Daily Times

There is a classic Sufi tale about a man searching for something on his lawn. Another man was walking by and asked him what it was that he sought. With his head in the grass, the man replied “My keys.” The Good Samaritan asked where he had dropped the keys. The man replied, “I dropped them in my bedroom.”  Naturally, this confused the passer-by.  Why isn’t he looking inside then, he wondered. The man explained, “Because there is more light outside.”

The moral of the story is that people have a general inclination to seek enlightenment from easily accessible or exotic sources. Compared to them, rudimentary Islam may seem demanding or less appealing but like the light in the lawn, it’s often a dead end. In Pakistan, there is nothing misdirecting believers more than illegitimate Pirs.

Pirs are usually self-appointed, self-elevated and self-regulated holy men. They validate their existence under ‘Sufi’ traditions set by bygone saints. They often claim to be mystics and go through great pains to appear so. They convince their audience that they are the path to enlightenment and the solution to their problems.

However, all Pirs are not the same. Some are immensely pious people who offer emotional support and spiritual strength to the improvised that cannot afford much else. Their networks sometimes act as unofficial NGO’s offering essential services ranging from schooling to food. They can bring an element of stability to a community and often play the role of an arbitrator to prevent disputes. Unfortunately, such Pirs are becoming rare. The concept has changed and a new kind of Pir has emerged. Centuries old Sufi literature warned of such people it called ‘Mustawifs’ or ‘pretenders.’

Before we continue we should clear three major misconceptions. One, all Pirs are not Sufis. One cannot simply call himself a Sufi any more than one can call himself a doctor. He has to attain knowledge, put it into practice and then walk the path. Historically Sufi initiates were advised to start their journeys under the temporarily supervision of rightly guided teachers respectfully referred to as Pirs, Hazrats, or Shaikhs.

These teachers were meant to empower their students to find God within themselves, not position themselves between God and the people. In the past some of these teachers became saints for their contribution to the spread of Islam. Unfortunately today, most Pirs are busy spreading their own message or enhancing their own brand.

The original Pirs taught by example and inspired through their virtues. The characters of most modern-day Pirs require no assessment. The original Pirs despised and advocated against mainstream clergy but ironically today Pirs are the mainstream clergy. If any of the old Sufi saints were alive today, they would undoubtedly be the first to reject most Pirs.

Secondly, Sufis do not make up Sufism any more than astrologers make up the galaxy.

Like the Universe, Sufism is an independent force that is as old as time. It’s existence has nothing to do with its acceptance. It is “the great spiritual current which goes through all religions.”

Sufis as we know them today are but one group of people who attempt to understand the phenomena and their responsibility within it. The idea is that while deciphering this divine construct one will find his purpose, soul, and God. In doing so, one will have transformed himself as if Lead had changed to Gold. Things like Pirs, whirling dances, saints, and poetry are all but single raindrops of a cosmic thunderstorm.

Thirdly, Sufism is not meant to be mainstream. It is designed to be a hidden marvel. It’s adherents and students are meant to pursue it quietly and discretely. The primary reason being that its concepts are too complicated and intangible for the average person to digest, and in the rare case that they are, the person might seem ‘mad.’ He will be in this world, but no longer of this world and therefor not much use to it. That is what old Sufi masters like Rumi and Hafiz meant by the word “drunk” in their poetry. That is also why Allama Iqbal, possibly the most reluctant Sufi in history, cried for Sufis to leave their “monasteries” and contribute something to the real world.

Allama Iqbal admitted that old Sufis were once a source of great inspiration,“but the unworthy occupants of spiritual seats have destroyed its image and spoiled its usefulness.” Perhaps the biggest disservice pretenders are doing to religion is putting doubt in people where faith used to be.

They further undermine the efforts of authentic holy men, if there are any left. With that said we would do well to distinguish between religion and pretenders that take advantage of religion, so we can reject the latter without having to reject the former.

The writer is the great-grandson of Pir Khwaja Abdul Khaliq Khan and Pir Haji Sarfraz Mohammad Khan

Published in Daily Times, March 16^th 2018.