so it is not permissible for anyone to imagine that such a person is one of Allah’s friends—especially when his only “proof” is a report of some unveiling he heard from him, or a show of unusual power, such as seeing him point at someone who then dies or collapses. It is well-known that unbelievers and hypocrites, whether idolaters or People of the Book, can also experience satanic unveilings and manipulations, as do fortune-tellers, sorcerers, the devotees of idolatry, and some of the People of the Scripture. Therefore no one may rely on such phenomena alone to claim that a person is a friend of Allah, even if nothing contrary to true friendship with Allah is known about him—so what should be said when there is evidence that flatly contradicts it?
Consider, for instance, someone who does not believe that following the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—is obligatory both inwardly and outwardly; who thinks that he may comply only with the outward law while the inward reality follows a different path; or who believes that Allah’s friends have a road to Him other than the prophets’ road, upon them be peace. Or he may say, “The prophets narrowed the path,” or, “They are merely examples for the masses.” Such a person cannot be deemed a friend of Allah.
If, however, during a lucid interval he shows true faith in Allah and piety, then he possesses Allah’s friendship to the extent of that lucid state. But if, in his lucid moments, he displays unbelief or hypocrisy—or if he was already an unbeliever or hypocrite before insanity befell him—then the unbelief and hypocrisy he committed while sane remain upon him and he will be punished for them; the later insanity does not erase the kufr or nifāq committed while he was of sound mind.
[The innovation of distinguishing oneself by dress and grooming]
Allah’s friends do not set themselves apart from other people by any outward matter that is itself permissible. They do not single themselves out by one type of clothing rather than another when both are lawful, nor by shaving, trimming, or growing their hair or nails when such practices are likewise permissible. As the saying goes:
How many a true saint wears a simple cloak,
and how many a heretic hides beneath a woolen mantle.
Such friends of Allah exist within every stratum of Muhammad’s nation—provided they are free of blatant innovation and open sin. They are found among the memorizers of the Qur’an and the scholars, among those who fight with sword in hand, and among the merchants, craftsmen, and farmers.
Allah, exalted is He, has mentioned these various categories in the community of Muhammad—peace and blessings be upon him—when He said:
“Indeed, your Lord knows that you stand in prayer nearly two-thirds of the night—or half of it, or a third of it—along with a group of those who are with you. Allah measures the night and the day; He knows that you will never keep count of it, so He has turned to you in mercy. Recite, then, whatever is easy of the Qur’an. He knows that some of you will be sick, others travelling through the land seeking Allah’s bounty, and still others fighting in Allah’s path. So recite whatever is easy.” (Qur’an 73:20)
[A closer look at the name “Sufism”]
The early generations used to refer to the people of religion and knowledge as “the reciters,” and this included