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THE SUFI TRADITION IN TORONTO
By: Siddiq Osman Noormuhammad
The Sufi Tradition
All praise is for Allah, Lord of the worlds Who has no partner in His Kingdom, the only One to be worshipped, The Creator, The Nourisher, The Sustainer, The First without a beginning, and the Last without end, Whose Nur pervades and is All-Pervading, Who created the Nur of Muhammad-e-'Arabi, Sallallahu 'alaihi wa Sallam from His own Nur and made him mercy for all the worlds, may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him for ever and evermore, Aameen.
The sufi tradition is a tradition of pure monotheism, taught, exemplified and lived by our beloved Holy Prophet Sayyidina wa Mawlana Muhammad Mustafa Sallallahu 'alaihi wa Sallam himself; the ahlul bayt (his blessed Household), his sahaba (noble companions) Rady Allahu 'Anhum Ajma'een and the awliya (sufi saints), Rahmatullahi 'alaihim ajmaeen.
To be in the sufi tradition is to attach oneself to a sufi Shaykh (spiritual master). A sufi Shaykh is someone who has adopted the sunnah (life-style) of the beloved Prophet Sallallahu 'alaihi wa Sallam in its totality. His suhbah (companionship) automatically develops love for Allah, The Glorified and The Exalted, and for Rasulullah Sallallahu 'alaihi wa Sallam, and purifies one's heart of evil and vice, as much as has been ordained by Allah. To have ta'alluq (association) with a sufi Shaykh is to be on the spiritual path (tariqa), practicing tasawwuf (attempting to live according to sunnah both outwardly and inwardly, that is with sincerity and purity of heart) with the help of the dua (supplications) of our Shaykh. If Allah so wills, this leads to spiritual progress and spiritual excellence (ihsan) after which Allah Ta'ala showers us with His 'inayah (special spiritual favours).
Allah Sub'hanahu wa Ta'ala has blessed Muslims with such mashayikh (spiritual masters) throughout history in all parts of the world. They have drawn people to themselves through their examplary life-styles and have spontaneously been identified as 'arifeen (knowers of spiritual realities and mysteries). One such spiritual luminary was Sayyidi wa Imami Muhyuddin Shaykh 'AbdulQadir Jilani Rahmatullahi 'alaih. Those associated with him are said to be in the Qadiriyyah tariqa, after him. Sayyidi wa Imami al-Faqih al-Muqaddam Muhammad ibn 'Ali BaAlawi Rahmatullahi 'alaih was another great qutb-ul-gauth (pillar of spiritual succour). Those associated with him are said to be in the 'Alawiyyah tariqa. These spiritual luminaries are as many as the stars in the firmament but some shine more distinctly than others, just as the north star does.
Islam is alive as long as the sufi saints breathe. Most of them prefer to be anonymous unless Allah Ta'ala in His Hikmah (Wisdom) wills otherwise. Mungu awa weke: may Allah Ta'ala keep them for ever in His Rahmah (Mercy), Aameen.
For anyone to claim to be a sufi (man of Allah) is really presumptuous. No one ever claims to be a sufi. The Shaykh (pir-o-murshid in Urdu) is ever so humble to make any claim of any sort. But the sufi saint (man of Allah) is as evident as the broad daylight. Those who have ta'alluq (association) with a sufi saint are said to be in the sufi tradition. And it is in this sense alone that we talk about the activities of those associated with the sufi tradition in Toronto.