I want to accompany my mother during her pilgrimage. Will it be necessary for me to perform the pilgrimage myself, or can I travel with her in my ordinary clothes, as I have already done my pilgrimage?
You may choose to accompany your mother without offering the pilgrimage yourself. However, it is infinitely better for you to offer the pilgrimage as this would count as a Sunnah pilgrimage. You will be accompanying your mother throughout, attending at all places, and taking her to do all her rituals. You may just as well fulfill the same duties at the same time. If your mother requires extra care and you will be better able to look after her if you do not do the pilgrimage, you are better advised not to do the pilgrimage.
We have certain people in our country having the title of Pir. These Pirs have their followers in various areas. They visit these followers in turn, once every few months, when they are given a grand reception. Royal feasts are given in their honor and royal gifts are offered to them, as well as royal entertainment follows. They move from one place to another by turn, doing nothing except enjoy their time and pick up what they are given. They do not help anyone in distress nor do they perform any religious activity. Nevertheless, they are looked upon with high esteem and considered religious advisors. Indeed some people think that without a Pir no one can go to heaven. It is no exaggeration to say that they are regarded next to Allah.
My grandfather gave a vast area of land to his Pir, who later died. The income of the land is enjoyed by that Pir’s son and family, who do nothing except to order their followers to do all the necessary work and bring them the income collected from selling the produce of the land. Some of our relatives have become very poor. I asked the new Pir to help or to return the land so that those poor people may cultivate it. He refused. May I ask whether it is permissible to accept this type of gift? What could be our position if we forcibly take back our land? May I also ask what is the real position of a Pir and what is his function? Is it permissible to stop him from coming to our area?
This is indeed a story that reflects sadly on the condition of Muslim communities in various parts of the world. A few weeks ago I commented on a letter, which asked a question not dissimilar to this one. I gave it the title “The worship of tombs and graves. I wanted to jolt the minds of my readers to face up to the reality that in some parts of the Muslim world, ignorance has taken such a grip on the minds of people that they observe practices which are tantamount to worshipping graves. Here we have a similar story, but the object of worship in this case is a human being.
Humanity has known the worship of human beings in ancient times. The Pharaohs of Egypt and emperors of Rome were worshipped like gods. Kings of Europe in the middle ages enjoyed what was termed as “divine right.” In modern times, most dictators assume the role of gods in everything except name. I am afraid your Pirs are but another type of false gods. What should be done with them is to challenge their authority and to call on them to prove their claims. Once challenged, they will flee in ignominy.
But let me tell you one thing. The fault lies with the people who afford to them the type of respect they have come to enjoy. You yourself say that some people think that without their goodwill no one can go to heaven. That is not only absurd it also speaks volumes for the ignorance of peoples who think that some of their numbers have such an authority. This is, however, not different from the story of a dictator who subjugates the people to his will. If they were unwilling to be subjugated, he could not force them. If they do not bow their backs for him to ride, he would not have treated them like animals. Unfortunately, the difference is that once a dictator has fallen, everyone will curse him. His pictures will be burnt and he may be dug out of his grave, like Stalin was. Your Pirs, however, pass on their privileges to their sons and then tyranny is perpetuated.
You say that these Pirs would not perform any religious activity and they do not help anyone in distress. I can understand the latter, because they can help no one. But how do you expect them to perform any religious activity, when they themselves are not religious? Had they had any faith in God, they would have renounced their position. They themselves know that their pretences are false. It takes a Pir of great faith to declare that he is no more than a normal human being that is in need of God’s forgiveness. When the privileges and comforts of a Pir are passed on from father to son, neither of which may have any real knowledge of Islam, this sad state of affairs will only continue.
Islam has taken great care not to allow any class of people to interpose between God and His servants. In Islam, there is no religious hierarchy, no priesthood, and no clerical order. We certainly have scholars who are distinguished by their knowledge of Islam. You go to a scholar with a problem and ask for a religious ruling and he gives you that. Sometimes, he will tell you that he cannot give you a ready judgement and that he will have to look into the problem and refer to his books. Even after he has done that, he may tell you that he cannot give you an absolute judgement. The problem may be a new one and he needs to discuss it with other learned scholars. This type of scholar is greatly different from a clergyman who may have little knowledge, yet he performs deeds, which he may not. In the Middle Ages, priests in Europe claimed to have the authority to ensure salvation of their folk. There is nothing of this sort in Islam. Every individual stands alone on the Day of Judgement in front of God. He will be questioned about his actions and he will go to heaven by God’s grace and not by his good deeds. Others can be of no benefit to him. In this life, we can address directly and pray Him to grant us our wishes, whatever they are. No intermediary stands between any human being and God in this life. No intercession is admitted in the Hereafter except by Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.
