Tassawuf of the Muhaditheen

[mat_tahir]

Assalamu Alaikum,

I was reading an article by Shaikh Abdul Hakim Murad and I was drawn to the assertion that many of the muhaditheen and those commonly associated as fatherheads of the modern Salafi movement were indeed practioners of Tassawuf. He cites:

1) Sufyan ibn Uyayna
2) Sufyan at-Thawri
3) Abdullah ibn Mubarak
4) Al-Haakim
5) Baihaqi
6) Ghazali
7) Nawawi
8) Ibn Jauzi
9) Ibn Taimiyyah
10) Ibn Rajab

Also others who spoke well of tasawwuf were:

1) Ibn Hajar
2) Suyuthi
3) Al-Ayni
4) Ibn Khaldun
5) Al-Subki
6) Al-Haithami
7) Ibn Kathir

My questions are:

a) why single these ulama out if tasawwuf is an integral part of Islam (or at least
early islam)?
b) Were these ulama related in some way eg Baihaqi was the student of Hakim so
he learnt his tasawwuf from his teacher?
c) Were there others of note who were "Sufis"? I read somewhere that Hafiz
Shawkani followed the Shadhili tariqat? What about his teacher Ibn Hajar then?

[mat_tahir]

Sorry, I meant to say Hafiz Sakhawi not Shawkani

[chitownmuslim]

Assalamu Alaikum,

I was reading an article by Shaikh Abdul Hakim Murad and I was drawn to the assertion that many of the muhaditheen and those commonly associated as fatherheads of the modern Salafi movement were indeed practioners of Tassawuf. He cites:

1) Sufyan ibn Uyayna
2) Sufyan at-Thawri
3) Abdullah ibn Mubarak
4) Al-Haakim
5) Baihaqi
6) Ghazali
7) Nawawi
8) Ibn Jauzi
9) Ibn Taimiyyah
10) Ibn Rajab

Imam Ghazali wasnt really a muhaddith, which he himself admits, even though he is amongst the greatest of fuqaha'a and mutakallimoon

c) Were there others of note who were "Sufis"? I read somewhere that Hafiz
Shawkani followed the Shadhili tariqat? What about his teacher Ibn Hajar then?

Yes, Imam Munawi, who is one of the great muhaddiths was a Shadhili..
Imam Mundhiri, author of the classic Hadith compilation "At-Targheeb wa Al-Tarheeb" was also a Sufi..

Imam Sakhawi was a Sufi for sure, although im not sure of which tariqa.. however its worth noting that Sidi Ahmad Zarruq was a student of Imam Sakhawi..

Imam Ibn Hajar Haytami was a Shadhili.. as well as Imam Suyuti

Imam Shawkani took idhn from a Naqshabandi shaikh to recite their wirds and ahzab, which he mentions in one of his books.. although its not mentioned if he received any tarbiya from that shaikh..

Sultan Al-Ulama'a, Imam Izz bin Abdus Salam was a student of Imam Abul Hasan Ash-Shadhili.. Imam Ibn Daqiq Al-Eid was a Shadhili as well

Among the more recent Sufi Muhadditheen are:

-Imam Badr Ad-Deen Al-Hasani
-Imam Abdullah Ghumari
-Imam Abel Aziz Ghumari
-Mohammed Muntasir Al-Kittani

[mat_tahir]

MasyaAllah...jazakallah akhi. yes ur right, Imam Ghazali wasn't a muhadith....can u refer me to the sources to prove their Sufi backgrounds....wanted to write an article on this...

I have this impression that there were and still are various strands within the hadith tradition but many people don't seem to acknowledge this. For instance, the bulk of material on the Internet and published material today is the Albani strain.

I get this impression that the Syrian community produced many of the Sufi muhaditheen. Is Shaikh Nuruddin Itr a student of Badaruddin Hasani? What of Abdul Fattah Abu Ghuddah?

What of other contemporary muhaditheen such as Mahmud Said Mamduh, Shaikh Muhammad Awwamah and scholars from the Indo-Pak region?

Imam Ghazali wasnt really a muhaddith, which he himself admits, even though he is amongst the greatest of fuqaha'a and mutakallimoon




Yes, Imam Munawi, who is one of the great muhaddiths was a Shadhili..
Imam Mundhiri, author of the classic Hadith compilation "At-Targheeb wa Al-Tarheeb" was also a Sufi..

Imam Sakhawi was a Sufi for sure, although im not sure of which tariqa.. however its worth noting that Sidi Ahmad Zarruq was a student of Imam Sakhawi..

Imam Ibn Hajar Haytami was a Shadhili.. as well as Imam Suyuti

Imam Shawkani took idhn from a Naqshabandi shaikh to recite their wirds and ahzab, which he mentions in one of his books.. although its not mentioned if he received any tarbiya from that shaikh..

Sultan Al-Ulama'a, Imam Izz bin Abdus Salam was a student of Imam Abul Hasan Ash-Shadhili.. Imam Ibn Daqiq Al-Eid was a Shadhili as well

Among the more recent Sufi Muhadditheen are:

-Imam Badr Ad-Deen Al-Hasani
-Imam Abdullah Ghumari
-Imam Abel Aziz Ghumari
-Mohammed Muntasir Al-Kittani

[chitownmuslim]

MasyaAllah...jazakallah akhi. yes ur right, Imam Ghazali wasn't a muhadith....can u refer me to the sources to prove their Sufi backgrounds....wanted to write an article on this...

I have this impression that there were and still are various strands within the hadith tradition but many people don't seem to acknowledge this. For instance, the bulk of material on the Internet and published material today is the Albani strain.

I get this impression that the Syrian community produced many of the Sufi muhaditheen. Is Shaikh Nuruddin Itr a student of Badaruddin Hasani? What of Abdul Fattah Abu Ghuddah?

What of other contemporary muhaditheen such as Mahmud Said Mamduh, Shaikh Muhammad Awwamah and scholars from the Indo-Pak region?

Thank you for reminding me akhi, I wrote my reply yesterday in a hurry and i forgot to mention Shaikh Abdul Fattah Abu Ghuddah.. although im not sure he was of any tariqa, however if you look at his mashayikh, you'll notice that almost all of them were Sufis.. he was one of Imam Kawtharis students as well.. I know Shaikh Mahmud Sa'eed Mamduh was a student of Imam Ghumari for sure, inshallah i will try to look up the sanads and mashayikh of the more recent muhadditheen and post them..

here are some quotes about the Imams i mentioned earlier which prove they are Sufi..

"Imam Hafidh Mundhiri learned from Sidi Abul Hasan Ash-Shadhili and attended his lessons in Madrasa Al-Kamiliyyah in Egypt". 'Mukhtasar A'alam Ash-Shadhulliyyah'

"Imam Ibnul Hajib moved to Egypt and learned at the hands of Sidi Abul Hasan Ash-Shadhuli for a period of 4 years". 'Mukhtasar A'alam Ash-Shadhuliyah'

Imam Suyuti has a very well known book in which he speaks about the Tasawwuf of the Shadhili tariqa which he belonged to, the book is called "Ta'yid Al-Haqiqa Al-Aliyyah wa Tashyid at-Tariqatu Shaduliyyah"

Imam Shawkani mentions that he took idhn from a Naqshabandi Shaikh to recite the NAqshabandi wirds and ahzab in his own book "Al-Badr At-Tale'i", pg. 407..