Sayyidina Umar ibn
al-Khattab reported the Beloved Messenger of Allah said:
“There are people from the servants of Allah who are neither
Prophets nor martyrs; the Prophets and martyrs will envy them on the Day of
Resurrection, for their rank from Allah, the Most High.”
They (the people) asked: “Tell us, Messenger of Allah, who
are they?”
He replied: “They are people who love one another for the
spirit of Allah (i.e. the Qur'an), without having any mutual kinship and
giving property to one. I swear by Allah, their faces will glow and they will
be (sitting) in (pulpits of) light. They will have no fear (on the Day) when
the people will have fear, and they will not grieve when the people will
grieve.”
He then recited the following Qur'anic verse [10:62]:
“Behold! Verily for the friends of Allah there is no fear,
nor shall they grieve.”
[Abu Dawud: Book 23, Hadith no. 3520]
What is Wilayah?
Wilayah, or sainthood, is a special rank with which Allah blesses
His righteous servants due to their struggle for His Pleasure. One who
attains this rank is known as a Wali, which is interpreted as saint,
or friend of Allah.
It is agreed that the status of a Wali
can never surpass that of a Prophet or a Sahabi (Companion of our
Beloved Prophet).
The above Hadith explains the
importance of revering and honoring those who love the Awliya (meaning
saints, plural of Wali). To love others for the sake of Allah holds
such great merit and reward that, on the Day of Judgment, even the Prophets
and the martyrs will envy the believers who do so. This love, as the Hadith
elaborates, will not be due to any bond or relation, or even due to exchange
of wealth; it will be purely for the sake of the Creator, glorified is He.
The Holy Qur’an refers to such
people as the Saaliheen, meaning the righteous, and ranks them with
the most honorable of creation: “And whoever
obeys Allah and the Messenger - those will be with the ones upon whom Allah
has bestowed favor of the Prophets (Nabiyyeen), the steadfast
affirmers of truth (Siddiqeen), the martyrs (Shuhada) and the
righteous (Saaliheen). And excellent are those as companions!” [Qur’an
4:69]
Conduct of the Awliya
Imam al-Qushayri defined the Wali
as, “One whose obedience attains permanence without interference of sin; whom
Allah Most High preserves and guards, in permanent fashion, from the failures
of sin through the power of acts of obedience.”[Imam ibn Abideen’s
Rasa'il, 2:277]
The Imam also states that the Wali
is “one whom Allah undertakes to constantly guard and preserve Himself.
He manages him, so that this Wali never has the disappointment which
is possible in an act of rebellion. His success is enduring, since it is part
of the constant capacity of obedience. Allah says, ‘He takes care of the
righteous.’ [Qur’an 7:196]” [Imam Nawawi’s Bustan-ul Arifeen]
Imam ibn al-Jawzi said, “The
Friends of Allah and the Righteous are the very purpose of all that exists (al-awliya
wa al-salihun hum al-maqsud min al-kawn), they are those who learned and
practiced with the reality of knowledge... Those who practice what they know,
do with little in the world, seek the next world, remaining ready to leave
from one to the other with wakeful eyes and good provision, as opposed to
those renowned purely for their knowledge.”[Ibn al-Jawzi's Sifat al-Safwa,
Beirut edition 1989/1409, pages 13, 17]
Imam Ghazali said about the Awliya,
referred to as Sufis (followers of Tasawwuf), “I knew it to be
true that the Sufis (followers of the Way of Tasawwuf) are the
seekers in Allah's Way. Their conduct is the best of conduct; their way is
the best of ways; their manners are the most sanctified.” [al-Munqidh min
ad-Dalal, page 131]
One of the main attributes of the Awliya
is their constant fear of Allah’s Displeasure. Imam al-Qushayri said, “If
it is asked if fear falls away from the Awliya, we state that all
great Awliya are dominated by fear. It is rare for fear to fall away
but not impossible.” And he further states, “Fear is one of the attributes of
those who are fully present.” [Imam Nawawi’s Bustan-ul Arifeen]
Character Traits of the Awliya
Regarding the characteristics of
the Awliya, Imam al-Qushayri mentions that the main traits dominating
a Wali include “his truthfulness in fulfilling the duties owed to
Almighty Allah. Then it is his compassion and mercy to the people of
creation, in all their states. Then it is extending his mercy to all
creatures. Then it is his constantly enduring things that come from
creatures, with good character. He always begins by asking Allah to do the
best for them without their having to ask this of him. His zeal (himma)
is connected to rescuing the people and giving them security. He safeguards
himself from feeling any malice or rancour towards them, whilst at the same
time he restrains his hand from their property, and desires nothing from them
in any way. He restrains his tongue from spreading any evil about them, and
he is on guard against seeing their evils. He has no adversary either in this
world or in the next.”
