Question
assalaam o alaykum
My question is that the Sufis claim that they have miracles and they are allowed to hear people after their death. Some people say that even Prophet Muhammad (sws) can hear us. So my question is that does Allāh treat Prophet and Sufis at the same level? What Allāh has allowed for Prophet Muhammad (sws) to do, is that allowed for the Sufis or the pious?
Answer
Wa aklaykum assalaam,
First, being able to do extraordinary things has nothing to do with being on the right path. Miracles of the Messengers of God were their ultimate tool to convince people about the truth of their message. This tool was used only after all the possible reasoning and preaching had exhausted and proved useless. Denying a Messenger of God after seeing his miracle in principle resulted in receiving God’s punishment in this life.
The Qur’ān gives us the stories of many Prophets and Messengers. It however does not inform us of any other types of people in or near the level of Prophets who would have the same function as Prophets. If we supposed to refer to Sufis as guides beside the Qur’ān then the Qur’ān (which is the ultimate book of guidance) for sure would have advised us about it. You need to note that some of the things some Sufis and their followers claim they can do were not even possible for Prophets of God, including hearing people while being dead.
There is of course always good to have teachers and mentors when it comes to walking in the path of God, however a good and genuine teacher or mentor is the one that is strictly following the Qur’ān and the Sharī’ah of Islam and does not introduce anything new and baseless into the corpus of the religion of God. Such people are usually also very humble and do not allow themselves or their associates to do any marketing job for them. Their qualities become naturally evident from their obedience to God and their knowledge of religion.
Regards,
Answered by: Farhad Shafti
Date: 2015-01-17
