Pseudo-Sufi Paths

 بِسۡمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِیۡمِ

In the Name of Allah, the Rahman, the Merciful

Salutations and Peace upon You, Apostle of Allah

In the world of Sufism, each Tariqa or Sufi path is a Silsila that is necessarily traced back to the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. With the exception of the Naqshbandi chain, which terminates in the Prophet, peace be upon him, via Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, the chains of all other Sufi orders reach the Prophet, peace be upon him, via Ali al-Murtada, may Allah honor his face. Today, there are four principal and valid Sufi orders, namely, the Naqshbandi, Qadiri, Chishti and Suhruwardi orders. Other valid and orthodox Sufi orders are the Rifa’i, Shadhili and Kubrawi orders.

Sunni Muslims should beware of the many heretical, antinomian and pseudo-Sufi cults, such as the Bektashis, Nurbakhshis, Warisis, Madaris and others. These fake Sufi orders are either non-Sunni, lack a chain back to the Prophet, peace be upon him, or are filled with misguided teachings and practices, especially antinomian tendencies. It is crucial that when a Muslim pledges bay’a to a Sufi shaikh or murshid that he be someone that is a Sunni with the correct creed, a person of knowledge and piety—observing the laws of the Shari’a and the practices of the Sunna—and that his silsila is recognized within al-Sunna wal-Jama’a.

One of the fake Sufi orders that has appeared is the so-called Idrisi path. This group was founded by a certain Moroccan named Ahmad bin Idris al-Fasi (1760-1837). This pseudo-Sufi order does not have a valid silsila that goes back to the Prophet, peace be upon him. It is in fact a reformist current that has sought to pull the Muslims away from traditional and mainstream Sufism toward the direction of Wahhabism and Salafism. This order was introduced to Pakistan by a certain Shaikh Amin of Multan. He died recently. This individual issued some controversial statements and was generally Deobandi in orientation. Allama Turab al-Haq al-Qadiri, may Allah have mercy on him, issued a fatwa against Shaikh Amin and his Amini suborder of the Idrisi order, warning the people from becoming his disciples. Ahmad bin Idris al-Fasi directly influenced other problematic individuals and pseudo-Sufi orders, such as Muhammad Uthman al-Mirghani (1793-1852), founder of the Khatmi order in Sudan, Muhammad bin Ali al-Sanusi (1787-1859), founder of the Sanusi order that spread in North Africa and played an outsized role in Libya’s struggle for independence from fascist Italy under Umar al-Mukhtar, his [Ahmad bin Idris al-Fasi] nephew Sayyid Muhammad Salih (1854-1919), eponymous founder of the Salihi order, adapted by the “Mad Mulla” of Somalia.