At the core of many or most deviant man-made beliefs, (or sects or religions), is the ideology of “spirituality”. The concept here is that the goal of the human experience on earth is to increase your spirituality so that you can become more pure, and by doing that you will unlock special blessings (money, power, wisdom, supernatural abilities). Examples of these ideologies are sufis and irfanis within Islam. Outside of Islam we see the Gnostics, the Kabalaists, the Freemasons, the Hindus, and other hermetic religions.
I argue that this ideology does not come from God, but comes from the devil. This ideology is ignorance and leads to evil in many forms.
Firstly, is purity bad? No, Allah clearly wishes purity for his favored humans (prophets, family of prophets, and all humans).
Secondly, is spirituality bad? How could raising your awareness of God and his blessings and powers be bad in and of itself? Spirituality is a broad term. Let’s define it for the purposes of this article in the most apologetic way, let’s steel-man the definition. Let’s be generous and say spirituality just means someone who tries to please God, become conscious of God, and tries to align his soul with God.
So what’s the problem? In fact, these things are good, you can never truely worship God, unless your soul is aligned with God and strives for God. Well the problem is that this deviant religion takes this noble goal, this accurate goal, and it tries to hijack it.
The Quran speaks of spirituality in the following manner:
الَّذِي خَلَقَ الْمَوْتَ وَالْحَيَاةَ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْغَفُورُ
[He] who created death and life to test you [as to] which of you is best in deed – and He is the Exalted in Might, the Forgiving – [67:2]
Here we are told that Allah created life and death to test us humans, as to who is the best in deeds. But a mystic might say, how do I perform the best deeds? I need to be conscious of God to do that. That is true and I agree. However, Allah’s method of bringing us aligned with Him, is to test us:
وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُم بِشَىْءٍۢ مِّنَ ٱلْخَوْفِ وَٱلْجُوعِ وَنَقْصٍۢ مِّنَ ٱلْأَمْوَٰلِ وَٱلْأَنفُسِ وَٱلثَّمَرَٰتِ ۗ وَبَشِّرِ ٱلصَّـٰبِرِينَ
ٱلَّذِينَ إِذَآ أَصَـٰبَتْهُم مُّصِيبَةٌۭ قَالُوٓا۟ إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّآ إِلَيْهِ رَٰجِعُونَ
أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ صَلَوَٰتٌۭ مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ وَرَحْمَةٌۭ ۖ وَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْمُهْتَدُونَ
[2:155] We will certainly test you with a touch of fear and famine and loss of property, life, and crops. Give good news to those who patiently endure
[2:156] who say, when struck by a disaster, “Surely to Allah we belong and to Him we will ˹all˺ return.”
[2:157] They are the ones who will receive Allah’s blessings and mercy. And it is they who are ˹rightly˺ guided.
From this series of verses, Allah tells us he wants us guided. The mystic’s language can be accurate here, that to be spiritual is in order to be guided. This re-alignment occurs at the will of Allah, who wants to inflict us with tests or punishments, so that we can actually see if in the thick of the fear, will we seek help from Allah and only Allah? Will we act good? Will we still thank Allah even after the calamity has resolved?
