Question:
This episode begins with a letter received from a listener named Nizamuddin, a Pakistani national. He asks: O Eminent Sheikh, what is your opinion regarding Sufism (Tasawwuf) and the Sufis? This is in light of the fact that Islamic history has preserved for us—without limit—graduates of Sufism who were men whom ‘neither commerce nor sale could divert from the remembrance of Allah.’ This is a reality that requires no further investigation, so we hope for your response regarding this?
Answer:
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the Worlds. I send peace and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family, his companions, and those who follow them in righteousness until the Day of Judgment. To proceed:
The best of speech is the Book of Allah, and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad ﷺ. The worst of matters are those newly invented [in religion]; every newly invented matter is an innovation (bid’ah), every innovation is a misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire
Perhaps this opening sermon (khutbah) alone is sufficient as an answer to this question. This is because the Sufi path is an innovated path for which Allah has sent down no authority. Neither the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, nor his Rightly Guided Caliphs, nor the guided Imams followed it.
The Sufi path exists in varying degrees: some of it leads to explicit disbelief (kufr), while some of it leads to disobedience. Therefore, it varies significantly, and it is impossible to pass a general judgment that encompasses all its levels.
However, I say: instead of an individual exhausting themselves in this Sufi path — in its conceptualization and its terminology — they should instead exert themselves in the Path of the Prophet ﷺ and [the path of] his Rightly Guided Caliphs, and the guided Imams, until the truth becomes clear to him and he follows it, worshipping Allah upon knowledge and insight.
This is because the Sufi way is built upon one of two things: either ignorance of the Sharia, resulting in blindness and misguidance; or persistence and stubbornness, resulting in arrogance and disdain. None of this is acceptable to a Muslim regarding their religion.
I suggest—rather, I advise my brother, the questioner—to avoid this path and to look toward the Sound Path built upon the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger ﷺ. In that, there is sufficiency and guidance. Any other paths are misguidance and blindness; we ask Allah for safety.