"Do not reckon that man, who did not weigh his deeds and conditions with the Book and the Sunnah, and did not accuse his doubts in the book of humans".
Abu Sulaiman Darani's Statement: -
"Sometimes, a point from amongst the Sufis' points crosses my mind. It lies there for many days. I do not accept it until two just witnesses, that is, the Book and the Sunnah testify to it". (That is, I accept it then only).
Hazrat Adham Baikhi's Statement: -
Once the people asked Hazrat Adham Balkhi: "What is the reason that Allah Most High does not accept our invocations"?
"For this reason", he replied, "that you know Allah and also believe
in Him but you do not obey Him. You recognise the Holy Apostle 
but you do not follow him. You read the noble Quran but do not act according
to it. You partake of Allah's bounties but you do not thank Him. You take
Satan to be your enemy but you do not run away from him; on the contrary
you befriend him. You know death to be true but you do not make any provision
for the Hereafter; on the contrary you collect things of the world. You
bury your relatives with your own hands and yet you do not take a lesson
from this. You do not renounce your evil habits and yet find faults with
others. How can then the invocation of such a man be accepted"?
He mostly kept himself to the house. When he was asked the reason for this, he said, "I have adopted this loneliness due to the rulers' tyranny, the destruction of the subjects and the departure of the Sunnah. Because the people who may discriminate between slave and son in establishing the truth, they are tyrants".
The Ascetic Hatim's Statement: -
He says: "The man who claims four things without four qualities is a
liar. The man who claimed love for his Master without piety and abstinence
is a liar, and he who claimed love for Paradise without spending money
is a liar; and he who claimed love for the Holy Prophet
without conforming to his Sunnahs is a liar; and he who claimed love for
progress in ranks without having love for the faqirs and the poor is a
liar."
Shah Abd Al-Ghani Phulpuri's Statement: -
"Unveiling (kashf) and thaumaturgic gifts (karamah), spiritual state, ecstasy and dancing, absorption (istaghraq), flying in the air, walking on water, levitation, etc. have nothing to do with divine pleasure, because these matters are involuntary and man is not legally responsible (mukallaf) for involuntary matters. (Some may posses it - some may not).
Moreover, even anchorites and immoral and sinful pseudo-faqirs also
achieve these qualities. It says in a Hadith that the tortures of the graves
are sometimes unveiled to animals also. The common fly also flies in air;
a straw also swims on water. What have these things to do with worship,
and only that pattern of worship is approved which the Holy Prophet
has taught us.
To subject all movements and pauses, sentiments and states to the Holy
Prophet's
footprint is called true submission and true worship, and this worship
alone is approved worship.
Along with conformance to that sunnah if unveiling and thaumaturgic gifts, ecstasy and absorption, and states also are awarded to any one, they too are laudable due to the blessing of the conformance to the sunnah but they are not the objective. And if some one, even if in a single action, is committed to and slave of any custom and manner of his own invention and innovation rather than sunnah, then despite his qualities of unveiling and thaumaturgic gifts, dancing and absorption, he is unapprovable, because Allah Most Glorious says:
‘O Our Apostle! Tell the people: if you want to be liked and beloved by Allah Most High, follow me. Through the grace of following me Allah will make you His beloved, because the quality of my slavery and the style of my worship are dearer than and superior to the worship of all the creatures in the sight of Allah. So if you also walk in my footsteps, your worship and slavehood too, by the blessing of this conformance, will become, in the sight of Allah, dearer than and superior to the worship and slavehood of other ummahs.’ And you are the best of the ummahs for the reason that your apostle too is the leader of the apostles. In regard to the apostle's leadership his slaves too were given the honour of leadership.”
Persian couplet, ‘I am proud of it that I belong to your ummah; I am sinful yet I am lucky. ‘
Hazrat Ubay Bin K'ab's Statement: -
''To regard the divine path and the messenger's method as indispensable
is incumbent on you, because the slave who maintained himself on the divine
path and the messenger's sunnah, and then remembered the Beneficent Lord
and due to His fear tears began to flow from his eyes, fire (of hell) will
not be able to touch him. And the slave who maintained himself on the divine
path and the sunnah method and remembered the Beneficent One, and tears
began to flow from his eyes and due to Allah’s fear his body began to tremble,
his example is like that tree whose leaves might have dried up, and then
a gust of wind came and all its leaves were shed (i.e., like this all the
sins of that man were pardoned). To worship moderately by being firm in
the divine path and the Sunnah method is much better than striving too
much (in matters) contrary to the divine path and the apostolic Sunnah.
