Fuad Abda Saif Al.Ademi: A mystic is a holy man who believes in God and does everything to please God [Archives:2000/44/Interview]
October 30 2000
Mr. Mohammad Bin Sallam from Yemen Times interviewed Mr. Fuad Abda Saif Al.Ademi, a 41-year-old Yemeni mystic.
Mr. Fuad Abda Saif Al.Ademi holds a BA degree in political sciences and economy from the university of Sanaa.
Excerpts:
Q: How do you define mysticism? And who are the mystics? A: A Holy man defined mysticism as morals and one who has better morals is more mystical. Another defined it as trying to acquire better morals and leaving bad ones. There are more than one thousand definitions for mysticism, the two chosen above are emphasizing the good morals people should have. Prophet Mohammed, the messenger of mercy stressed this concept strongly. God has given credit to prophet Mohammed in the Holy Quraan for having the best morals and for being the messenger of mercy to people. To conclude, we can say that a mystic is a Holy man who believes in God and does everything to please God. Q: What are levels and conditions in mysticism? A: Mystics follow their own spiritual ways. This way depends on the instructions of the Holy Quraan, the sunna of prophet Mohammed and experience passed to them from previous mystics. Levels are stages a mystic should go through deserting all his worldly needs and desires to prepare himself for the next stage. The first level is Al-tawba (repentance) which qualifies one to the next level, Al-waraa (piety) which qualifies to Al-zuhd (asceticism) level, then Al-mahaba (love), then Al-tawakul (trust in God), then Al-ridah (satisfaction). Every level needs the mystic to fight body desires and to give endlessly and unlimitedly for the mystic to be an obedient worshipper of God. Conditions are those spiritual breezes to nourish the mystics spirits leaving their perfume which make spirits seek immortal life.
Q: Will you tell us about love in mysticism? A: In mysticism, to love is to love God. God has told us in the Holy Quraan that He loves the one who loves Him. This Divine love makes you see a new world of beauty and good and gives you the power to make other people love God. Mysticism, strongly stresses love since it is the source of other virtues. In the Islamic history we have many examples of those who loved God, like the famous Rabiaa Al-Adawiya who loved God strongly and had a lot of followers.
Q: What are the conditions for being a mystic? A: The main condition is to join one of those mystic groups being taught by a sheikh who himself was taught by another sheikh and this chain goes on to prophet Mohammed. The Imam Al-Razi says that the sheikh must be a believer, honest and a good example for his followers. According to one of the holy men, mysticism is a science that explains other sciences but it can not be explained by those sciences. Mysticism can not be read in books, neither can it be taught by the usual academic methods. Even those books written by sheikhs are actually used to motivate meditation which is considered an essential part of mysticism. Imam Abi Hamid Al-Ghazali wrote in his book Al-Mongeth Min Al-Dhilal that mysticism can only be understood through knowledge and the hard work of renouncing all desires of the body, and reaching a stage when the heart is filled with love for God. Q: Tell us about the mystic pledge, its types, and the secret of this pledge. A: Mystic pledge starts with putting the hand of the new member in the hands of the sheikh, then saying various religious sentences a number of times. The new member is ordered give up all bad manners, to watch his words and actions all the time and to set himself a model to the rest. The following mystical rules should be followed by mystical groups members : the least of food the least of sleep the least of talk remembering God all the time The member should see inside himself and rectify his faults, following the teachings of prophet Mohammed. The member is also ordered to read mysticism books to know all about the secrets and the teachings. Q: What are the stages that the mystic should pass through to become a sheikh? A: I spoke about the importance of the sheikh in mysticism, the pledge and the connection between the member and the sheikh. For a member to become a sheikh, he should work very hard to be distinguished among other members, then the sheikh could ask him to run meetings with the new members so that he may be qualified to be a sheikh. Q: Could you tell us about special practices in mysticism and where those practices are performed? A: The Imam Abi Hamid Al-Ghazali wrote a book about mysticism called hyaa Aulum Al-dean. That book contained a lot about mysticism at that time. In the same century Al-sheikh Abdul-Qader Al-jelani started his own school which is considered the actual beginning of mysticism. Then the Imam Ahmed Al-Rifaee, who had many followers, started his own precept of mysticism. Then many people started their own ways of mysticism. Mystics had the honor in the eleventh and twelfth centuries to defend the Arab land against Mongols and crusaders and made those invaders respect Islam. What some say about mysticism and the negativity it represents in the Islamic history is not correct, for the course of history has showed us that Islamic religion was spread in many parts of the world because of the sincere efforts