Can somebody assist, please

[UmmTaaha]

http://www.geocities.com/arabclipart/graphics/salam.jpg


I m looking for a website that contains literature on Tassawwuf by shia sufi shaykh. Would anyone be able to help me with a url.

Jazakallah.

[Abu Abdallah]

Assalamu 'Alaykum,

You may want to look into Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri's Order al-Haydariyah al-Shadhiliyyah:

http://www.nuradeen.com/Nuradeen.htm

I also know that the Ni'matullahi & Dhahabiyyah Orders have Shi'ite inclinations, although tasawwuf has been repressed in Iran since the 1979 revolution (everyone uses the term irfan now). For the best article on the subject, see S.H. Nasr's "Sufi Essays." He has a selection called "Shi'ism and Sufism: their relationship in essence and in history."

Best wishes,
Abu Abdallah

[UmmTaaha]

http://www.geocities.com/arabclipart/graphics/salam.jpg


Jazakallah khair. This was the type of link I was looking for, Alhamdulillah.
Are the essays by S.H.Nasr online? Could you please pass on the link.

[Abu Abdallah]

Assalamu 'Alaykum,

To the best of my knowledge, "Sufi Essays" is not available on-line. It is worth purchasing though. You can do a google search for various on-line articles by Dr. Nasr. Here is one I found from Dr. Alan Godlas' site:

http://www.uga.edu/islam/Sufism.html

wa salam,
Abu Abdallah

[UmmTaaha]

Assalamu 'Alaykum,

To the best of my knowledge, "Sufi Essays" is not available on-line. It is worth purchasing though. You can do a google search for various on-line articles by Dr. Nasr. Here is one I found from Dr. Alan Godlas' site:

http://www.uga.edu/islam/Sufism.html

wa salam,
Abu Abdallah

Jazakallah khair, for all help.

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[Omar HH]

Sufism is the science of strengthening Iman. One's Iman must be free of innovative and false beliefs (such as rejecting the first three Khalifahs) before being strengthened through tassawuf.

[Abu Abdallah]

Who said anything about rejecting the first three Khalifahs? If a Sunni has a tariqah that goes back to the Prophet through 'Ali and not any of the first three Khalifahs (as is the case with every order except the Naqshibandiyyah), is he free of innovative and false beliefs?

In the same way, there are many Shi'ites who are Shia because of their love and attachment to 'Ali, and not because of hatred or malice to the first three Khalifahs, who one can accept as pious Muslims who did their best.

Shi'ism is like a silsilah that became crystallized with the 12th Imam. Does your silsilah have the names 'Umar or 'Uthman on it?

Of course, there are Shi'ites who abuse the name of the first three Khalifahs. There are also Sunnis who blow up Shi'ite shrines. Should we judge Shi'ism and Sunnism by the worst or the best among us.

God knows best,
Abu Abdallah

[Hussain20]

the reason why Brother Omar said this is because it is common knowlodge within Shia Islam that the first 3 Caliphs (RA) stole the Caliphate from Ali (RA).

The shia are taught in the majlis all the time about these stories and plus then again they also accuse Umar (RA) of burning the house of Fatima (RA) and killing her "unborn child".

Now if you were Shia would u have any love for these individuals after these "facts" were presented to you by your marja or his reps?

[Abu Abdallah]

What is common knowledge among Shi'ites is that the "Sunnis" who control Mecca and Medina destroyed many of the tombs of the family of the Prophet, may Allah be pleased with them, and have killed many Muslims for being Shi'ite and/or students of tasawwuf/irfan. Obviously, these "Sunnis" do not represent Sunni Islam.

Yes, many scholars in the Shi'ite world are too harsh on the companions. That does not mean they are fully representative of original Shi'ism.

Even though the Saudis control much of what is diseminated in the name of Sunni Islam, including the constuction of modern mosques through out the world, we can discern that they do not fully represent Sunni Islam.

The same is true for Shi'ism. Iran is not a traditional Shi'ite state. For better examples of traditional Shi'ism read Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Allamah Tabatabai (ra), Seyyed Haydar Amuli (ra), Mulla Sadra (ra), or accounts of the Imams themselves, such as how 'Ali (ra) dealt with Aisha (ra) after she went to war against him. He called her mother of the believers.

Obviously, wisdom and tolerance was the original wont of 'Ali when faced with companions who fought against him. So you are right, it makes no sense to slander the companions. Yet you must understand that this is not the way of all Shi'ites. One can be a Shi'ite and simply believe that 'Ali (ra) is the most authentic representative of Islamic esoterism, after the Prophet (sal), and have malice towards none, least of all other Muslims.

wa salam,
Abu Abdallah

[Hussain20]

I understand what you are trying to say Brother but I use to be Shia, I know what we are taught, in order to get a better understanding of these matters one would have to read the Classical books and see what the majority opinion was and why it is still upheld by the majority of the Shia Ulema.

[Abu Abdallah]

Conversely, one may say, "I used to be a Sunni and then became a Shi'ite," and yet this person may have been raised and educated in a modern Salafi or Wahhabi environment. Such a person may not have complete knowledge of traditional Sunni Islam.

I realize many modern Shi'ites go out of their way to critisize the sahabah. This has not be my personal experience with the best Shi'ite scholars, who go out of their way to demonstrate the relative virutes of people such as Abu Bakr (ra) or Umar (ra). A good example of this is "The Heart of Islam," by S.H. Nasr.

My point is, why there may be institutionalized extremism on the part of many Shi'ites and Sunnis, this does not fully represent the beauty of each tradition.
Further, I do not think we will find Islamic unity between Shi'ites and Sunnis by looking at extremists, no matter how numerous they are. We must judge each tradition by the best among them. In the same way we would like Shi'ites to examine the teachings of our awliya, and not the Wahhabis or Salafis.

Allah knows best,
Abu Abdallah

[salahuddin]

:salam:

I'm a bit confused here, (and sorry to digress) is S.H.Nasr shi'a, or is it being said that he's an authority on shi'a teachings?

:ws:

[Abu Abdallah]

Both. He studied with Allamah Tabatabai (ra) in Iran, one of the greatest Shi'ite scholars of the 20th century. At a yound age, he also had a traditional education from his family, and them moved the the U.S. to study at MIT and Harvard, earning his PhD in the History of Science, with an emphasis in Islamic science.

To my knowledge, he has also studied with eminent authorities in the Sunni world. But I know his early education in Iran, shaped his acceptance of Sunnism and Shi'ism as Orthodox Paths in Islam.

Abu Abdallah