So have a look at your deeds, whether they are moderate or in excess, and
whether they are in accordance with the prophets' method and Sunnah or
not. And a statement of the Holy Prophet
has been reported that the Israelites were divided into 71 sects, "And
my ummah will be divided into 72 sects, out of which 71 sects will go to
Hell and only one will go to Paradise". The Companions asked: "O Allah's
Apostle! Which is that sect"? He said: ‘The Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Ja ma'ah.’”
It is also reported from the Holy Prophet
that, "There is recompense of a hundred martyrs for one who sticks firmly
to my Sunnahs during the corruption of my ummah".
He says: "Hold your heart to the Sunnah method. Stop where the Companions stopped, and speak where they spoke. Withhold yourself from things they withheld themselves, and in your religion walk on the pious predecessors' path, 'because where they benefited, you too will benefit, i.e. you will be given a place in Paradise along with them".
Besides this, he also said: "I saw the Lord of Honour (may His glory
increase!) in a dream. He told me: "O Abd al-Rahman! You alone criticise
for the right things in My path, and forbid bad things'. I said, '0 Lord!
It fell to my lot through Your favour only'. And then I requested Him:
'0 Lord! Give me death in Islam'. He said: 'Rather in Islam and on the
Sunnah; i.e. long for dying in Islam and on the Sunnah, because I will
give you death in accordance with the approved religion and the Sunnah
method of My Beloved Prophet .’”
He says, “No statement is correct unless it is accompanied by action.
Then no statement and action are correct unless their ascription is correct;
and no statement and action and ascription are correct as long as they
are not in accordance with the Holy Prophet's
sunnah method.”
Once he said to Yusuf bin Sabat: "0 Yusuf! If you receive information that such and such a man on the eastern border is staunch in maintaining the sunnah, send him greetings, and if you receive the news that another man is firm in maintaining the sunnah on the extreme western border, send him salutations too, because very few Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah are left.”
Moreover, once he said to his learned disciples (ulema): "Accept my advice regarding doing good to the Ahl-e sunnah, for these poor strangers are very few in number",
Junayd Baghdadi's Statement: -
He says: "All paths are closed for the people, save for that man who
followed in the Holy Prophet's
footsteps. So he who followed the Holy Prophet's
Sunnah and regarded his method as indispensable, then all the paths of
good deeds are open for him".
He also said: "The path for achieving proximity to Allah Most High is
closed for the people, save for those believers who are followers of the
Holy Prophet
and subject to his Sunnah method. Accordingly, Allah Most High hath said:
"Verily in the messenger of Allah ye have a good example." (XXXIII: 21)
This is also his saying: "This our cult of Tasawwuf is restrained by the Book and the Sunnah, and our knowledge is bound with the Book and the Sunnah. The man who does not remember the Book and does not transcribe Hadith and does not learn Fiqh Jurisprudence) shall not be followed"
"When I see a man who follows Hadith and Sunnah, it is as if I have
seen one of the Holy Prophet's
Companions".
Shaikh Sharfuddin Yahya Minyari's Statement: -
He writes in a letter that the divine statement "Say, (O Muhammad, to mankind): If ye love Allah, follow me; Allah will love you," (111:31) is supporting this meaning which a dear one has expressed. Masnavi: ‘He, as your guide, is sufficient: so seek not the path. He is sufficient as your tongue: so speak not nonsense. Whatever He said, consider it as an absolute speech; whatever he did, regard it true, he who is not like dust at His Door, dust be on his head! - even if he is an angel.’ (One who does not humble hiniself at his door is not worthy of any praise - disassociate with-him).
He writes further, "It is known from this that some incapable and useless
men who, due to their vicious fancy, ignorance and lust, do not adopt the
Holy Prophet's
path, remain deprived of the fragrance of the meaning of this Hadith. To
walk straight on the path is impossible without a guide. Hence it has been
said: Masnavi: - ‘How can the blind ever manage to go straight? The blind
man's going without a staff is an error. The path, O son, is long and full
of calamities; the wayfarer, therefore, requires a guide.’
