Origin Of Sufism With Hasan Basri Rta & Hudhayfa Ibn Al-Yaman Poem by SAKISABRE Saki

Sufism transmitted from person to person
Not from book to reader!
“Qutb al-Qulub” by Abu Talib al-Makki:
It’s a description of Hasan al-Basri that illustrates how the wisdom of Sufism comes from the Sahabas!
Hasan Rta is our Imam:
We pursue his footsteps, follow his path, and seek illumination from his niche!
It is by God’s leave that we have traced this teaching from Imam to Imam all the way back!
He was among the best of the Followers (Tabieen? or Taba Tabieen?) in spirituality!
“He kept the wisdom within for a full 40 years before he ever spoke about it! ”
He had met 70 companions from the Battle of Badr and had seen 300 Companions!
He was born 2 years before the end of the caliphate of Umar ibn al-Khattab, in the year 20/642!
He was born in Medina, and his mother was a handmaid to Umm Salama (Hind bint Abi Umayya, d.c.61/681) , a wife of the Prophet (salallahu alayhi wasalam) !
It is said that she gave him her breast to divert him when he cried, and her breast flowed abundantly for him!
His word was like the word of God’s Messenger (salallahu
alayhi wasalam) !
He saw Uthman ibn Affan and Ali ibn Abi Talib, and whichever of the Ten (Companions who were promised Jannah) survived to his day!
In other words, he saw Companions of the Messenger of God (salallahu alayhi wasalam) from the period of Uthman and from about the year 20 to about the year 90 AH!
Hasan al-Basri was the first of those who set out on this path of knowledge!
He clarified the discourse about it and spoke about its spiritual significance!
He made its lights manifest and pulled back its veil!
He expounded on it in words none of them had ever heard from any of his brothers, so someone asked him, “Abu Sa’id (i.e. Hasan) , you discourse on this knowledge with words we have never heard from anyone but you! From whom did you get this? ”
He replied, “From Hudhayfa ibn al-Yaman.”
It is said: “People said to Hudhayfa ibn al-Yaman, ‘We see you discoursing on this knowledge with words we never heard from any of the Companions of God’s Messenger (salallahu alayhi wasalam) !
So where did you get that? ’
He said, ‘God’s Messenger (salallahu alayhi wasalam) has made it my specialty!
People used to ask him about the good, but I would ask him about evil out of fear that I might fall into it, and I knew that the good would not outdistance me (that good would always be waiting to be done) .”
Once he said, “I knew that one who has no experiential knowledge of evil has none of good either.”
And in another version, “People used to say, ‘Messenger of God (salallahu alayhi wasalam) , what will be the fate of one who does thus and so? ’
They would ask him about morally positive deeds, while I would ask, ‘Messenger of God (salallahu alayhi wasalam) , what does this or that action corrupt? ’
And when he saw that I asked about actions that resulted in calamity, he made this knowledge my specialty.”
Hudhayfa Rta was a specialist in knowledge of hypocrites, unique among the Companions in the intimate understanding of matters of hypocrisy as well as in other aspects of knowledge and the subtleties of profound comprehension and the arcane aspects of faith!
Umar Rta and Uthman Rta and the most prominent Companions of God’s Messenger (salallahu alayhi wasalam) used to ask him concerning the knowledge that was his specialty!
They would ask him about whether there still remained any hypocrites among them whom God had mentioned (in the Quran) and thereby provided information about them!
Then he would inform them about their numbers, but never mentioned their names!
But Umar Rta asked for a disclosure about himself, as to whether Hudhayfa was aware of any tinge of hypocrisy in him, and Hudhayfa cleared him of any doubt!
Umar Rta asked him about the hallmarks of hypocrisy and the scriptural verses dealing with the hypocrite, so Hudhayfa informed him about that to the extent that it was appropriate and permissible for him, begging off when it came to matters on which he was not allowed to impart information and excusing himself for that!
When Umar Rta was called to attend a funeral to perform the ritual prayer for it, he looked around, and if Hudhayfa was in attendance, he would perform the ritual prayer; but if he did not see Hudhayfa, he did not perform the ritual prayer for the funeral!
Hudhayfa was known as the Master of the Secret, and when one of the Companions of God’s Messenger (salallahu alayhi wasalam) asked about knowledge, he would say, ” You are asking me about this while the Master of the Secret is among you? ” –refering to Hudhayfa —Taken from “Knowledge of God in Classical Sufism” section excerpt of Abu Talib al-Makki’s Qutb al-Qulub Part 30. pg.175-177!



(Help taken from Abdul mujib))