The mystic however believes the human can, on his own, assist his nearness to Allah by preparing himself and aligning himself whether the test occurs or not. This is a true goal, and an accurate way of thinking. However, the Quran gives us the methods of how we can do this. The Quran states:
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱذْكُرُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ ذِكْرًۭا كَثِيرًۭا
وَسَبِّحُوهُ بُكْرَةًۭ وَأَصِيلًا
هُوَ ٱلَّذِى يُصَلِّى عَلَيْكُمْ وَمَلَـٰٓئِكَتُهُۥ لِيُخْرِجَكُم مِّنَ ٱلظُّلُمَـٰتِ إِلَى ٱلنُّورِ ۚ وَكَانَ بِٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ رَحِيمًۭا ٤٣
O believers! Always remember Allah often [33:41]
and glorify Him morning and evening [33:42]
He is the One Who showers His blessings upon you—and His angels pray for you—so that He may bring you out of darkness and into light. For He is ever Merciful to the believers.[33:43]
As we see, Allah recommends the remembrance of Allah, and to glorify him in the mornings and evenings, and so that he may bring us out of the dark and into the light. One could argue that he will bring us out the dark and into this light through punishments or tests, so that we can pass them by remembering Allah and purify our souls. Or one can argue that the act of remembering Allah, and praising him, is an exercise in raising our souls in an of itself. Whatever interpretation you want to take, it is valid. Allah gives other methods of being successful spiritually:
Dhikr 13:28, 2:152
Salah 23:1-2, 29:45
Qur’an Reflection 38:29, 47:24
Trust in Allah 65:3
Fasting 2:183
Charity 9:103
Patience 2:153
Gratitude 14:7
Repentance 39:53
Good Company 18:28
Serving Others 76:8-9
Reflecting on Creation 3:190-191
The mystic however looks for novel ways to bring their soul success. Ways that Allah never taught us about. Here are some of the methods:
Repeating “Allah” or “Hu” only Meaningless repetition not prescribed 33:41, 2:152 – Dhikr has full phrases
Dancing / Whirling Imitates pagan or emotional ecstasy rituals 23:2 – Salah with humility
Seeking visions or “oneness” with God Replaces revelation, borders on shirk 5:3, 53:3-4 – Revelation is complete
Asking help from saints / graves Directs du‘a to creation instead of Creator 10:106, 27:80 – Only Allah hears and helps
Secret litanies and formulas Occult-style spirituality 5:3 – Religion already perfected
Fanā’ / merging with Allah Pantheism, blurs Creator–creation boundary 42:11 – “Nothing is like Him”
Musical dhikr gatherings Not practiced by Prophet or companions 31:6 – Speech that misleads from Allah
In this list, there are many super deviant beliefs and practices that are not fully illustrated. I’ve heard to people trying to communicate with the Jinn. I’ve heard of people trying to mix a potion for healing. I’ve heard of all sorts of amulets, incense, and popping metal nails to break the bad spirits.
None of these can be found in the Quran. In fact, the Quran in surah Falaq states:
Say: I seek refuge with the Lord of the Dawn
from the evil of whatever He has created,
and from the evil of the night when it grows dark,
and from the evil of those ˹witches casting spells by˺ blowing onto knots,
and from the evil of an envier when they envy.”
Surah Falaq: 1-5
As we see from the Quran, if you fear these supernatural forces, you only need to proclaim to Allah that you seek his refuge from it, and you’re safe. There is no need for amulets, potions, magic, or anything else.
The Quran gives further clarity on spirituality:
WHAT DOES THE QURAN SAY ON THE SUBJECT OF SPIRITUALITY
Righteousness is not in turning your faces towards the east or the west. Rather, the righteous are those who believe in Allah, the Last Day, the angels, the Books, and the prophets; who give charity out of their cherished wealth to relatives, orphans, the poor, [needy] travellers, beggars, and for freeing captives; who establish prayer, pay alms-tax, and keep the pledges they make; and who are patient in times of suffering, adversity, and in [the heat of] battle. It is they who are true [in faith], and it is they who are mindful [of Allah] – 2:177
In this verse, Allah swt states that turning your face to the east or west (this could mean prayer, it could mean rituals, it could mean military campaigns), is not righteousness. Righteousness is believing in Allah, last day, the angels, the books, and the prophets, and also giving to charity (relatives, orphans, travelers, beggars, free slaves, the poor),and who are patient in times of suffering and adversity and in battle. They are the ones that are righteous. These are the beliefs and actions Allah swt taught us about.
I hope this article gave some clarity as to which forms of spirituality are recommended and sanctioned by Allah, and which forms of spirituality are not taught to us by Allah. This information is given so that you ponder about the words of Allah in the Quran, the goal of Allah in the Quran for us, and the methods recommended by Allah for us. Then you can decide if the methods taught by those other than Allah take you closer or further from Allah’s vision for you.
God bless you all, and may Allah be with you and guide you.
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