Yes I am aware of Junaid Al Baghdadi..IMO the best Sufi Shaykh.. I agree with alot of the earlier Sufis..my conflict starts with Al Arabi and pantheism/wahdat ul wujood..I find the separation between man and God crucial to the foundations of my faith.
Wahdat al wujud is widely taken out of context, it is by (certain) Muslims and non-Muslims presented as if it is the fundamental teaching Sufism is all about nowadays. Wahdat al wujud is redefined by Naqshbandi-mujaddadis as wahdat as-shuhud. Which is explained as "seeing Allahs Oneness in all His Creation and nothing else except that". Just as someone totally fond of a certain painter will directly recognize through his paintings that it "his favorite painter who made that one"...they aim to come to a point where they only see Allah in each o his creation. A type of awareness.
Naqshbandi Mujaddadis are very orthodox, no pictures for example, no mixing between sexes at all, no music, no loud group dhikr (only silent group dhikr) etc etc. They are mainly Pakistani in origin but a presentative and very inspirational speaker of them lives in Canada, Shaykh Abdul Sattar Hussein. Shaykh Zulfikar is the shaykh of the tariqah. Here you can find very good English lectures of them and they also explain principles of their tariqah:
Sacred Learning
Remember that each tariqah has its own approach and principles.
Most tariqahs are not international in their outlook and therefore not known to foreigners. Chechnya is full of Qadiris but despite of videos online of them doing dhikr they are not like the Haqqanis international in their approach. Globalisation did not reach them (yet), so to say.
I am aware of how Sufism has influenced Islamic civilization throughout history..both good and bad.
The trouble is that when looking up Sufism..I havent managed to find a middle ground..On one side it comes across as the pure essence of Islam on the other end of the spectrum its painted as a web of innovations.
Yes, Sufism like all "groupy things" centered around a leader can be abused to become a "cult like" thing. But if you have explored different Muslim groups nowadays that goes for all of the groups, the possibility to turn into a cult or have some of its characteristics.
Regarding innovations is very simple, tariqahs stick (or should) to a madhab in fiqh issues. And I know that three of the four madhabs accept the divide between a good and bad innovation. If your sheikh gives you adkar (prayers) or a wird to recite daily after having prayed the early morning prayer there is nothing wrong with it according to the madhabs..as long as you (or the sheikh) does not mention it to be religiously wajib (obligatory). Salafis would argue its an innovation because the prophet did not do it and therefore impermissible. But this reasoning according to te majority of the madhabs insufficient.
I am aware that Junaid Baghdadi rejected anything that didnt agree with the Quran and Sunnah and was a well versed scholar of his time acknowledged by the likes of Ibn Taymiyah..
Are there any Tareeqahs present today that follow the Quran and Sunnah and reject concepts that dont agree with them? If so please refer me to them..I am more than interested.
Junayd was a Hanbali in fiqh. Quran and Sunnah is traditionally interpreted bu the four Sunni madhabs. The Shafiis and early Shaffiis permitted under cirumstances group dhikr, a practice many (but not all!) Sufis do. If this is what you mean you should get into the legal reasoning of this madhab for permitting it. It all comes back to the question whether there is a good innovation (linguistically) or not.
As per what I find troubling about the above video..is the claim that he is allowed to sin and the pens have been lifted..due to his high level of prestige..I dont think any man can claim that..
In contrast..
Junaid Baghdadi kept reciting the Quran on his deathbed..His student asked him why he was doing so..to which he replied.."No one is more in need of this than I" an attitude I would expect from a genuine Wali.
After having taken a quick look at the video I agree a 100% with you.
