, science, rhetoric, poetry, literature, etc. Most of the discussions about various theological issues and philosophical notions in Islam have their origin in this very book. Similarly, all the controversies regarding socio-political problems in the Muslim society and state left their echo in Nahj-ul-Balagha, or rather those were inspired from the utterances of Amir-al-Momeneen (as).

Nahj-ul-Balagha does not only reflect the spirit of early Islam and the teachings of the Quran and the Prophet (saw) in the proper perspective, but also serves as a guide to traverse the future in the light of these teachings. It is a matter of regret that the Muslims did not properly utilize Nahj-ul-Balagha as a source book of Islamic philosophy, kalam, fiqh, and ethics due to misconceptions about its attribution to Amir-al-Momeneen. In the presence of strong and sufficient evidence in support of the contents of the book being authentic, it was sheer prejudice and lack of the spirit of inquiry that was responsible for neglecting such a reliable source of Islamic ideas…

Nahj-ul-Balagha can be paid the attention it deserves and its contents will be studied and its meanings will be fully explored and exploited for a better understanding of Islamic ideas and realities. A look at the subjects discussed in Nahj-ul-Balagha will be helpful in ascertaining the wide scope of this invaluable treasure of wisdom.

Syed Radi selected 241 sermons, 79 letters, and 489 sayings. Those numbers vary in different editions of Nahj-ul-Balagha. The number of sermons varies from 238 to 241 and the number of letters varies from 77 to 79, whereas sayings vary from 463 to 489. Syed Radi did not furnish a bibliography of the sources from which he collected the words of Amir-al-Momeneen, but alternate sources can be found throughout the Islamic literature. The difference between those and Nahj-ul-Balagha would be that non of those collections are as complete. An Indian Sunni scholar Imtiyaz ‘Ali’ Arshi, who died a little while ago, did the most painstaking research in this context. He succeeded in tracing back the early sources of 106 sermons, 37 letters and 79 stray sayings of Amir-al-Momeneen (as) in his book Istinad-e Nahj al-balaghah, originally written in Urdu, subsequently translated into Arabic in 1957, then into English and Persian. However, this work still stands as the most valuable research in this field.

Those who raised doubts about the contents of Nahj-ul-Balagha were unaware of the high status and prestige of its compiler, both in the society and in the academic circles. A man of his eminence could not even think of fabricating sermons and letters in the name of Amir-al-Momeneen(a). Had any such attempt been made by anybody, Shia scholars themselves would have been the first to reject it, as an anthology of poetry attributed to Amir-al-Momeneen (as) (Diwan-e ‘Ali) was never accepted by the majority of Shia scholars as authentic. Some other such works, for example, the commentary on the Quran attributed to al-Imam al-Hasan al-’Askari (as) or Fiqh al-Rida attributed to al Imam al-Rida (as), are at issue among Shia scholars. But no one among al-Radi’s contemporaries or from the successive generations of Sunni or Shia ‘ulama’ ever questioned Nahj-ul-Balagha’s authenticity for more than two centuries. Regarding the contents of Nahj-ul-Balagha the Muslim scholars of all shades of opinion never doubted al-Radi’s veracity. They were aware of the presence of earlier sources of Amir-al-Momeneen’s utterances. There is abundant reliable evidence in support of the existence of such collections in the first and second centuries of Hijrah, from which ‘Abd al-Hamid ibn Yahyfi, Ibn al-Muqaffa’, and Zayd ibn ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn ibn ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib had quoted al-’Imam ‘Ali’s(as) sermons and letters.

In the third and fourth centuries, too, several collections of ‘Ali’s khutab and rasa’il were compiled, some of which have been already referred to above. Ibn Abi al-Hadid (d. 655 or 656/1257 or 58); Taqi al- Din Ahmad, known as Ibn Taymiyyah (661-728/1263-1328); and his pupil Salah al-Din al-Safadi (d. 764/1362-63) accepted Nahj-ul-Balagha as a genuine collection of al Imam ‘Ali’s words. The former not only wrote one of the most famous commentaries on it, but also repudiated all doubts about its authenticity. Ibn Taymiyyah and al-Safadi were among staunch opponents and critics of the Shi’ah, but both of them verified the authenticity of Nahj-ul-Balagha and the veracity of al- Sharif al-Radi. Al-Safadi, in the account of al-Radi, writes:

People are of the view that Nahj-ul-Balagha is his own writing. But I heard my teacher, al-’Imam al-’Allamah Taqi al-Din Ahmad ibn Taymiyyah say: “Nahj-ul-Balagha is not al-Sayyid al-Radi’s product. What in this book is the utterance of ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib(as) is known, and whatever is from al-Radi that is also known.(al-Wafi bi al-wafayat, vol. 2, p. 375).

