Want to give bay'ah to Shaykh Zulfiqar Ahmad or one of his khulafaa

[NNoor]

I posted this in an older thread but it got buried:

I have been thinking about giving bay'ah to Shaykh Zulfiqar for about four years now and I feel that I have already delayed too long. I just have a few concerns and I was hoping if there are any of the Shaykh's mureeds in New York could we request the mods to allow us to get in touch via e-mail, instant message or phone so I can ask some questions?

Some questions:

I have been moved most when reading the English translations of Shaykh Zulfiqar's writings available on the Tasawwuf website, and also when listening to his khalifah Shaykh Husain Abdul Sattar's talks. I have never met either of them. I feel that I should give bay'ah to one of them. However, I am located in New York. I know Shaykh Ahmad Arshad is the khalifa in NY; any mureed who can help me get in touch/introduce me?

Is it more appropriate for me to try to give bay'ah with one of the Shaykh's khulafaa or with the Shaykh himself? Which one is "better"? I realize Shaykh Zulfiqar is very busy and has thousands of mureedin and don't want to waste his time. Not only this, but my present circumstances do not allow me to travel to meet any Shaykh which I feel is the most appropriate way to seek bay'ah. Is it ok to give bay'ah over the phone or in a letter? It seems that that would be kind of rude.

I would also prefer to do this discreetly and not make it known to most people that I have given bay'ah, so would that be ok, or would I have to make it known to family, friends, etc?

Is it normal to feel apprehensive about giving bay'ah? I've been putting it off for so long because I just am unsure about what exactly it would entail.

If one is the mureed of a shaykh, is it appropriate to ask for advice on worldly matters or should one only ask about spiritual matters (there are some worldly issues that have spiritual implications)?

I currently have some awraad that I try to carry out every day; if I become a mureed, would I have to give them up?

[hazratji]

yesterday Sheikh ZUlfiqar came in sharjah , many people gave bai't to him

[Aashiq-e-Rasool(saw)]

yesterday Sheikh ZUlfiqar came in sharjah , many people gave bai't to him

Aah i missed it because of fever One of the brothers said it was very noorani MashALLAH

This sinner was with Hazrat Jee on monday we went to Ras Al Khaimah, stop on a petrol station to pray maghrib, had to pray in a small room, Hazrat Jee led the prayer, there was not much of a space, so this sinner made a Saff right next to Hazrat Jee, the whole namaz this sinner was right next to Hazrat jee... ALLAH Ho AKBAR, cant explain the feeling. InshALLAH today also we have a plan with hazrat jee and tomorrow after friday Hazrat Jee will be giving a bayan and doing ba'yat with students InshALLAH...

[meelash]

I posted this in an older thread but it got buried:

I have been thinking about giving bay'ah to Shaykh Zulfiqar for about four years now and I feel that I have already delayed too long. I just have a few concerns and I was hoping if there are any of the Shaykh's mureeds in New York could we request the mods to allow us to get in touch via e-mail, instant message or phone so I can ask some questions?

Some questions:

I have been moved most when reading the English translations of Shaykh Zulfiqar's writings available on the Tasawwuf website, and also when listening to his khalifah Shaykh Husain Abdul Sattar's talks. I have never met either of them. I feel that I should give bay'ah to one of them. However, I am located in New York. I know Shaykh Ahmad Arshad is the khalifa in NY; any mureed who can help me get in touch/introduce me?

Is it more appropriate for me to try to give bay'ah with one of the Shaykh's khulafaa or with the Shaykh himself? Which one is "better"? I realize Shaykh Zulfiqar is very busy and has thousands of mureedin and don't want to waste his time. Not only this, but my present circumstances do not allow me to travel to meet any Shaykh which I feel is the most appropriate way to seek bay'ah. Is it ok to give bay'ah over the phone or in a letter? It seems that that would be kind of rude.

I would also prefer to do this discreetly and not make it known to most people that I have given bay'ah, so would that be ok, or would I have to make it known to family, friends, etc?

Is it normal to feel apprehensive about giving bay'ah? I've been putting it off for so long because I just am unsure about what exactly it would entail.

If one is the mureed of a shaykh, is it appropriate to ask for advice on worldly matters or should one only ask about spiritual matters (there are some worldly issues that have spiritual implications)?

I currently have some awraad that I try to carry out every day; if I become a mureed, would I have to give them up?

ONE of the factors to be considered when giving bay'ah is also distance, and convenience of communication, since as you have correctly surmised it would not be beneficial to have bay'ah with the greatest shaykh in the world if there is no possibility of him actually seeing and correcting you. Better to be bay'ah with someone you can be near and who can observe and correct you easily and often.
Again, this is just one of the factors involved. The most important thing is not the "status" of the Shaykh, but who will benefit YOU the most, because one of the requirements is to believe that your shaykh is the most beneficial shaykh for you in the world.

I don't know of any reason why you would have to "announce" your bay'ah, probably would actually be better not to.
Your questions are most appropriate asked directly to whoever you are thinking of giving bay'ah to- different shuyukh may have different methods.

Also, you definitely should not feel apprehensive about asking as many question BEFORE bay'ah as possible. You need to put your heart completely at ease that the person you are doing bay'ah to is the best person for you. Keep in mind that the true Shuyookh are not going to be peeved about you trying to figure out who is right for you, they are not like salesman trying to push a product or something.

Maulana Yunus Patel has some good audios on choosing a Shaykh, for example: http://yunuspatel.co.za/audio-bayat.php

[rahma]

Assalamu Alaikum,

Sh. Arshad and his wife came to my area last year, and mashaAllah, both of them were amazing. I had originally gone to hear the sister speak, but since she gave her lecture in urdu, I sat in the back of Sh. Arshad's talk to the brothers. He made sure to acknowledge me, and make me feel comfortable. I talked with the sister after her talk and she was very approachable and kind.

They run an online school here - http://www.zainabacademy.org/web/content/ - where you should be able to speak to contact the shaykh.

[QuestforthePath]

ONE of the factors to be considered when giving bay'ah is also distance, and convenience of communication, since as you have correctly surmised it would not be beneficial to have bay'ah with the greatest shaykh in the world if there is no possibility of him actually seeing and correcting you. Better to be bay'ah with someone you can be near and who can observe and correct you easily and often.
Again, this is just one of the factors involved. The most important thing is not the "status" of the Shaykh, but who will benefit YOU the most, because one of the requirements is to believe that your shaykh is the most beneficial shaykh for you in the world.

What brother meelash has pointed out, can not be over-emphasized.I know people who are bayah to "Big Shaykhs" but have no regular contact with them, they unfortunately don't gain much out of the bayah. Some people have the impression that a bayah is some magic wand that will change their lives overnight. The ability to spend regular time in the company of the Shaykh is the best thing. If that's not possible, then a regular contact through letters/emails/phone calls is the bare minimum.



Wallah A'alam

[NNoor]

Thank you all so much for your input. I think it would be best for me to communicate with the brothers privately now. The moderators can close this thread if they feel it's right to do so.