SUFI STORIES #2 THE ACCIDENTAL SUFI

 My entry into Sufism was accidental. I wasn’t searching for God. I was searching for answers for my personal problems.

Back in 1988 my personal and business lives were in a mess. One afternoon, a pious Qur’an teacher, whom I called Pak Engku (full name Raja Abdul Karim, may his soul rest in Peace), told me that he had received messages for me – that I am to be more disciplined in practising the pillars of Islam (the prayers especially) if I wanted God to solve my problems.

It so happened that I had planned to go to Medan (in Sumatra, Indonesia) the following week with Pak Engku’s younger brother (Raja Abdul Jalil, who I call Pak Engku Jalil). He was bringing a group of people to meet a pious old man there. We were seeking the old man’s advice for our respective problems.

When it came to my turn, the old man said that nobody in this world could help me. I had to turn to God and seek His help.

Upon my return to Kuala Lumpur, Pak Engku Karim told me that he had received more messages for me while I was away, including that I had to perform the Umrah (minor Hajj) and ask for God’s help from in front of the Ka’abah. He also said I will meet somebody in Makkah who will give me some instructions.

At around this time, I was first exposed to the Sufis here in Kuala Lumpur. A friend who belonged to one of the Sufi groups invited me to a gathering where the Grand Shaykh visiting from overseas would preside. So I went to the gathering, not knowing what to expect. Unfortunately I arrived quite late, by which time the speech by the Shaykh and the dzikr session were over, and they were all gathered in concentric circles around the Shaykh, with their hands on the shoulders of the persons in front of them, while reciting something. So I just simply followed what everyone else was doing. It turned out that it was a mass affirmation (or re-affirmation) of the oath of discipleship (“bay’at”) to the Shaykh. So I had become a Sufi disciple (“mureed”) accidentally!

Nothing much happened after that.

In early 1990 I finally made it to Makkah for the Umrah as instructed. I had actually performed the proper Hajj in 1981, when I accompanied my parents and took care of them there. At that time my request to God was to make me a good Muslim and give me goodness in this world and the Hereafter. This time I had 2 specific requests to God – I wanted a dutiful, pious wife, and I wanted my problems to be solved. God told me who that wife would be (yes, she is my wife now!), but I didn’t get the instructions on how to solve my problems. And that person who Pak Engku Karim said will meet me in Makkah did not appear.

One week after my return from Makkah, on one morning, while I was standing by my car at a carpark in the city, reading a book on prayers and supplications, a stranger approached me and asked me to turn to certain pages of the book, and told me that those were the supplications that will solve my problems and protect me. He said I was originally supposed to receive these instructions in Makkah, but he had just received the instructions to meet me at the car park, and that I will be standing by my car holding that book! This man, who I called “Bapak”, was not known to Pak Engku Karim either.

Thereafter, he continued to visit me either at my work place, or at my home to give further advice and instructions. He mentioned about his family, but I never met them, and I don’t even know where he lived. After about 5 years, he never returned. May he be in Allah’s protection.

I have not related other incidents that many of you may not believe, and some may accuse me of lying, although there were witnesses to most of these events. More importantly, I do not want the religious authorities to come knocking at my door, because the control over Muslims here is very rigid. I don’t need anyone’s confirmation, and I don’t want to enter into arguments with anyone either. My aim is to share my experiences which illustrate that these unusual encounters do happen. In future stories, I will relate some spiritual encounters, which are common experiences for those on the Sufi path. Hopefully, my sharing may stir some interest in Sufism. However, I have to withhold some details to avoid controversy. This also means that I cannot tell the most amazing of these stories.

I had expected unkind responses when I decided to write these stories. Indeed, one comment to the first post accused Sufis of having a deviant understanding of God compared to other Muslims. Such wild and false accusations against Sufis only illustrate that person’s ignorance of Sufism. I do not wish to be side-tracked into lengthy debates with anyone, so I will instead address any major criticisms openly to all here.

Although it is true that some prominent Sufis like Shaykhul Akbar Ibn ‘Arabi and Mansur Al-Hallaj caused much controversy with their discourses on theology, and in the case of the latter, with his outwardly blasphemous utterances, these are exceptional cases. I and the vast majority of Sufis live by the clear teachings of Tawheed (Absolute Oneness of God) and my Aqeedah (creed) is the same as other Sunni Muslims (Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama’ah).

The great theologian and jurist Imam Al-Ghazali is honoured throughout the Sunni Muslim world as “Hujjatul Islam” (The Proof of Islam) and is among the most respected Muslim scholars in Islamic history. He was a Sufi and he wrote about his Sufi experience in his autobiography (which I encourage those interested in Sufism to read). Is that person (accuser) also saying that Imam Al-Ghazali was a deviant?

Peace to all. See you at my next SUFI STORIES post!