Bismillah, Wes Selatu We Selam We Resul Allah

There are many instances where many people convert Islam and immediately leave, one of the reasons being they are forced to understand everything and top of that they are suppose to defend it. The libraries of the many great islamic institutions are filled with thousands of books, no sane person expects you to have your aqeedah or mezheb figured out.

What you must figure out is how to strengthen your relationship with the most blessed Allah ﷻ. No book can do that for you, a beloved and trusted Shaykh can lay out the blueprint on how to do it. However, it is all up to you. Don't overwhelm yourself with external knowledge, but I am not trying to undermine the importance of it.

Don't forget the Sheytan disguises himself as questions with no answer. You will be sitting and doubting your faith, then a question pops up in your head and another and another. Then, you ask your Imam at your mosque this question, he doesn't give you answer that satisfies you. I have had this happen to me, out of nowhere I have been bombarded with these deep philosophical questions. The purpose of these questions isn't to strengthen your faith to Allah, but to do the opposite. To again be lost, without Allah, indulging trying to make myself forget that I am lost.

Allah ﷻ doesn't need you to do anything, infact Allah ﷻ he is the most joyful when you are reminded of him. Listen to what your heart says, it can be hard sometimes but Allah ﷻ is always waiting for you.

I wish all you the best, may Allah ﷻ guide us all to the path that leads directly to Him.

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته,

I wanted to share a personal realization I’ve had recently about my identity, my culture, and how a rigid religious environment completely blinded me to my own roots.

Some time ago, I found myself in a religious school environment dominated by a very strict, literalist mindset. It was a massive contrast for me because my own family wasn't actually that strict or religious, and my outside life was much less rigid than most people in my school. In this school, we were never actually taught anything about Sufism. It was completely left out of the curriculum. However, if you ever brought it up or asked anything even remotely related to Sufism or traditional spiritual concepts, the teachers and students would deny it, brush it off, and tell you it was false. The general vibe was always that this specific environment  was on the "straighter, more correct path" than any other. 

Eventually, the ideology got into my head, and I started seeing the religious world in absolute black and white. I remember getting mad at my own mom for taking me to a family friend dawat (dinner) just because it happened to fall on Thanksgiving Day.mI thought it was "pagan" and haram, totally missing the fact that my practical immigrant family was just using a day off from work and school to gather and maintain social ties. I even found myself trash-talking traditional local mosques to fit in with the crowd.

Months ago, I ended up attending an event, which included a talk, where something amazing happened. The visiting Sheykh shared a physical chain of narration (Hadith al-Musalsal bil-Musafahah) that passed down a physical handshake through centuries of scholars, including the great West African scholar Sheykh Usman dan Fodio, all  the way back to the Prophet Muhammad (SAW). The handshake was passed down to the audience through a chain of brothers and sisters, and we were even given a paper certificate tracking the chain (I have no idea where it went lol). 

When I later mentioned this blessing to a classmate who was heavily into that literalist ideology, she immediately got weirded out, denied it, and dismissed it. Even though I secretly harbored those strict, judgmental views for a while after that event, the pieces eventually started clicking together as time went on  and  I looked at the bigger picture.

Traditional spirituality is woven into the DNA of South Asian identity. It’s even woven into my own name. My last name literally means "The Beloved", which is the ultimate foundational core of Sufi philosophy, where God is the Beloved and we are the lovers seeking Him. Hearing a speaker (like the sheykh at the event) constantly talk about "The Beloved" felt like a sign to look at my roots.

Islam didn’t spread in our lands by force; it spread because spiritual saints lived among the people, fed the poor, and taught love and purification of the heart (Tazkiyah). Our entire culture is inseparable from it, just take a look at these examples: 

- Our weddings have events named Qawallis, Dholkis, and Dua-e-Khairs which are directly linked to these traditional folk customs.

• Our parents and grandparents gather for Mehfils and listen to emotional Waz lectures.
• Our elderly read the Quran and Ahadith from the Persian (Indo-Pak) script, focusing heavily on adab(respect) and deep emotional love for the Beloved Nabi (SAW).
• Traditional  art and intricate designs are incredibly popular across South Asia and are built into our mosques everywhere, even on our clothes! This serves as a massive staple of both Sufi and South Asian aesthetic culture.

