Sufism in the Philippines
Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim
In The Name of Allah the Most Gracious the Most Merciful
This paper aims to expound on Sufism, it’s concepts, history in the Philippines and Muslims who are antagonist of it.
Sufism, also known as the science of Tasawwuf, has many meanings attached to it both by its practitioners and enemies. It is widely known definition came from two root words which are Safa or Purity and Suwf, referring to a wool cloth. In simple terms, Tasawwuf is the science of Ihsan and purification of one’s self for the love of Allah. It involves certain Tariqas, practices and litanies. The counterpart of Tariqas in the catholic faith are the spiritual orders like the Jesuits,Franciscans and Dominicans. Many tariqas now exist in the Philippines with their respective followers scattered around the country. Despite of their peace-loving nature they have been subject of abuse from the Wahhabis.
Contrary to what the enemies of Tasawwuf believe, Sufism is not a sect in Islam. It is one of the Islamic sciences and a treasure of the Muslim Nation. Most of the Sufis are Sunnis while only minority of Shias claim to be affiliated to it. As Sayyiduna Shaykh Muhammad Adil Rabbani, the spiritual leader of the Naqshbandi Aliya path, said: “Sufism is the essence of Islam.” It is also important to understand that the terms used by Sufis did not exist in the time of the Prophet Muhammad alayhis salatu was salam yet its essence already existed since his time. One of these terms is Tariqa which is an Arabic word for path,way or order. The Sufi masters have emphasized the importance of following a Shaykh and a path from their saying “Whoever does not have a Shaykh, his shaykh is shaytan.” Non-Muslims would relate more to Tariqa if we translate it to mean as spiritual order. There have been many tariqas that existed throughout the Islamic history but now there are only 41 major tariqas. The 4 acknowledged by many scholars as the main tariqas are the Naqshbandi,Qadiri,Shadhili and Chisti.
In these different tariqas, certain practices and litanies are done by the mureeds as recommended by their Murshids. These involves voluntary ritual acts of worship, prayers upon the Prophet Muhammad alayhis salatu was salam, remembrance of Allah and litanies of the saints. Along with these remolding one’s character to be in line with the prophetic character is also done. This actions are in reference to the Hadith Qudsi: My servant continues to draw near to Me with voluntary acts of worship so that I shall love him. When I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him…” Hadith Qudsi (Sahih al-Bukhari, 81:38:2), And the Ayah: Qul ateeAAoo Allaha waalrrasoola fa-in tawallaw fa-inna Allaha la yuhibbu alkafireena( Say: “Obey God And His Apostle”: But if they turn back, God loveth not those Who reject Faith.) 3:31. Some known practices of Sufis in our country are Mawlid, Gatherings for Isra wal Mi’raj, Reciting surah Yasin on Nisfu Sha’ban, Visiting the graves of the pious ones and Tahlil Arwah. These practices have been preserved until now despite the increasing adherents of Wahhabism who are very antagonistic of it claiming these are non-Islamic practices.
Sufism arrived to the country with the arrival of the Sharif Sab’ah or Lumpang Basih. These were the Sufi missionaries who brought Islam to the Philippines. Since then some concepts of Tasawwuf became mixed with the existing spiritual beliefs of the people in the south. These led to the development of Indigenous Islam or Ilmuh kamaasan. It is best described by Professor Yusuf Morales as “an indigenized amalgamation of Islam from the preceding schools of thought and local cultural customs. This is actually contextualized and simplified according to how the elders have understood Islam and the process of Islamization of the communities.” This, in turn, became a treasure of the Moro culture and tradition. Among the Tausugs of Sulu, it became a heirloom for the succeeding generations.