those mystics made. It is also not true that mysticism is against jihad. Al-ameer Abdul Kader Al- Jazaeri, Al-sheikh Omar Al-Mukhtar and Al-Mahdi all led revolutions against France, Italy and Britain and they were all mystics. Q: Would you tell us about the hadrah and mystical songs? A: Mystical songs represent a sign of spiritual mystical performance. All human beings like songs that make them feel in harmony with themselves and they all like the sound that calls them to see the beauty of the creatures created by God. Moslems sang and played on the tambourine when prophet Mohammed entered Al-Madinah. Songs have always been a method of communication with beauty, thats why we see songs having a great role in mysticism. Some people may think that religious song is nothing but heresy. Q: How do mystics know about God? A: The core of knowledge is to know oneself. So one wont be able to know about God unless one knows about oneself which by itself is a long journey to cover. Q: It is said that mysticism has brought heresies to Islam. How do you respond to that? A: I dont call that heresy, I call it mystical creativity. Those who make such accusations do not know anything about mysticism. I wish they would discuss those accusations with mystic sheikhs to find out the truth instead of being stubborn and ignorant. They are always trying to distort the image of others who dont agree with them. Q: As a mystic, could you tell us about your suffering and the harassment of other religious groups? A: Harassment of other groups does exist because of the misleading religious address of scholars of those groups who brainwash their followers and prevent them from realizing the truth. Q: How do you react to those who try to destroy the tombs of the dead mystic sheikhs? A: In all Islamic and Arab countries, those tombs are respected for having been part of our glorious history due to the great role those mystics had played, but some who dont understand that fact and are driven by their fanaticism want to destroy those tombs. They should realize that those tombs are not worshiped but respected for being symbols of our heritage of the great Islamic civilization, and they should always motivate us for a better life. Q: Why do you think mysticism is fought in many Islamic societies? A: This is not true. Q: What does transparency mean in mysticism? A: A mystic always mentions God, and because of that he is able to see what others cant see, he becomes free from all material bonds and his soul becomes like a bird who can see a lot more than we humans can see. That is transparency to mystics. Q: How could a mystic earn his living? A: A mystic could be anything, a teacher, a doctor, an engineer, etc. Q: Tell us about sheikh Ahmed bin Alwan. What is he to you and to mystics in Yemen? A: He is the most famous mystic sheikh in Yemen and he has many followers who follow his teachings. Q: How do you read Alwird Alam wa Alkhas in mysticism? A: Alwird Alam is a collection of verses given to all members of a certain group. Alwird Alkhas is another collection of verses given to those distinguished members. Q: Where is mysticism centered in Yemen? And in which Arab countries, mysticism is found? A: There is no one center for mysticism in Yemen and you can find it in many places. Mystic groups have extensions even outside Yemen and all the different followers of the one method whether inside or outside have spiritual ties that bring them close to each other. Q: Do mystics have special places and mosques where they hold their meetings? And if so, where are those in Yemen? A: Mystics havent taken part in the struggle over mosques with others. But you can find that some scholars preaching some mosques are mystics, those scholars play a great role in teaching religion to people and you can find them in Hadramout, Aden, Hodeidah,Taiz and Albaida. Mystics congregate at four different occasions Almawlid Alnabawi, Alesra wa Almeraj, Half of Shaban night and the twenty seventhday of Ramadan. Q: How do you evaluate the spread of mysticism in Yemen? What are the numbers of mystic groups in Yemen? A: I dont have accurate numbers of the mystics in Yemen. But mysticism has widely spread in Yemen especially after sheikh Ahmed Ibn Alwan published his book about mysticism. Q: How many mystic sheikhs are there in Yemen? And who are they? A: Generally mystic sheikhs do not seek any publicity. But some became popular like sheikh Asad Hamza, sheikh Abdulbari Al Soruri, sheikh Dr. Mohammed abd Alrab Al nadari, sheikh Alhabib Hussein Alhadar and sheikh Alhabib Omar bin Hafeed. Q: What are the most famous methods in Yemen? A: The are: Alshadilia method Alalawia method Alqadiria method Alnaqshabandia method Sheikh Ibn Alwan is the master of all these methods. Q: How do you define jihad? A: God has urged Moslems to fight for God. Q: How do you define Islamic awakening ? A: This will definitely come and it has already started. Q: Do mystics seek to govern? A: No, mystics have the duty to make rulers see and understand better, but not to rule. Q: Do mystics buy weapons? A: No. the weapon a mystic has is mentioning God. Q: Is there a special message that you want for us? A: Work hard to understand life and yourself better and dont brag of what you know, just try to make others see and understand.
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