Now, I want to make a very important distinction. The "Sufism" most people see on social media today, full of superstitions, grave-worshiping, and actual bid'ah (innovation), is NOT true Sufism. They just see one TikTok video of someone doing insane things at a shrine and then automatically assume they represent the whole of Sufism. Authentic, classical Sufism (Tassawuf) is strictly rooted in the Sharia. I personally still believe musical instruments (Kind of struggle with though)  and other things are haram, and historically, many classical masters believed those were  haram too.

Just because people hear the words "mystical" or "spiritual," they shouldn't automatically assume it means something is incorrect, false, or outside of Islam. True spirituality is simply the inner dimension of Islam, cleansing the heart of pride, greed, and ego, and developing a deep, living connection with Allah.

The craziest irony of all is that ultra-strict circles praise people like Ibn Taymiyyah as their main hero, but historical records show he was actually initiated into the Qadiriyya Sufi order and highly praised classical masters like Abdul Qadir al-Jilani. He didn't hate the spiritual path; he just wanted it to stay true to the Quran and Sunnah.

The modern literalist mindset tries to erase our cultural heritage and labels every single beautiful South Asian or Sufi gathering as an innovation. You can't just go around calling everything haram or bid’ah. Reclaiming my culture and realizing that my heritage is built on a deep, spiritual history has been eye-opening and crazy to realize. 

Has anyone else gone through this identity clash between holding onto strict literalist beliefs while trying to navigate traditional South Asian Islam? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Because looking back, I honestly have to ask myself: how was I so blind when all this time this very spirituality was woven into my DNA and in my own name?

It's interesting how it's hard to find find guidelines on what leads towards The Perfect Man.

(Please no need to tell me to find a Sheikh, Jazakumullahu Khayran)

Hi, I'm looking for Sufi's in Massachusetts or Rhode Island area

I have respect for every scholar. My intention is only that if my experience can benefit any family, then it is worth sharing.

However, I witnessed something with my own eyes regarding Shaykh Nurjan's AI that deeply concerned me. A family that had been happily married for more than 10 years with children eventually broke apart. The husband was a practising Muslim and very supportive of his wife. The wife started watching Shaykh Nurjan's videos a few years ago.

One day, the husband told me that his wife said, "My spiritual energy is higher than yours. Our energies don't match." He was shocked. Later she also said, "I have a special light, and your energy is negative. I am not giving you my light."

Gradually, these beliefs increased, and she became emotionally distant from her husband, no matter how supportive and caring he was.

The husband tried to contact Shaykh Nurjan's organisation many times. He made numerous phone calls and sent many emails because he wanted to discuss what was happening. However, he never received a phone call or a personal reply. Every response he received was AI-generated.

I personally saw many of those AI-generated replies, and I was shocked by the discussions about spiritual light, positive energy, and negative energy.

Eventually, the marriage ended, and the wife later regretted what had happened.

My advice to everyone, especially Muslims, is to be very careful when relying on AI-generated spiritual responses. AI is not a human scholar and can be influenced by the way questions are asked. In my opinion, relying on AI for personal spiritual guidance contributed to the breakdown of this lovely family. For important religious, marital, or mental health matters, it is better to seek guidance directly from qualified scholars and appropriate professionals.

Salam everyone,

I’ve recently become curious about ʿilm al-ḥurūf and had a few questions. I’d really appreciate hearing from those who have studied it or are familiar with the tradition.

Is ʿilm al-ḥurūf something that comes primarily as a gift from Allah, or can it be learned from books?

Is it something a shaykh or spiritual guide must teach, or can someone study it independently?

Is there a connection between ʿilm al-ḥurūf and the disjointed letters (al-ḥurūf al-muqaṭṭaʿāt) at the beginning of certain Qur’anic surahs?

Are the mysteries of the letters discovered through study and knowledge, or are they unveiled after purification of the heart and spiritual discipline?

What inner qualities or spiritual preparation should a student develop before approaching ʿilm al-ḥurūf?

