Some (Shatahat) and some strange sayings are ascribed to some Sufi Masters, especially Sheikh Abu Yazeed Al Bostami, one of the Naqshabandi Masters. These things appear to be against the principles of Islam. What do you say about such things?
First of all, let’s explain the word “Shatahat” :
Singular: Shat-h, plural: Shatahat. In Sufism, it means some Divinely inspired statements that Ṣufis utter in their mystical and ecstatic state of fanaa’ (passing away of oneself) when they are overwhelmed by the Divine Presence to such a degree that they lose touch with worldly realities. In such moments they utter statements that may seem incoherence or disbelief if taken literally but they are correctly understood by their fellow-Sufis who have shared the same experiences.
Some Sufis who have reached high ranks undergo some cases of inattentiveness, and may utter some strange things that are against the bases of religion. Those persons are not sinful but they shouldn’t be imitated as he, who imitates them is a big sinner. No one should say that he is a disbeliever as long as he doesn’t do it artificially or sarcastically
Some jurists see that he, who speaks about such things, should be punished as he brings forth some confusion and perplexity among ordinary people; even if he is doing it naturally, not artificially. This is what happened to Abu Mansour Ibn Al Hallaj. He revealed some secrets that shouldn’t have been revealed; so, he was punished for doing it. This reminds us of what Al Bukhari narrated from Abu Huraira, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “I kept two vessels (two kinds of knowledge) by heart from the Messenger of Allah (Prayers and peace be upon him). I told you about one of them; but if I tell you about the other, my throat will be cut off.” (1)
Thus, a Sufi in his ecstatic state as a result of his violent passion to his Lord, becomes absent from himself, and so, his tongue can utter some things, if understood literally, he may be accused of disbelief or madness. The Sufis may be accused of blasphemy when they speak about Unity between a slave and Allah. Sufi scholars tell us that this Unity is not in selves. God forbid! It is in attributes, which means, as a result of that great love, that a slave becomes in a state, in which he wills what Allah wills, though there is a big difference between Allah’s Will and a slave’s will.
There is a Prophetic Hadeeth, if it is proved to be correct; it gives us evidence from the Prophet’s life to what happens with the Sufi people. It was narrated that Lady ‘Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, once came in when the Messenger of Allah (Prayers and peace be upon him) asked her, “Who are you?” “I‟m ‘A’isha” He asked again, “Who is ‘A’isha?” “The daughter of Asseddeeq” She answered. He asked, “Who is Asseddeeq?” “He is Mohammad’s father in law” but he asked again, “Who is Mohammad?” At that time, she knew that the Messenger of Allah (Prayers and peace be upon him) was not in an ordinary state, so, she became silent. (2)
So, as a result of great happiness of the Sufi people when they attain closeness to Allah, they find themselves in a state of intoxication and rapture and utter such words unintentionally. Of course, they are forgiven for it, according to what is mentioned in this Hadeeth:
Muslim narrated from Anas Ibn Malik that the Messenger of Allah (Prayers and peace be upon him) said, “Verily, Allah is much happier with the repentance of His slave than that one of you who is riding his camel in a desert and suddenly, it got lost with his food and drink. Then, he became so hopeless, came to a tree and leaned in its shade in much despair. While he is in this case, he found his camel standing in front of him. In haste, he took hold of its bridle and was so happy that he said: Oh! My Lord! You are my slave and I‟m Your lord! He made this mistake as a result of his great happiness.” (3) It is clear from this Hadeeth that the Messenger of Allah (Prayers and peace be upon him) didn’t object to what the man said as he couldn’t control himself as a result of his great happiness. But there are some other reasons for these utterances as follows:
Sometimes these utterances give an important idea to the listener, which shouldn’t be understood in the literal sense of the words:
Attermidhi narrated that an old woman came to the Messenger of Allah (Prayers and peace be upon him) and said, “O Messenger of Allah! Supplicate Allah for me to get me into Paradise.” He said: no old woman will get into Paradise.” The woman went away, crying. He said: tell her that she won’t get into it when she is old. Almighty Allah says,
Indeed We formed them (the houris and all believing women), and made them virgins chaste, loving companions of the same age [Al Waqe’a 35, 36, 37]
Another example of this kind is that famous Hadeeth which was narrated by Muslim from Abu Huraira that the Messenger of Allah (Prayers and peace be upon him) said, “On the Doomsday, Allah, glory be to Him, will say: O son of Adam! I became ill but you didn’t visit Me! The son of Adam will say: O my Lord! How can I visit You and You are the Lord of all worlds? Allah says: didn’t you know that My slave soand-so became ill but you didn’t visit him? Didn’t you know that if you had visited him, you‟d have found Me there? O son of Adam! I asked you to feed Me but you didn’t feed Me. The son of Adam says: O my Lord! How can I feed You and You are the Lord of the worlds? Allah says: didn’t you know that My slave so-and-so asked you to feed him but you didn’t feed him? Didn’t you know that if you had fed him, you would have found its reward with Me? O son of Adam! I asked you to quench My thirst but you didn’t give Me water. The son of Adam says: O my Lord! How can I give You water and You are the Lord of the worlds? Allah says: didn’t you know that My slave so-and-so asked you for water but you didn’t give him? Didn’t you know that if you had quenched his thirst, you would have found its reward with Me?” (4)
Of course, if we take such terms in their literal meanings, we will go astray and be misled becuase Almighty Allah doesn’t become ill, or become hungry or thirsty, glory be to Him.
Sometimes, such utterances have an apparent meaning and a hidden meaning. The speaker intends the hidden meaning to motivate the listener to do something important. Once, Abu Huraira, may Allah be pleased with him, went to the market and said to the people there: are you here and the heritage of the Messenger of Allah (Prayers and peace be upon him) is distributed in the mosque? They went to the mosque then, came back and said: we found no heritage. He said: what did you find? They said: we found some people reciting the Quran. He said: this is the heritage of the Messenger of Allah (Prayers and peace be upon him). (5)
In brief, Almighty Allah bestows His love upon some of His sincere slaves and inspires them to meditate on Him. As a result, they are overcome by such a great passion to Him and long for His Attendance. Then, they find themselves in a state, called “Al Fanaa’”, in which they vanish in the Divine Self and see nothing in the universe save Him. Accordingly, they become in a state of intoxication and utter, by His Will, what we call “Shatahat”. So, these Shatahat can never be satanic temptations or raving or hallucination becuase they are inspired to them by Almighty Allah.
Reference : See: Guidelines on Sufism and the Naqshabandi Tariqa (Questions and Answers) by Counselor Dr. Mohammad Najm Addin Al Kordy, Translation: Taha Ibrahim Badr
- Hadeeth no. 120 (1/56)
- The Spiritual Life in Islam" by Dr. Mohammad Mostafa Helmy p. 15
- Hadeeth No. 2747 (4/2104)
- Hadeeth No. 2569 (4/1990)
- "Al Shari'a and Al Tariqa" by Al Kandahlawy p. 189