Excerpt: Imaginal Worlds: Ibn al-’Arabi and the Problem of Religious Diversity, William C. Chittick, Suhail Academy, Lahore, 2001, p.7

Each prophet is a source of guidance and a model of human perfection…Ibn al-’Arabi considered the goal of religion to be the achievement of human perfection in the three modalities of works, states and knowledge. The prophets are the models who establish diverse paradigms of perfection. Knowledge is one dimension of perfection, and in many ways the most important and fundamental dimension. It demands discernment and putting things in their proper places. He writes, “As a person moves closer to perfection, God gives him discernment among affairs and verifies for him the realities” (II 525.2). The “realities” are the things of the universe as known by God Himself.

Each modality of human perfection that has been established by the prophets brings along with it knowledge of a certain configuration of the realities. The realities are infinite, so they can be known in their simultaneity only by God…Each prophet has left an inheritance, and Ibn al-’Arabi tells us that in every age there must be at least 124,000 friends of God – that is, one inheritor for each prophet of history (III 208.14). The prophetic inheritances define the various modes of authentic experience and knowledge of God. In other words, to attain to  true knowledge, one must know God according to a certain paradigm of human perfection defined by a specific prophet.

Excerpt: Imaginal Worlds: Ibn Arabi and the Problem of Religious Diversity, William C. Chittick, Suhail Academy, Lahore, 2001, p.24 -26

What then is the cosmos? It is the “other” (ghayr), since it is defined as “everything other than God.” But it is not other in every respect, because it is the sum total of the words articulated in the Breath of the All-merciful, and the Breath is not completely different from the Breather. Or, the cosmos is God’s “self-disclosure” (tajalli) within His loci of manifestation..

In one sense the universe is other than God, because God’s Essence lies infinitely beyond it. In another sense the universe is identical with God, because nothing is found within it that does not name Him. The inexhaustible words spoken by God are the same as the Breath, and the Breath is the same as the All-merciful. Hence the words are the same as the All-merciful…

The reality of He/not He can best be understood through the Shaykh [Ibn al-Arabi]‘s concept of imagination. An imaginal – not “ imaginary” – reality is the one that dwells in an intermediate domain between two other realities and shares in the attributes of both sides. An imaginal thing is both the same as and different from each of the two sides that define it. Hence we need to affirm both its identity with other things and its difference between them.

A commonly given example of an imaginal reality is a mirror image, which acts as a bridge or “isthmus” (barzakh) between the reflected object and the mirror. We have to affirm that the image is both the same as the mirror and different from it, or that it is identical neither with the object nor with the mirror. In a similar way, dreams are imaginal realities. If some one sees his father in a dream, he has seen his father and not his mother or his brother; at the same time,  what he has seen is nothing but himself. The perceived imaginal reality is an isthmus bewteen himself and his father. The most succint statement that can be made about the dream image is “he/not he”.

The Shaykh finds the properties of imagination on three basic levels within the cosmos. On the human level, imagination gives substance to inner experience. It is the domain of the “soul” (nafs), which dwells in an intermediate realm between the spirit and the body… Soul or imagination, then, refers to an intermediate realm that is neither luminous nor dark, neither alive nor dead, neither subtle nor dense, neither conscious or unconscious, but always somewhere between the two extremes…Each soul represents a unique mixture of qualities and a unique possibility of ascent toward the perfection of No Station, where all the divine attributes are made manifest in the fullest possible measure.

On the second level, the Shaykh employs the term imagination to refer to a semi-independent domain of the cosmos. Within the outside world or “macrocosm” – which is the mirror image of the human microcosm – there are two fundamental created worlds: the invisible world of spirits and the visible world of bodies, corresponding to spirit and body in the microcosm…The Shaykh finds one proof for the existence of this microcosmic World of Imagination in the correspondence between the microcosm and macrocosm..”God placed sleep in the animate world only so that everyone might witness the Presence [hadra] of Imagination and know that there is another world imilar to the sensory world” (III 198.23)

In a third basic sense, the term imagination refers to the greatest of all intermediate realities, which is the whole cosmos, or the Breath of the All-merciful…

The folk dances which have dominated the socio-cultural life of the people of Punjab for the last over eight decades include bhangra, giddha, jhoomar, chhaj, luddi, jago and kikli. Performed in a group irrespective of caste, creed and religion, these dances are the spontaneous feelings of the joy, mirth and festive spirit of the hardy peasants and the toiling womenfolk of rural Punjab.

