Beyond this, countless other rules appear in the manuals of Sufi conduct that set out the disciple’s etiquette toward his shaykh. Their essence is nothing but the “worship of the individual,” the humiliation of the Muslim, and the shackling of his mind—even when that mind is engaged in commanding right or forbidding wrong.

These are only some of the calamities into which Sufi practice has descended—calamities that existed, in whole or in part, during the time of Ibn Taymiyyah. They fully vindicate that imam in his defense of Islam and in his denunciation of every illusion that might threaten it, however near or distant, so as to block the means and prevent the crime before it occurs.

Despite all this, we have not seen Sufism in our own day grow into anything beneficial for Islam and the Muslims—save, perhaps, a crowd of ignorant shaykhs among whom the sincere have been lost. Instead we find pagan rites of drumming and piping, weeping and disrobing during the remembrance of Allah; then dancing and feasting; then the disgraceful mingling of the sexes; and finally the world of the “ecstatics,” with its alleged spiritual states that no one may question, lest the curse of Allah befall the critic!

We ask Allah—may He be exalted—for well-being in our religion and in our worldly life, for forgiveness of every sin, and for protection from every evil.

All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may blessings and peace be upon our master Muhammad, his family, all his companions, and all who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment.