Question:
Assalamoalakum Ya sheikh.
I am mureed of 1 sheikh after some time i got another sheikh i become the student talib of another sheikh i m doing Muraqaba from another Sheikh to whom i m talib for him under his supervision is it necesary to inform 1st one.
Answer:
This question has been asked many times lately by many people. It contains two serious errors in aqeeda about this Way. First of all if you have baya` as mureed to a Shaykh you cannot just go willy-nilly and take another shaykh without the first Shaykh’s permission (and preferably his order). Second if you believe your Shaykh does not know you have made this error, your belief in him is sorely lacking.
وَقُلِ اعْمَلُواْ فَسَيَرَى اللّهُ عَمَلَكُمْ وَرَسُولُهُ وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَسَتُرَدُّونَ إِلَى عَالِمِ الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ فَيُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ
{And say (unto them): Act! Allah will behold your actions, and (so will) His messenger and the believers, and ye will be brought back to the Knower of the invisible and the visible, and He will tell you what ye used to do.} (Surat at-Tawba, 9:105)
Many things that apply in fiqh and hadith maybe inverted in Tasawwuf. While having multiple shaykhs is considered a benefit in the study of fiqh and in hadith, this is not necessarily the case in Tasawwuf. The Shaykh in fiqh and hadith is a transmitter of nusus, texts, while the Shaykh in Tasawwuf is the king of your heart.
and Allah knows best.
Taher Siddiqui