Of all these dances bhangra and giddha have retained their pristine charm till today. Bhangra is not only the most popular but also the liveliest dance, which projects the vigour of both the body and spirit of the Punjabi youth. Basically, this dance owes its relevance and significance to the festival of Baisakhi falling in the month of April. When the peasants are overjoyed at the sight of their golden fields brimming with a rich harvest, they perform the bhangra to the thundering beats of the drum called dhol. Then everybody including men, women and children gather together in the open spaces and lawns where the bhangra dancers encircle the drummer. With joyful shouts of oye-oye, balle-balle, and whistles they dance vigorously with bamboo sticks in their hands, to which are tied multicoloured handkerchiefs. Dressed in embroidered kurtas, sleeveless silken jackets, tehmats, and colourful pugrees, they dance and sing folk songs popularly called boliyan.

The tradition of wearing the tilledar desi jutti has been done away with probably to facilitate the smooth movement of footsteps. It is to be mentioned here that the folk dances have boliyan as their composition. It is these boliyan that enliven the mood of the dancers. They are traditional but time has made changes in them too. A professional person does not compose the boliyan only. Even a peasant contributes to them. They have a uniform rhythm, and often their appeal is enhanced by a meaningless rhyme added to them.

It is commonly believed that the evergreen bhangra dance originated in Sialkot in early years of the 20th century. But an in-depth study reveals that while there is no doubt that this dance flourished with a new shape and form in the Sialkot and Gujranwala regions of West Punjab, its roots can be easily traced back to the 12th century when Sufi saints like Khwaja Muin-ud-din Chishti of Ajmer, Farid-ud-din Ganj-i-Shakar of Multan and Nizam-ud-din Auliya of Delhi and their disciples danced in spiritual ecstasy to perform sama ceremony to invoke the blessing of Allah. Later, this Sama dance was reverently performed by Sufi saints like Shah Hussain, Bulleh Shah, Sultan Bahu and Muhammad Fazil.

Sama was a circular dance marked by the congregational singing of spiritual hymns. It was taken to be the easiest and the most popular mode of concentration and meditation for the common man. It is said that while the Sufi saints and faquirs performed the sama dance, their followers grinded the bhang, and took to dancing after drinking bhangura — a delicious nectar prepared from the mixture of the bhang, fruit juice and dry fruits. Then, history has it that for concentrating on the worship of Lord Shiva, the Shiv bhakatas prepared the bhang-ras and danced in meditation after taking it. During the dance performance the movement of their steps came to be known as bhangra. It is, therefore, quite convincing that the Punjabi folk dance bhangra derives its name for bhangura. It is quite significant to point out here that while the Sama and the bhangura dances were sacerdotal in character and spirit, the Punjabi folk dance bhangra has been temporal throughout.

Practically, it has been observed that those bhangra dancers who are dedicated and devoted to this dance in both letter and spirit avoid consumption of liquor or any other intoxicant before its performance so that utmost accuracy and uniformity could be maintained in the movements of the steps and the appropriate gestures of the body.

Besides, like other prominent dances of the country bhangra has no religious theme as its basis. In fact, Punjab is the only state of the country (India) where its folk dances completely diverge from religion.

[http://http://www.punjabtourism.in/dances.html]

 [ http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/765595/shehnai]

  Naqqar khana or Naubat khana is a term for a drum house or orchestra pit during ceremonies. They are a distinct sign of Mughal architecture. They are found in India, Pakistan, and other nearby countries. The name comes from Naqqar or Naubat meaning Shehnai and khana means ‘a place related to’, thus Naubat khana means a place where Shehnai is performed.

   Ustad Bismillah Khan’s family had played shehnai for generations in Naubatkhana       (Red Fort, Delhi), which overlooked palaces and temples, and enabled their music to be heard across the countryside.

2) The Ja’fari school of thought, which is also known as “al-Shia al- Imamiyyah al-Ithna Ashariyyah” (i.e., The Twelver Imami Shi’ites) is a school of thought that is religiously correct to follow in worship as are other Sunni schools of thought.

