Ooops I’ve given baya to the wrong shaykh!
This post is about exploring whether we can break or change our baya.Traditionally speaking, it is strongly advised to stick to one spiritual trainer and to not break your initial baya. There have been cases where shaykhs of baraka have been permitted. (This is where murids seek blessings off other noble shaykhs from different spiritual paths.) Yet there have been cases, to put it bluntly of ‘trial and error.’ Changing from shaykh to shaykh or jumping from one spiritual path to another is not a very wise idea at all. If you dig for a well in the sand in one spot but start digging elsewhere too, you will never dig far or reach your aim. Likewise you need to find a path, stick to a shaykh and continue to strive on that single path to reach your goal.
I will shed light on some of the reasons why people feel they need to question their baya:
· I don’t feel a connection with my shaykh- Well then my advice is MAKE a connection! It could be that more commitment is required to strengthen the connection by doing zhikr practises and reading the wird, so the fault may be on the murids part. However if you still don’t feel a connection then some people do suggest that you can give baya elsewhere as the true essence of baya is to gain spiritual guidance and teaching.
· I’ve met another great shaykh whom I wish to give baya to- This is great news but if you really cannot resist, seek permission of your current shaykh (this is compulsory to show adab towards your shaykh) to see if you can give baya of baraka to the other shaykh. This way the baya is not broken and you can benefit from both shaykhs.
· My shaykh is not right-If someone finds that their shaykhs characteristics are questionable (in other words if he is dodgy), it has been suggested that you may seek baya elsewhere.
Essentially it is very important to nourish and maintain your baya in order to attain spiritual closeness with your shaykh. Failure to do this will only result in a lack of spiritual progression that will be mostly on your part. The main aim is to strengthen your faith and commitment in order to reach the ultimate goal- the love of the divine.
Examples of baya questioning discussions:
A very important topic which reflects our mindsets and what is happening today. This all too common nowadays especially amongst the youngsters. When they see a Shaykh who gets praised a lot and people kiss his hands and feet, they rush to do bayah without thinking anything about it.
ReplyDeleteThen, when they hear about the magic flying carpet and summersaults of another Shaykh from some of his mureeds, they want to become mureed. Becoming a mureed is not a joke!
Bayah in my opinion is like a marriage without the possibility of a divorce. When you pledge allegiance to your Shaykh, it’s like exchanging vows " till death do us apart..."
Then again marriage has also become a kind of joke to some people but I don't want to go down that line.
Look at any book of Tasawwuf, you will not find a single great Auliya who has broken baya with his own Shaykh and went after someone else.
A great Auliya of the Asian Sub Continent, Bulleh Shah says in his poetry (rough translation): "This dog goes from door to door and each time he is scorned while if he only remains at the door of his master he would not get scorned"
It is the same with us today, we go from one Shaykh to another and gain benefit from none.
Tareeqa Al Naqshbadeeyah,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment, I have to agree with you there. Alot of shaykhs nowadays are under the spotlight for all the wrong reasons such as, miracles, great healing powers etc. This encourages and somewhat excites people to rush to give baya losing the actual spiritual significance of it. If we did this everytime a 'super shaykh' came along we would be buried under numerous bayas, but will have not made any spiritual significance at all.
Also baya is a deep commitment like marriage as you have mentioned, therefore we need to think very carefully of the 'terms and conditions' of the allegiance before pledging. It is a long term commitment, thus not one to be broken according to our dislikes or likes of a particular shaykh.
I agree that giving a pledge to numerous Shayks is not at all ideal, it seems more fun and games. But what if your Shaykh is in another country (which is the norm), but this person is hard to get hold of, hard to establish and build a relationship with? What if they are taken seriously ill and cannot even discuss with you about your decision on moving tariqas.
ReplyDeleteWhat is one supposed to do then? Live in limbo? Or ignore their Shaykh who is not accesible and move on to another?
Humayra Choudhury,
ReplyDeleteYour comment leads back to a particular case study of mines, The Naqshbandi's. Although Shaykh Nazim resides in Cyprus, he has many appointed successors in different parts of the country such as Shaykh Hisham residing in America. They have been given 'ijaza' special permission to teach and guide and are recognised to be at a high 'maqam.'
There are many ways to get hold of your Shaykh, the main way being through the appointed brothers and sisters who will be experienced in dealing with your queries, by email, text, in person etc. Many of the times they are in direct contact with the shaykh and are to pass on messages to him. Essentially if your shaykh has appointed successors and you have been advised to contact them then you should not go against your shaykhs wishes. Now if your shaykh has no appointed people (which is unlikely) then that is a whole new ball game in itself!
No one lives in Limbo, a murid should strive to obtain a connection through their wird and zikr, surely Allah is watching and will reward you for your patience.
Fana fi shaykh is one of the first stages in a mureeds life after mureed.
ReplyDeleteThe importance of giving bayah to a sheikh that you have a bond to is very important! Without being sure you cant achieve spiritual attainment.
Fana fi sheik is being one with your sheikh so how can you be one if you do not have a bond.
Some people can just be naive and give mureed to a sheikh because he has 100s of followers others can choose someone else because hes intellectual.
But can you really have the love for someone your meeting for the first time?
Bublu Jublu,
DeleteYou have reminded us of the importance of maintaining a strong bond with the shaykh especially when it invovles something as deep as fana fi shaykh. Fana fi shaykh is total anihiliation of the shaykh and this cannot be achieved if murids are wondering from one shaykhs door to the other. Thus that initial bond with the shaykh is crucial and key to such spiritual experiences.