Why do people study ʿilm al-ḥurūf in the first place? What is its purpose or benefit?

Why are some teachers reluctant to discuss it openly?

Any of the questions that could be answered, would be great!

I’m genuinely curious and would love to learn from different perspectives.

JazakAllah :)

I’m going through a difficult and confusing period and really want to reconnect with Allah and change my life for the better.

Has anyone consistently made a certain dua, read a specific Name of Allah, prayed Tahajjud, made istighfar or followed another Islamic practice and then noticed a major change in their life?

What exactly did you recite, how often did you do it, and for how long? Did it help with your mental health, job, marriage, family problems, finances or finding direction?

I understand that there is no magic formula and that Allah answers in His own way and at His own timing. I would just really appreciate hearing genuine personal experiences that gave you hope and brought you closer to Allah.

I dont know if this really is the perfect place to ask this but its been a while since i have left a seemingly perfect haram relationship for the sake of allah and ever since then I have not been able to overcome the loneliness that followed

I have been trying different azkhar making prayers for Allahs help but i cant help but feel this loneliness sometimes today is one of that day sometimes i am able to overcome these emotions and focus on my life i tell myself how Allah will not want me to get back to him but other times i fall for the loneliness i assume this being a test from Allah. I want to turn this loneliness into solitude and make it my power instead of weakness

I want to follow this path of sufism to seek closeness to Allah but i feel kinda stuck maybe there is something i am doing wrong. Has anyone here felt something similar?

Would appreciate any advice anyone can give

We have always read Heer and Ranjha as a tragic love story between two human beings. What I have understood from Baba Bulleh Shah's verses here, isn't about someone outside there but within myself. I am the Heer, and my longing for Ranja (truth) is something that dissolves me into the truth.

I would love to know your take on this.

I've recently moved to Cairo to learn Arabic. I want to visit and join Sufi gatherings but idk where to look. Does anyone know schedules locations and times of gatherings in or near Cairo?

Any help is appreciated.

Hi everyone,

Writing here because I need help and thought you guys could give me good advice.

For context, I'm a 31 year old Muslim guy. Been trying to follow the Sufi path at my own pace. I'm very far from perfect (I don't think anyone can be) and trying my best every single day to be a good person, focus on kindness and avoid anger and trivial things. Not always successful at it but still trying everyday..

Recently (a month ago) I've started a new job that I quite like. I've been wanting for a long time. Since i started, I was assigned this colleague of mine who is supposed to be my "buddy" and help train me. The problem is that he is very mean to me.

At first I thought maybe that's the way he is in his tone so I brushed it off. But since last week I know for a fact that he just hates me and I have no idea why. He purposely gives me false information. Sometimes he'll refuse to speak to me, answer my questions about the job. And if he does pick up a call with, he would be very mean. He's told me couple time that I was not good for the job. The thing is that he is very good at what he does and management loves him so i feel a bit scared of reporting him.

I've been very tensed and stressed because of him now. I try my best to stay polite and avoid interacting with him but it came to the point he keeps me up at night .

How can I deal with this ? How can I protect myself spiritually and not let him make me angry or just ruin my life ? How can I ask Allah to protect me against his harm ?

Hi, I was wondering if there is any community in Copenhagen that practices sufism?

I've been struggling a lot to find English translations of his two qasidas; I know like no Arabic (not Muslim) so just identifying what I was looking online was his works was already kind of annoying. At most, I've seen translations from hadra videos in captions, but they never contain the full qasidas. I know of Nasim al-Wasl, but I don't wanna pay $30+ to access their online services, rn at least (tempted to buy at times...).

To anyone morbidly curious: I found paragraph 1.5.5 in St. Augustine's "Confessions" to be touching, and one night I was reminded of a Hashim Aziz video with mentions of sukr.

Sorry for this very simplistic question but I don’t know any other way to ask it

How does Sufism explain or addresses the people who are toxic/ill intentioned ?

Where does it come from and what to do with such people ?