He says: “The ulema have written different ways for the love of the
Holy Prophet ,
“Qazi Iyaz says that, ‘the man who loves a thing gives it preference over
all other things. This alone is the meaning of love; otherwise it is not
love; it is merely a false claim of love. Hence the most momentous among
all the signs of love for the Holy Prophet
is that one may follow him and adopt his methods and follow his sayings
and deeds and carry out his orders; and abstain from those things which
he has prevented from, and in every circumstance, in joy and in sorrow
and in straitened and in easy circumstances, tread according to his ways.
The statement in the holy Quran is, ‘Say (0 Muhammad, to mankind): If ye
love Allah, follow me; Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. Allah
is Forgiving, Merciful.’” (111: 31)
Moreover the Shaikh said: "In short, prosperity and betterment for the Muslims depends only on conforming to the religion, on the Apostle's example and the pious predecessors' ways. This alone will prove useful in the Hereafter and this alone is the cause of advancement in the world. Acting upon this, only the former people had reached the apex of progress; their conditions and particulars are before our eyes and no one knowing history can deny this thing. In things contrary to this there is destruction for the Muslims; there is ruin, there is loss in the Hereafter and loss in the world".
Sayyidena Shaikh Abd Al-Qadir Jilani's Statement: -
He said, "Gentlemen! Correct your affiliation with the Holy Prophet .
For whoever’s conformance to him becomes right, his affiliation too becomes
right. And without conforming your saying, that you are one of his ummah,
is not beneficial for you. When you become his follower in all his sayings
and deeds, you will have the good fortune of being his companion on the
Day of Judgement. Have you not heard the Most Glorious Allah's statement
that, 'whatever the messenger giveth you, take it; and whatsoever he forbiddeth,
abstain (from it).’ (LIX:7) So carry out whatever he orders you and abstain
from whatever he forbids you. Surely you will become proximate to Allah
in the world, with regard to your hearts, and will be near to Him in the
Hereafter, with regard to your bodies and persons.”
Hazrat Umar Bin Abdul Aziz's Statement:
He said: "To adopt carefully the ways of the Holy Prophet
and after him his successors, is to confirm in Allah's Book and to obey
Him; and this is the power of religion. Neither has anyone the right to
change them nor to amend them nor is anyone's opposing opinion worthy of
consideration. Whoever follows them is a guided person and whoever acquires
help from these things is successful. Whoever does contrary to them and
adopts a path other than that of the believers; Allah Most Glorious will
not let him act on his adopted path and will throw him into Hell which
is a very bad abode!'
He says: "The Holy Prophet's
heir is the one who follows him and not one who merely blackens paper."
(Writes volumes).
He says, "There ought to be firmness and steadiness in following and
conforming to the Holy Prophet ;
and let no praiseworthy act (mustahab) and good manner (adab) be missed".
Hazrat Hasan Bin Ali's Statement: -
He says that no statement is correct without action, and no statement and action are correct without the right intention and no statement and action and intention are correct without accordance to the Sunnah.
Ayyub Sakhtiani's Statement: -
He says: "Whenever I hear news of the death of anyone who practised the prophetic method, I feel by his passing away as if a part of my body has gone away. And one of the symptoms of the good luck of Arabia and non-Arabia is this that Allah Most High may create there a religious divine who may be committed to the Sunnah".
Abdullah Bin Shauzab's Statement: -
He says: "When a young man is inclined towards Allah, it will be great bounty upon him that Allah may acquaint him with virtuous and stable people in the path of sunnah so that young soul may be raised in the traditions of sunnah.
Mu'ammir Bin Sulaiman Taimi's Statement: -
He says, “I went to the presence of my father. I was disconsolate at the time. He asked me, ‘How are you feeling?’ I replied that a friend of mine had died. He asked me, ‘Did he die on the way of the Sunnah?’ I said yes. He said, ‘Then don't grieve.’”
Abdullah Bin Muhriz's Statement: -
He stated, “Religion will depart as the Sunnahs go into disuse one by one, as the rope is broken when all its twists are open.”
Mujaddid Alf-E Sani's Statement: -
He says, “Merit and recompense depend upon conforming to the Sunnah
and excess of reward and recompense on executing the Shari'ah. For example,
the siesta, which may be according to the Sunnah and with the intention
of conforming to the Sunnah, is superior to billions of vigils that may
not be in accordance with the Sunnah. Similarly, not to fast on the day
of Id al-Fitr - which has been ordered by the Shari'ah - is superior to
continuous fasting that may be contrary to the Shari'ah. To give a farthing
in charity in pursuance of the Legislator's
order is superior to spending a mountain of gold by one's own desire."