Muslims must know this, and ought to refrain from unjust prejudice to any particular school of thought, since the religion of Allah and His Divine Law (Shari’ah) was never restricted to a particular school of thought. (Shaykh al-Azhar, 1959)

al-Azhar Verdict on the Shia

What follows is the Fatwa (religious verdict/ruling) of one of the Sunni world’s most revered scholars, Shaikh Mahmood Shaltoot with regard to the Shia. Shaikh Shaltoot was the head of the renowned al-Azhar Theological school in Egypt, one of the main centers of Sunni scholarship in the world. It should be of interest to know that a few decades ago, a group of Sunni and Shia scholars formed a center at al-Azhar by the name of “Dar al-Taqreeb al-Madhahib al-Islamiyyah” which translates into “Center for bringing together the various Islamic schools of thought”. The aim of the effort, as the name of the center indicates, was to bridge the gap between the various schools of thought, and bring about a mutual respect, understanding and appreciation of each school’s contributions to the development of Islamic Jurisprudence, among the scholars of the different schools, so that they may in turn guide their followers toward the ultimate goal of unity, and of clinging to one rope, as the well-known Quranic verse, “Hold fast to the Rope of Allah and do not diverge” clearly demands of Muslims.

This massive effort finally bore its major fruit when Shaikh Shaltoot made the declaration whose translation is appended below. It should be made unequivocally clear as well, that al-Azhar’s official position, vis a vis the propriety of following any of the Madhaahib, including the Shi’ite Imami school, has remained unchanged since Shaikh Shaltoot’s declaration.

Some people who follow pseudo-scholars in Hijaz may beg to differ; that notwithstanding, what you see below is the view held by the overwhelming majority of Sunni scholars, and not just those at al-Azhar. Let it be known to those who strive to divide us, that their efforts are but in vain.

For the readership’s reference the phrase “al-Shia al-Imamiyyah al-Ithna ‘Ashariyyah” means the Twelver Imami Shi’ite School of thought which comprises the overwhelming majority of Shi’ites today. The phrase “Twelver Shi’ites” is used interchangeably with “Ja’fari Shi’ites” and “Imami Shi’ites” in various literature. They are merely different names for the same school of thought.

“al-Shia al-Zaidiyyah” are a minority among the Shi’ites, concentrated mainly in Yemen located in the Eastern part of Arabian peninsula. For a more detailed description of the Zaidis vs. the Twelver Shi’ites, please refer to the book, “Shi’ite Islam” written by the great Shi’ite scholar, Allamah Tabataba’i, and translated by Seyyed Hossein Nasr, and published by the State University of New York Press (SUNY).

Head Office of al-Azhar University:

IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, THE BENEFICENT, THE MERCIFUL

Text of the Verdict (Fatwa) Issued by His Excellency

Shaikh al-Akbar Mahmood Shaltoot,

Head of the al-Azhar University,

on Permissibility of Following “al-Shia al-Imamiyyah”

School of Thought

His Excellency was asked:

Some believe that, for a Muslim to have religiously correct worship and dealing, it is necessary to follow one of the four known schools of thought, whereas, “al-Shia al-Imamiyyah” school of thought is not one of them nor “al-Shia al-Zaidiyyah.” Do your Excellency agree with this opinion, and prohibit following “al-Shia al-Imamiyyah al-Ithna Ashariyyah” school of thought, for example?

His Excellency replied:

1) Islam does not require a Muslim to follow a particular Madh’hab (school of thought). Rather, we say: every Muslim has the right to follow one of the schools of thought which has been correctly narrated and its verdicts have been compiled in its books. And, everyone who is following such Madhahib [schools of thought] can transfer to another school, and there shall be no crime on him for doing so.

2) The Ja’fari school of thought, which is also known as “al-Shia al- Imamiyyah al-Ithna Ashariyyah” (i.e., The Twelver Imami Shi’ites) is a school of thought that is religiously correct to follow in worship as are other Sunni schools of thought.

Muslims must know this, and ought to refrain from unjust prejudice to any particular school of thought, since the religion of Allah and His Divine Law (Shari’ah) was never restricted to a particular school of thought. Their jurists (Mujtahidoon) are accepted by Almighty Allah, and it is permissible to the “non-Mujtahid” to follow them and to accord with their teaching whether in worship (Ibadaat) or transactions (Mu’amilaat).

Signed,

Mahmood Shaltoot.

The above Fatwa was announced on July 6, 1959 from the Head of al-Azhar University, and was subsequently published in many publications in the middle east which include, but are not limited to:

1. al-Sha’ab newspaper (Egypt), issue of July 7, 1959.
2. al-Kifah newspaper (Lebanon), issue of July 8, 1959.

The above segment can also be found in the book “Inquiries about Islam”, by Muhammad Jawad Chirri, Director of the Islamic Center of America, 1986 Detroit, Michigan.