Question:

This message was sent by the listener Nayef Obeid Saber from Iraq, Anbar Governorate, Al-Talufa District. He says in his letter:

I offer my best greetings and respect to your esteemed program, which has benefited us and all Muslims through its religious and social fatwas (legal rulings). On this basis, I have sent my letter containing several questions that I hope you will present to the honorable scholars and excellencies you have, and I look forward to your answers, with thanks.

​I am a person whom God has blessed with guidance; I have taken the correct path of Islam and fulfilled all the requirements, from prayer to fasting, etc. However, I have become committed beyond the basic requirements, as I turned to a Sufi Sheikh and became one of his disciples. He commanded me to attend ‘circles of remembrance’ (dhikr) every Monday and Thursday of each week, and to send prayers and peace upon the Prophet (peace be upon him) one thousand times daily, along with other glorifications.

​I ask for your guidance: Is the Sufi path correct and sound within Islamic Sharia and its teachings, or is it not? Please advise us, and may Allah reward you.

Answer:

We say: Know that all paths—whether they are Sufi or otherwise—must be weighed against the Book of Allah (the Quran) and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace be upon him). Whatever is in accordance with them is the truth, and whatever contradicts them is falsehood.

​Generally, Sufi paths are characterized by “innovated” practices (bid’ah); some of these may even reach the level of disbelief (kufr), while others are less severe. Among these innovations is what you mentioned regarding your Sheikh: commanding you to send prayers upon the Messenger (peace be upon him) exactly one thousand times every day, along with other specific glorifications.

As for those other glorifications you mentioned, we do not know what they are, so we cannot judge whether they are truth or falsehood. However, the command to send prayers upon the Prophet (peace be upon him) exactly one thousand times every day is undoubtedly an innovation (bid’ah) that has no basis in the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him).

​What I advise you to do is to seek out a scholar from among the scholars of the Sunnah, who are known for following the Pious Predecessors (Al-Salaf al-Salih). Take your religious guidance from such a person, and abandon the paths you are referring to, whether they be Sufi or otherwise.