Question:

assalam.. I became very interested about your Shaykh Nazim,as am interested in sufism, but some allegations against him made me doubt. He is claimed to have said:
“Prayers are not obligatory on the wives. Do not pray and five Sajda a day to start”
for this statement some refute it by saying that it was for new converts . BUT,  I can see no such opinion in any mazhabs of fiqh..also fiqh says that denying prayer to be fard is kufr, and also if at the time of the Prophet , sharia was flexible. Are we allowed to applied it now, such gradual prohibition of alcohol and temporary marriage? No fuqara allowed them,and for the issue of prayer. I  am afraid to agree with a position if not allowed it and also if fatwa of kufr is related…please correct me if am wrong…btw am very impressed by Shaykh Haddad and I attended his lectures.

Answer:

wa `alaykum salam,

You don’t deserve the space on eshaykh for this reply, but since you “are impressed by Shaykh Haddad” then you will enjoy his refutation of your above statement:

The Ahbash states that Shaykh Nazim said:

CHAPTER 10: THE TENTH STATEMENT
“Prayers are not obligatory on the wives; Do not pray.”

First of All, the Shaykh was talking to new Muslims at a specific time and place to a particular situation and certain people, all who are non-Arabic speakers. They have never prayed or made a single sajda for Allah.

However, their love and attraction to the Shaykh and his teachings made those people come and take shahada.

Following the way of the Prophet(s) in teaching the new Muslims in Mecca when Islam was new, (and I would like to remind everyone that those new Muslims were none other than the Sahaba – the best of this nation). So the Rasul (s) used the step by step approach, for the first 13 years in Mecca. Salat was not even prescribed. And even after the salat was prescribed, when the Prophet(s) used to send messengers to other communities, he used to tell them to use step by step approach as mentioned in the Sahih. First – just teach them la ilaha illa Allah Muhammad Rasululah (Notice that it does not teach them even to make a sajda) if they accept then tell them about salat, and so forth.

What Shaykh Nazim was saying five sajda a day to start, he did not say in all his book

“Prayers are not obligatory on the wives; Do not pray.” As you have mis-quoted.

By the way, an average student of Shaykh Nazim al-Haqqani prays an average of 70 rak`ats a day – nafl, voluntarily prayers.

If someone already prays 5 times a day and you tell them 5 sajda is enough, we all agree that this is haram and kufr, but for someone who never prayed or never made a Sajda in his entire life, 5 sajda with wudu’ to start this is a giant step in the right direction on the straight path.

However, let us all remember that there is something essential before salat, and before any other form of `ibadah, and that is the foundation for everything. This is the niyyah– the intention- The purity of intention is required before our salat or zakat or siyam or any other deed, the niyyah is what determines if the action is accepted or not. (hadith innama al `amalu bil niyyat– Deeds are by intentions)

So when we want to understand a certain action done by a Muslim scholar, first we have to check our intention. Are we trying to learn and understand or just to slander and accuse Muslims blindly out of prejudice and envy, and Allah knows what else. I do not know what the Habashis have in their heart, or Samir Kadi who wrote these attacks as representing the AICP.

In Islam, we are allowed and encouraged to have different opinions and to look at our great religion from different point of views, as long as we maintain Muslim Unity and respect other Muslim dignity and not create fitna.

[from the Naqshbandi website]

It would be better for your akhira if instead of seeking to “detect” kufr in the greatest shaykh alive today you made tawba for your own sins.

Taher Siddiqui