Imam Nawawi elaborates on the
above by saying, “the Wali overlooks his own rights in this world so
that he demands nothing from people in this world. Therefore, they possess
nothing which he will seek from them in the next. Allah says:
“But if you are patient and fear
Allah - indeed, that is the most resolute course to take.” [Qur’an 3:186] And,
“Those who restrain anger and who pardon the people - and Allah loves the
doers of good.” [Qur’an 3:134] [Imam Nawawi’s Bustan-ul Arifeen]
Awliya in the Qur’an
There are several mentions of
certain Awliya in the Holy Qur’an. These are beloved and righteous
servants of Allah who were not Prophets or Messengers, but slaves upon whom
He bestowed His favour.
One such person is Lady Maryam,
about whom the Angels said, “O Maryam, indeed
Allah has chosen you and purified you and chosen you above the women of the
worlds. O Mary, be devoutly obedient to your Lord and prostrate and bow (in
prayer) with those who bow down.” [Qur’an 3:42-43]
She was extremely devout and
chaste (“And Maryam, the daughter of Imran, who guarded her chastity…” [Qur’an
66:12]), so Allah bestowed favours upon her, blessed her and granted her
miracles from His Power.
Sayyidina Khidr is also amongst
the Awliya mentioned by Allah in the Qur’an, although some scholars
claim he was a Prophet – and Allah knows best. About him, it was said, “And they found a servant from among Our servants to
whom we had given mercy from us and had taught him from Us a [certain]
knowledge.” [Qur’an 18:65]
Another case of the Awliya
mentionedin the Holy Qur’an is that of the As’haab-e-Kahf, also known
as the Sleepers of the Cave. About them, Allah says, “They
were youths who believed in their Lord, and we increased them in their
guidance.” [Qur’an 18:13]
These servants of Allah, though
they were not Prophets or Messengers, were blessed with special ranks and
favours. Each was blessed with an exclusive level of knowledge, a certain
degree of gnosis of Allah (marifah), and was blessed with miracles (karamat)
from His Power; indeed, Allah has Power over all things.
Gift of Marifah upon His
Chosen Ones
As a result of their continuous
devotion and yearning for Allah’s Pleasure, the Awliya are blessed
with marifah, or knowledge/gnosis of Almighty Allah.
They abstain from following their
own nafs or ego, which keeps them firm upon the Straight Path. About
this, the Qur’an warns, “…Do not follow [your own] desire, as it will lead
you astray from the way of Allah.” [Qur’an 38:26]
Imam al-Ghazali said in honour of
the Awliya, “They have purified their hearts from other than Allah and
they have made them as pathways for rivers to run, receiving knowledge of the
Divine Presence.” [al-Munqidh min ad-Dalal, page 131]
The hearts of the Awliya
have been cleansed to such an extent that they are able to receive exclusive
knowledge of the Creator.
Khwaja Mujaddid Alf Thaani wrote
that the Qur’anic verse, “And I did not create the Jinn and mankind
except to worship Me,” [51:56] refers to the fact He created men and Jinn
so they could attainmarifa; that is, to reach perfection by knowing
Him. [266th Letter of his Maktubat]
In addition to knowledge of His
Divine Presence, the Awliya are blessed with kashf or spiritual
unveiling which grants them information which ordinary humans are unable to
obtain.
