M6:2066 — کو ره پیغامبری و اصحاب او / کو نماز و سبحه و آداب او

Translation: Where is the path of prophethood and its companions? / Where is its prayer, rosary, and manners? Meaning: This verse rhetorically questions, with a tone of profound dismay, the disappearance and neglect of the prophetic path, its followers, and the foundational religious practices and etiquette.

This verse, uttered in the story of the Sheikh's wife and his disciple, is, in fact, a direct reflection of Mowlana's own stance and words. Here, Mowlana, with a decisive and unambiguous tone, critiques a specific group of Sufis known as the ibāḥī-mashrab (permissivists). These individuals believed that by attaining high spiritual stations in gnosis, they became exempt from the constraints of sharīʿat (divine law) and fiqhī rulings, claiming that halal and haram no longer applied to them. This viewpoint, which Mowlana and, before him, Ghazali vehemently opposed, essentially led to ethical and religious antinomianism.

Mowlana's emphasis on "Where is the path of prophethood and its companions?" and "Where is its prayer, rosary, and manners?" is a rhetorical question steeped in rebuke. He asks where these most fundamental pillars of faith and spiritual path—namely, the exemplary conduct of prophets and their followers, as well as the devotions and manners stemming from sharīʿat—have gone. How can one claim spiritual union and knowledge while abandoning the prophetic and legal foundations?

It is crucial to understand that this ibāḥī tendency differs from the Malāmatīyya (blame-seekers). The Malāmatīyya, to whom figures like Hafez are often associated, intentionally performed acts that appeared unsavory to the public. Their aim was to distance their ego from public praise and dismantle their self-adoration. They knew and were committed to the rules of sharīʿat, but outwardly acted against them for the sake of ego-dissolution. The ibāḥīs, however, fundamentally believed that sharīʿat itself had been lifted from them. This distinction lies at the core of Mowlana's and Ghazali's opposition to ibāḥī practices.

Mowlana, himself a standard-bearer of love and self-effacement, by no means accepts the abandonment of sharīʿat and its associated ādāb (manners/etiquette). He believes that while the spiritual path (ṭarīqat) and ultimate truth (ḥaqīqat) are deeper than mere appearances, sharīʿat functions like a ship that safely carries the seeker through the sea of the spiritual journey. This verse serves as Mowlana's warning to those who, under the guise of spirituality, shirk their religious and ethical responsibilities. In this critique, he appears as a vigilant guardian of sharīʿat, openly lamenting the loss of the prophetic way.

Key takeaways

• Mowlana explicitly opposes antinomian Sufis who negated sharīʿat (divine law).
• The absence of the 'prophetic path' and religious 'manners' is a sign of spiritual deviation.
• This verse emphasizes the importance of upholding the outward forms of sharīʿat, even at the height of mystical journey.
• Mowlana distinguishes between Malāmatīyya (who intentionally defied outward norms for ego-purification) and ibāḥīs (who altogether dismissed sharīʿat).
• Adherence to religious etiquette is an inseparable component of the true spiritual path.