In another letter he says that, “The spending of a single dirham (silver coin), by way of zakat, which has been ordered by the Shari'ah, is better and more useful for self-violence (Infliction of wound on one self for better of soul like inesiverness of a surgeon) than the spending of thousands of dinars (gold coins) through one's own desire. To eat on the day of Id-al-Fitr in accordance with the order of Shari'ah, is better rather than fasting for years for suppressing desires on oneself. And to say the two rak'ahs of Fajr prayer with the congregation, which is one of the Sunnahs, is much better than one's saying supererogatory (nafl) prayers throughout the night and say the Fajr prayer alone without the congregation.”
Imam Razi's Statement (Tafsir-e Kabir, Vol.8, and P.243)
"Action, which is pure but not correct is not acceptable, and action which is correct but is not pure is also not acceptable. Only that action is accepted which may be pure as well as right. A pure action is that which may be done for Allah and the correct one is that which may be in accordance with the sunnah.”
He says: "Whichever deed you do without the Holy Prophet's
instruction, even though it may be in the form of devotions, it is not
a devotion but is a sin." (Maktub 7)
Maulana Shah Wasiullah's Statement: -
"I have acknowledged it a long time ago, and I am observing it with
mine own eyes, that in this period there are no means of acquiring prosperity
in religion as well as in the world except regulating life according to
the Sunnah. That is, we can achieve worldly prosperity also today by adopting
and acting upon the Holy Prophet's
Sunnah; otherwise the door of prosperity has been closed and welfare has
become scarce for the people of the world and will continue to become still
more scarce".
Then he says: "The truth is that the divine principle for world-prosperity
and the string of the prophetic method for world-peace have slipped off
our hands, and that string was only this that, besides religion, the Holy
Prophet's
sunnah should have been adopted in worldly matters too.”
Khwaja Muhammad Ma'soom Sirhindi's Statement (Letters 10 & 22): -
He writes in one of his letters, “The happiness of both the worlds depends
upon conforming to the Sovereign of the Two Worlds .
Absolution from Hell and entry into Paradise depends upon obedience to
the Chief of the Saints and the Leader of the Prophets .
Similarly, Allah's pleasure is contingent upon following the Chosen Apostle .
Repentance (tawbah), asceticism and piety, trust in Allah (tawakkul) and
retiring from the world (tabattul) are not accepted without the Holy Prophet's
method. And remembrance (zikr), reflection (fikr), relish (zauq) and 'longing'
(shauq) are unreliable without having connection with the Holy Prophet .
In another letter he writes, “To walk on the straight path without the
light of the prophetic sunnah is difficult and the acquiring of salvation
without adopting the prophetic path is a mere fancy".
Sahl Bin Abdullah Tastari's Statement: -
He said: "The money that is taken from the sinful people (Sinful people here meaning professional gamblers, singers, and visionaries. Donations from them is not accepted) is unlawful (haram). And the example of Sunnah in the world is like that of paradise in the Hereafter. He who went to Paradise became secure from calamity, and, similarly, one who may be on the path of the Sunnah is secure from lust and innovation. "And the man who taunts at earning (Earning: here means a profession, certain professions like sweepers, weavers, or cobblers were looked upon as very low and pointed at), in fact taunts at the Sunnah, and he who taunts at the trust in Allah, taunts at faith (iman), and the earning of the men trusting in Allah can only be correct if on the prophetic path".
He is one of the great ulema and is a famous Tabi'i (Follower). He says:
“I have heard it from the ulema preceding me, i.e., from the noble Companions
that absolution lies in firmly grasping the Holy Prophet's
Sunnah. And knowledge will soon vanish. The stability of the religion and
the world consists in knowledge, and in the passing away of knowledge lies
the destruction of all.”
Hazrat Ma' ruf Karkhi's Statement: -
He says: "The seeking of Paradise without action is a sin, and waiting for intercession without observing sunnah is a self-deception of sorts, and to hope for divine mercy in disobedience is sheer ignorance and foolishness".
Abdullah Dailami's Statement: -
He is a great Tabi'i; some have called him a Companion also. He says: "This has come tome from the elders, that the beginning of the end of religion will start with the ommission of Sunnahs (one by one). Each Sunnah will be omitted as if the twists of a rope are unwound".
