Ruhul Adab
Commentary of Imam Hassan Cisse
42. Salatul Fatih- The strongest remover of sins
The Shaykh mentions the different acts of worship that are effective in removing sins. He advises that the faithful believers should persist in removing their sins and that the strongest of these is the recitation of “Salatul Fatihi”; a particular formula of invoking blessings on the Noble Prophet ﷺ.
The critics of Sufism, and particularly the critics of the Tijâniyya Order, have heavily criticized this particular formula because of the claim that the formula is divinely inspired and not based on a mental construction like most other formulas. To understand the position of inspiration in Islam, we start by looking at the statement of Allah in the Qur’an 42:51 “And it is not for any human being that Allah should speak to him except by revelation or from behind a partition or that He sends a messenger to reveal, by His permission, what He wills. Indeed, He is Most High and Wise”. The popularly accepted English translation of the Holy Qur’an makes a comment on the above ayat in commentary No. 4598 thus: “God is Most High, Most wise. Man, in spite of his high destiny, is often the lowest of the low. Yet God, out of His infinite Mercy and Grace, has bestowed His Revelation on man. How does it come about? Three ways are mentioned:
- Wahyun (Inspiration)
- From behind a veil (Kashfu)
- By the sending of a Messenger
Wahyun or Inspiration is interpreted as being of two kinds; (1) a suggestion thrown by Allah into the heart or mind of man, by which he understands the substance of the message, whether it is a command or prohibition, or an explanation of a great truth; and (2) Verbal or literal inspiration by which the actual words of God are conveyed in human language. Orthodox opinion admits the existence of both kinds, although the latter (“recited”, Matlu) is held to be of a superior degree, only vouchsafed to the greater Prophets. While the former (“other than recited”, ghair matlu) may be given not only to greater Prophets, BUT ALSO TO OTHER MEN OF SPIRITUAL INSIGHT WHO HAVE NOT ATTAINED THE DEGREE OF PROPHETHOOD. If we accept the theory of verbal inspiration, it would also cover the messages brought by the angel Gabriel AS.
The translator Yusuf Ali clarified further in commentaries 4599 and 4600 thus: “4599- Behind a veil: not of course, a material veil (or screen or purdah), but the mystic veil of light (or 70,000 veils of light). 4600 – Messenger: Rasool, the angel Gabriel AS, through whom the revelations were given to the Holy Prophet SAW. These spiritual visions, conveying the message of Revelation, are the basis of the Qur’an”. From the above commentary of the Qur’an by an internationally accepted translation, we conclude that:
a. Wahyun – inspiration, other than recited (ghairi matlu), can be received by men of spiritual insight who have not attained Prophethood. Allah says in the Qur’an 2:282 “Fear Allah and Allah shall teach you.” Also, in the Qur’an 96:5 “He (Allah) taught man that which he knew not”.
To be continued in sha Allah…
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