Miracles of the Prophets (mu’jiza) &
the Saints (Karamat)
The miracles of the Prophets are
referred to as mu’jiza, while the miracles of the saints are known as karamat.
The main difference between the two is that a mu'jiza is conditional
with the claim of Prophethood, therefore mujizat are attributed to the
Prophets only while karamat is attributed to the saints.
Imam Nawawi explains the
distinction between the two in his Bustan-ul Arifeen, by quoting Qadi
Abu Bakr al-Ashari who says that Prophetic miracles (mu’jiza) cannot
come from the Awliya “because one of the preconditions of the
Prophetic miracle is that it should be connected to the claim of
Prophethood.”
Imam Nawawi also quotes Imam Abu
Bakr ibn Furak on this topic, who says, “Part of the difference between
Prophetic miracles and karamat is that the Prophets are commanded to
display their miracles, while the Wali is obliged to veil and conceal
them. The Prophet makes a claim and his statement is substantiated by the
confirmatory miracle. The Wali does not make that claim…”
Karamat
Imam Abu Hanifa writes that the karamat
of Awliya is real although some, who claim to be Muslim yet deny
spiritualism, do not believe in their karamat. [al-Fiqh al-Akbar]
Imam Nawawi reports Imam
al-Juwayni as saying, miracles in respect to the friends of Allah, the Awliya,
is perfectly conceivable. [Bustan-ul Arifeen]
Explaining further regarding karamat,
Imam Nawawi quotes Imam al-Qushayri as saying, “A karama is an
action about which there is no doubt…” He continues, “It is a gift and a mark
of favor on him (the Wali). It may be obtained by the choosing and
supplication of the Wali, while it is also possible that it will not
be obtained by him. Sometimes it is without choice on the part of the Wali.”
[Bustan-ul Arifeen]
Imam al-Qushayri also states that
whenever a Prophet has a miracle appear through one of his community (Ummah),
that miracle is also counted as one of his Prophetic miracles. [Imam
Nawawi’s Bustan-ul Arifeen]
However, karamat is not a
condition of Wilayah therefore not every saint will possess this
quality. Imam al-Qushayri states, “Indeed, if a Wali does not have
outwardly manfiest karamat in this world, their lack does not detract
from his being a wali.” [Imam Nawawi’s Bustan-ul Arifeen]
This is further clarified by Imam
Mujaddid Alf Thaani Ahmad al-Faruqi as-Sirhindi who writes, “It is not a
condition for a Wali (a person whom Allah loves) to display karamat.
As it is not necessary for the scholars to display karamat, so it is
not necessary for the Awliya to display karamat, because Wilayah
means qurb-e ilahi. (That is, it means to get closer to Allah, to know
Him.)” [Volume 2, 92nd Letter of his Maktubat]
Examples of Karamat
The Holy Qur’an documents several
miracles of the saints. It informs us about the miracles of Lady Maryam:
• Receiving sustenance to her
chamber directly from Allah: “Every time that
[Zakariya] entered (her) chamber to see her, he found her supplied with
sustenance. He said, ‘O Mary! From where is this coming to you?’ She said,
‘From Allah: for Allah provides sustenance to whom He pleases without
measure.’” [Qur’an 3:37]
• How she retrieved dates from the
palm-tree during labor-pains: “And shake toward
you the trunk of the palm tree; it will drop upon you ripe, fresh dates.” [Qur’an
19:23-26]
• The birth of Prophet Jesus
although she was chaste: “And (remember) her
who guarded her chastity: We breathed into her of Our spirit, and We made her
and her son a sign for all peoples.” [Qur’an 21:91]
• The Qur'an also teaches us of
the miracle of Prophet Suleyman’s companion, who brought him the throne of
Bilqees in the blink of an eye: “Said one who
had knowledge from the Scripture, ‘I will bring it to you before your glance
returns to you.’ And when [Suleyman] saw it placed before him, he said, ‘This