You ask what is a Pir? My frank and clear answer is that he is an imposter. He is a cheat who lives on the hard earnings of others, without offering them anything in return. If you want to know what metal he is made of, then challenge him to do something for himself or for the community. He will run away from that challenge. However, it may be unwise to throw such a challenge to him in the midst of a community who tends to accept his authority blindly. Therefore, you need to tread carefully. Perhaps, next time he visits your area, try to show the people that he is useless to them. You may consider asking him to help the poor in your area. Let him refuse something which, every one would want him to do. If he does not pray with the congregation, since many of these people do not pray, then ask him in front of a group of open-minded people whether he is exempt from prayer. If he says so, then tell him that the Prophet, peace be upon him, himself was not exempt from it. If he says that he prays alone, at night, or that Pirs have their special prayers, then tell him that the Prophet, peace be upon him, prayed in the fashion we pray. Indeed, we have learned our prayers from the Prophet, peace be upon him. Try to use your wisdom to push him into a defensive corner. He will not like you for that, but you will be doing your community a great service. You will open their eyes to the fact that he is a cheat. If you can tear his mantle, then do not hesitate to do so. He himself will not come to your area again.
As I say, you have to prepare the grounds for that. Perhaps you should educate a group of young people and explain to them the nature of our great Islamic faith. Recite to them the Qur’anic verse which establishes this great and unique relationship between an individual human being and God.
“When My servants ask you about Me, I am near to them. I answer the prayer of anyone who prays Me. Let them, therefore, respond positively to Me and believe in Me so that they may be rightly guided.” [2: 186]
When people understand this relationship, they know that they do not need to waste their money under the feast of an imposter. When he comes again, for a royal feast, they can give him a piece of their mind.
As for the piece of land your father gave to his Pir, I am afraid there is little you can do about that. Your grandfather dispensed with his property in the way he thought fit. He was gravely mistaken, no doubt. But this is now past. You cannot put a legitimate claim to it. It is unfortunate that your relatives are poor and they would have done well had they inherited the land from your grandfather but you cannot cry over spilled milk. I am afraid you cannot take the land back from the new Pir forcibly. A gift is one legitimate way of taking what belongs to others. A gift must be made at one’s own initiative without pressure. If you can prove that your grandfather gifted the land under pressure, then you may press your claim to it. If not, then you cannot do anything about the situation. The new Pir inherited it from his father, who in all probability acquired it in a legitimate way, since it was a free gift.
Now that you know the true nature of this situation, you may wish to make it your mission in life to expose the reality of these Pirs and educate your people to be true Muslims and to worship God alone. ~
What are your comments on higher sense of perception, intuition, telepathy, etc., all of which claim the use of mental powers through meditation and concentration to attach some super powers? What is the Islamic view on a person who attains such powers?
Some people who have been well known to be religious have been able to accomplish certain actions, which lay normally beyond the ability of a human being. Such actions of a miraculous nature happen to or through them. If something of this sort happens to a person, it is an honor given to him by God.
It is important in this context to realize that these things “happen” to those people. They do not “make” them happen. It is not by their will that they are able to accomplish such actions. They simply happen because God wills them to happen.
In other words, there is no power to be attained or a skill to be developed. When God decides to honor one of His servants He does so at the time and in the fashion He chooses. If you decide to give someone a present, you choose the present and the time when you give it.
If anyone claims to have such powers, which enable him tell the events of the future or to know what is happening in a distant place, then he is a liar. The Prophet, peace be upon him, states very clearly that no one can tell the events of our future life, with even slightest degree of certainly, no matter what means and methods he uses. God has chosen to withhold that knowledge from man, and what He has withheld remains so. Hence any claim of knowing the future is false, regardless of who makes it. It also follows that to seek help of any such people cannot be condoned or accepted by Islam.