Question:
Assalamu’alaykum... Staff..
What do you say about a person who believe what a mursyid said, but his heart is not connected to the mursyid? Can he be called a mureed or just a believer of what the mursyid conveys?
Thank you for your attention
Answer:
wa `alaykum salam,
`Alamat al-mu’min as-sidq, the sign of being a believer is to testify to the truth of what someone says. Anyone who listens to the teachings of the Shaykh and finds attraction to him are lovers of the Shaykh.
Mawlana Shaykh Hisham teaches that in fact most who claim or believe that they are murids of Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Nazim al-Haqqani are mostly self-aggrandizing such a title to themselves. In fact, most of us are in the station of muhibb, one who loves the Shaykh, because a murid in the Naqshband Way is a very high level; it means someone who attained perfect character and his inner realities have been opened.
Shaykh Hisham says:
There are four levels in Tariqah: Muhibb, mubtadi`, musta’id and murid. Lover, beginner, ready and disciple. They say the level of the Spiritual Guide of Purification, Murshid at-Tasfiyyah is still a beginner, mubtadi`.
The level of murid is the beginning of the level of the Murshid at-Tarbiyyah, the Guide of Upbringing and Teaching.
So consider it sufficient for ourselves if Mawlana Shaykh will accept us to be lovers at his door, muhibbeen, because to be higher than that level entails grave responsibility and complete security from Shaytan.
W ‘Allahu `alam,
Taher Siddiqui