is from the favor of my Lord…” [Qur’an 27:40]
The Companions, being the teachers
and masters of the Awliya also had karamat which are reported
in many authentic narrations:
• Sayyidina Anas narrates, “Two of
the companions of the Prophet departed from him on a dark night and were led
by two lights like lamps (going in front of them from Allah as a miracle)
lighting the way in front of them, and when they parted, each of them was
accompanied by one of these lights till he reached their (respective)
houses.” [Bukhari, Vol. 1, Book 8, Hadith no. 454]
• The Beloved Messenger narrated
an incident in which three men took shelter from the rain inside a cave. A
huge rock rolled over and blocked the mouth of it so they were trapped
inside. Each of them made a supplication to Allah, and the rock moved
completely from the mouth of the cave. [Bukhari, Vol. 3, Hadith no. 418]
• Bint al-Harith reported about
Sayyidina Khubayb al-Ansari, who was captured by the unbelievers, "By
Allah, I never saw a better prisoner than Khubayb. By Allah, I found him
eating from a bunch of grapes he had in his hand, when he was shackled in
irons and there was no fruit at that time in Makkah. It was provision from
Allah which He gave to Khubayb." [Bukhari, chapter 67, Hadith no.
3858]
• Sayyidina Safina, a servant of
the Beloved Messenger, was once left behind by the Muslim army in the land of
the Romans. As he was trying to catch up with them, he suddenly came across a
lion. He said to it, "O Abu Harith (lion), I am a servant of the
Messenger of Allah," then proceeded to explain his situation. The lion
not only spared him, but also showed him the route and accompanied him til he
reached the army. [Imam Bayhaqi's Dalaa'il al-Nubuwwah, Hakim 3:606. Also
related by Imam Tabarani, Imam Abu Nu'aym]
• Sayyidina Abdullah ibn Umar
narrates that his father Sayyidina Umar was delivering the Friday sermon in
the Prophet's Masjid in Madinah, when in the middle of the khutba, he
shouted, “Ya Sariyya al-jabal! (O Sariyya, [towards] the mountain!” and then
he resumed his khutba. When the people had finished the prayer, they
asked Sayyidina Umar, and he said, “The idea crossed my mind that the
idolaters defeated our brethren and the idolaters would run towards the
mountain. So if the Muslims moved towards the mountain, they would have to
fight from one side only and if they advanced, they would be destroyed. So
those words escaped my mouth, about which you say that you heard these
words.”
After a month came the deliverer
of good news. He said, “The people of the army heard Sayyidina Umar's voice
(‘Ya Sariyya al-jabal!’) on that day. We all went towards the mountain and
Allah made us victorious.”
[Imam Tabari's Ta’rikh al-‘Umam
wal-Muluk; Imam Abu Nu'aym's al-Dala’il; Imam Bayhaqi's Dalaa’il al-Nubuwwah;
Imam Suyuti's Tarikh al-Khulafa; Imam ibn Kathir's al-Bidaya wal-Nihaya; Imam
al-Asqalani's al-Isaba, Imam ibn Hajar al-Haythami's al-Sawa’iq al-Muhriqa;
Imam Suyuti's al-Durar al-Muntathira]
And indeed, Almighty Allah says:
“I will declare war against him who shows hostility to a
pious worshipper (Wali) of Mine.
And the most beloved things with which My slave comes nearer
to Me, is what I have enjoined upon him; and My slave keeps on coming closer
to Me through performing Nawafil (praying or doing extra deeds besides
what is obligatory) till I love him,
so I become his sense of hearing with which he hears,
and his sense of sight with which he sees, and his hand with
which he grips,
and his leg with which he walks; and if he asks Me, I will
give him,
and if he asks My protection (refuge), I will protect him;
(i.e. give him My Refuge)
and I do not hesitate to do anything as I hesitate to take
the soul of the believer, for he hates death, and I hate to disappoint him.”
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