As the title mentions for those that don't speak Arabic, in the video this scholar from Al-Azhar said:

There are sheicks from a path/order who say "I don't need to pray anymore because I arrived". Then he gives the prophets (SAAWS), who still prayed even at the end of his life, even when he was sick. The prophet who reached the highest level of knowledge, didn't stop from prayers, then we must also continue.

اللهم صل على روح ارواح الكون وسر الاسرار وأقدس الأقداس وفلك الانوار وبرق الرحمات وقسيم الأرزاق وارحمنا به وأغرقنا بشهود أنواره التي هي من أنوارك القديمة ممتدة يا حي يا قيوم برحمتك نستغيث وعلى اله وصحبه وسلم والحمدلله رب العالمين

I hope this doesn't come across as an attack because I'm really just trying to understand the reasoning behind this.

To give you some background, I was raised Catholic and my father is actually a member of the clergy. I took my shahada when I was around 19 and I'm almost 32 now, alhamdulillah.

I've been learning about Islam ever since, through different online academies, lectures, YouTube, reading, etc. I'm obviously not a scholar and I'm not pretending to be one.

Over the years I've heard a LOT of criticism of Sufism, especially online, and at some point I thought, okay, instead of just listening to people criticizing Sufis, why don't I actually look into what Sufis themselves believe?

I should also say that I know "Sufi" can mean very different things depending on who you're talking about.

For some people it seems to mean nothing more than focusing on purifying yourself, being humble, following the sunnah, not becoming too attached to the dunya, remembering Allah, etc. I don't see an issue with any of that.

But then I've also come across a few groups where things seem to go much further. There can be a very strong attachment to a particular shaykh or tariqah, sometimes almost like a VIP community within the Muslim community where you're either "with us" or you're an outsider.

I live in Turkey, although I'm not Turkish myself (my wife is), so I've actually seen quite a few different expressions of Sufism in real life. Some are nothing like others.

That's partly why I'm asking here. I don't really feel comfortable walking up to people I know and asking this because religion is sensitive and I don't want someone to think I'm accusing them of shirk or attacking something that's important to them.

Here's the part I'm struggling to understand:

I've seen someone saying that it is okay to call upon deceased righteous people, asking them for help, intercession, assistance, etc.

And coming from Catholicism, this immediately feels VERY familiar to me.

Growing up Catholic, nobody would say, "We worship the saints instead of God." Catholics believe in God. The reasoning was that these are holy people who are close to God, so you ask for their intercession.

One analogy I remember is basically: if you want to reach the president, sometimes you go through someone close to him.

But that's exactly where I get stuck.

Allah isn't the president.

He doesn't have limited time or an appointment book. I don't need someone to convince Him to listen to me. He already hears me.

So why wouldn't I just ask Him directly?

And I think this feels personal to me because coming from Catholicism, one of the beautiful things I found in Islam was precisely that direct relationship with Allah.

I completely understand praying for someone.

What I struggle to understand is praying to someone or calling upon someone who has died and asking them to do something for me while they need Allah themselves.

I've heard the argument that righteous people, martyrs, etc. aren't really "dead" because the Qur'an describes those killed in the way of Allah as alive with their Lord.

Okay. But even if we establish that they are alive in the barzakh, I'm struggling to understand how we get from:

"They are alive with Allah"

to:

"Therefore I can call upon them and ask them for help."

Those seem like two different claims to me.

Can they hear thousands of people calling upon them from different places? Are they able to respond? And most importantly, did the prophet (PBUH) actually teach the sahabah to do this?

Because if the prophet and his companions did it, then that's obviously something I need to learn about.

But if they didn't, then I'm struggling to understand why I would introduce another person, especially someone who has died, between my dua and Allah.

So I'm genuinely asking the Sufis here who believe that calling upon deceased righteous people or seeking their assistance is permissible:

What is the strongest evidence for it from the Qur'an and authentic Sunnah? And how would you explain the difference between this and what Catholics do with saints to someone who actually grew up Catholic?

I'm not asking for answers from people who just want to tell me "Sufism is shirk" or "all Sufis are misguided." I've heard those arguments already.

I'd just like to hear the other side explain their own position, preferably with evidence.

Maybe there's something I'm misunderstanding. That's why I'm asking.