Why Tasawwuf Is Needed?

The outward actions are already written in books in the form of Fiqh, and one should learn them from anyone and act on them. Their explanation can be taken from any scholar, but shaping one's inner self according to the Shariah is not easy. Take prayer, for example. Excellent books have been written on its obligatory acts (fara'id), required acts (wajibat), Sunnah acts and recommended acts (mustahabbat). By studying any one of these books, you will learn the rulings of prayer, and you can easily learn to pray from anyone who has learned to pray well, because everything in it can be seen, so correcting it is not difficult.

But if someone lacks khashiyyah (the fear of Allah) and ikhlas (sincerity) in their prayer, developing them is not an easy task. This is something you can learn neither by reading a book, nor by listening to or watching someone. The Holy Qur'an says:

ان الصلوۃ تنہیٰ عن الفحشا و المنکر

Surely Salāh (prayers) restrains one from shameful and evil acts.

Yet it is commonly seen that people commit indecent and wrong acts despite praying, even though their outward prayer is perfectly correct. The reason is that the sincerity and khushu required in prayer are missing. When the inner state is set right along with the outward prayer, the effects of our deeds also begin to show. It was precisely to set the inner states right that a separate, formal discipline became necessary.

And since these things are a proper part of the religion, Allah ﷻ did not leave us without guidance here either. Like all the Prophets, purifying his Ummah (tazkiyah) was among the official duties of the Prophet ﷺ. Tazkiyah means exactly this: protecting yourself from the evil of the nafs (the ego). The Prophet ﷺ fulfilled his duties perfectly, as described in the Qur'an, and this blessed verse points to it:

کما اَرْسَلْنَا فیکم رَسُوۡلًا منکم یَتْلُوۡا عَلَیۡكُمْ اٰیٰتِنَا وَیُزَکِّیۡكُمْ وَیُعَلِّمُكُمُ الْکِتٰبَ وَالْحِكْمَۃَ وَیُعَلِّمُكُمۡ مَّا لَمْ تَكُوۡنُوۡا تَعْلَمُوۡنَ۔

As also We have sent in your midst a messenger from among you, who recites to you Our verses, and purifies you, and teaches you the Book and the wisdom, and teaches you what you did not know. (Surah Al-Baqarah, 151)

Here it is said about the Prophet ﷺ that he taught his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) with the recitation of the verses of the Qur'an, created in their hearts a devotion to Allah alone (للہیت), enriched them with the teaching of the Book and the Sunnah, and acquainted them with countless kinds of knowledge that they did not know before.

Among these, the first is teaching the recitation of the Qur'an, a responsibility later taken up by the Qur'an reciters (qurra). Next is teaching devotion to Allah (lillahiyyat), which the experts of Tasawwuf took on; and alongside it is teaching the Book and the Sunnah, a responsibility taken up by the scholars of the Ummah.

Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was sent with blessings and was given the Qur'an, which completed all religions. Acting on the other scriptures, whose protection had not been promised, was declared abrogated; the Qur'an was declared the source of guidance, and people were asked to act on it. The Prophet ﷺ acted on it himself and also prepared his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) to act on it. During the times of the Prophet ﷺ, the Companions and the Tabi'in (the generation after the Companions), all these matters took the shape of separate fields.

Just like the chains (silsilahs) of Qur'an recitation and of narrating or hearing hadith, chains of tazkiyah also began, which are commonly known as Tasawwuf. In different eras it has also been called Ihsan, Suluk and Tazkiyah, but whatever the name, the work is following the Shariah, since that is what we were created for; and the aim of Tasawwuf is simply that all of this is done for Allah ﷻ alone.