Accordingly, Ilmuh kamaasan is so wide and each family or master of it possesses a unique part of it. Nowadays, there’s a decline of its practitioners mainly because of two reasons: The growing numbers of Wahhabis who declare it as Bid’ah or Shirk and the immaturity of the present generation to carry such special knowledge. According to Sayyiduna Shaykh Khaled Abou El Fadl the rise of the Wahhabi ideology was due to the wealth of Saudi Arabia and retreat of the very rich cultural elements in the Islamic tradition like the Turks, Malays and Filipinos from the mainstream picture. This is because the nuance that they brought to the picture and the traditions of spirituality are remarkably rich nuances
There are already many practitioners of Sufism in the country coming from different social status. The Tariqas that are present in the country are the Naqshbandi Aliya, Naqshbandi Chisti, Qadiri, Rifai, Shattari, Rifai Qadiri Shadhili, Tijani and Khalwati. Among them the Naqshbandi Aliya tariqa have the most followers which are in Manila, Cebu,Zamboanga, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi. The ameer of the Naqshbandi Aliya tariqa in the country is Sidi Khalid Ismael and there are also separate Kadeems for the different areas. Some of the Sunni scholars from Temboro are Naqshbandi Chistis. There are also Sufis from the students and alumnis of known universities like the ADMU, ADZU and WMSU. It is also worth mentioning that in the Philippines we have 8 Teachers of Tasawwuf that have Ijazah(Permission,Authority) in the 40 Sufi Tariqa(Spiritual Orders) which are Ustadz Aljohan Ilacad, Ustadz AbdulWarith Abdula, Ustadz Alnaif Kingking, Ustadz Shamir Kingking, Ustadz Omar Tagayan, Ustadz Al Hassan Caluang, Ustadz Datu Amir Wagas and Ustadz Bernardo Hussin.
The Sufis and the science of Tasawwuf was widely accepted by Sunnis in the country. However, with the rise of Wahhabism, there are already many Muslim Filipinos who are against it. This is primarily due to the misconceptions, lies and fabrications of the Wahhabis. They labeled Sufis and Sufism as either Kafir,Mushrik or Bid’ah. This is not surprising since Muhammad Ibn Abdul Wahhab along with the Wahhabi scholars after him committed many atrocities to the Sufis. Some of these were the desecration of the graves of the Saints, abuses to the Sufis and murders of Sufi masters. Even the ISIS killed many Sufi scholars in the places they have invaded. The Wahhabis and Salafis have this audacity to speak of Tasawwuf when they have not even a single knowledge of it. These arises from the bigotry and zealotry they have engrossed themselves with.
To illustrate a point of what was stated, let us refer to a simple analogy. Common sense would dictate that if you need to consult someone of a sickness you have you would go to a doctor and not an engineer, likewise, if you need to consult someone for constructing a building you would go to an engineer and not a doctor. Additionally, even someone would read all the books of a certain field of study this would not qualify him to speak of it without its proper understanding. Information and knowledge are different things, especially in our present time wherein most are overwhelmed by information yet deprived of true knowledge. Knowledge, Understanding and Practice are also distinct from each other. One may possess one but be deficient of the two. In the science of Tasawwuf, practice and experience are the core of it. One is not a Sufi if he has not tasted nor experienced the secret of this exalted science. Therefore, non-Sufis should refrain from talking about Tasawwuf, be humble enough to its practitioners, conquer their zealotry as well as their bigotry and prove their claim that they only wished for the well-being of the Muslims.
This should make us realize of the value of Sufism in our country and our present situation today. Sufism, the essence of Islam, which is based from the love of Allah and the Prophet Muhammad alayhis salatu was salam is effective for countering and preventing violent extremism. There have been no Sufi who became a terrorist and called for the killing of their brothers in humanity. The Sufi masters have always highlighted ,both in practice and in teaching, that Sufis should be of service to God’s creation. They have also been good exemplars for tolerance and compassion to everyone despite the differences and flaws we all have. It would also be beneficial in the character reformation of our youths today. This would improve their Adab to everyone, especially to their families which is the foundation of our community. This would then lead to the improvement of our society.
WAllahu Wa Rasuluhu A’lam
Allah(awj) and His Messenger alayhis salatu was salam knows best!
