Aslam

Praise be to Allah.Firstly:

Sufis are of

various kinds with various schools of thought, most of which follow

innovation and deviant ways of various kinds. Some of them exceed the proper

bounds to the extent of associating others with Allaah, may He be exalted,

such as praying to the dead, turning to them to relieve distress and ward

off calamity. Some of them follow a great deal of innovation in their deeds,

in dhikr and in worship. See question no.

4983 for more

information on some of the deviations of the Sufis, and question no.

34817 for

information on shirk and its types.

It says in

Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah: Most of those who are called Sufis

nowadays follow innovations of shirk, as well as other innovations, such as

what some of them say, “Madad ya sayyid (Help, O Master)”and their

calling upon the aqtaab (highest ranking awliya’ or “saints”), reciting

dhikr in unison and calling upon Allaah by names that He has not called

Himself, such as “Huwa Huwa (He, He)” and “Ah, ah (a

contraction of the name of Allaah)”. Anyone who reads their books will

notice a lot of their innovations of shirk as well as other evils. End

quote.

Secondly:

Marriage to

a Sufi woman is subject to further discussion.

1 – If she

is one of those who commits shirk in belief or in deeds, such as one who

believes that the awliya’ (“saints”) have knowledge of the unseen and have

control over the universe, or she believes in incarnation of the divine or

the unity of all things, or she devotes worship to something other than

Allaah, such as du’aa’, seeking help, sacrifices or vows, then it is not

permissible to marry such a woman, because she has committed major shirk –

Allaah forbid.

2 – If she

has not fallen into shirk, but she does some acts of innovation such as

celebrating the Mawlid (Prophet’s birthday) or invented forms of dhikr, or

reciting a certain number of dhikrs for which there is no basis, or a

certain manner of dhikr that is not proven in sharee’ah, then it is better

not to marry such a woman, because the danger of innovation is great, and

the harm caused by it is severe. It is dearer to Iblees than sin, because

one may repent from sin, unlike innovation, for the one who does it regards

it as part of religion by means of which he may draw closer to Allaah, so

how can he give it up? Moreover, marriage to a woman who follows bid’ah

presents a danger to the children and to the whole family, especially if the

woman speaks well or is of a good attitude, so that others may be deceived

by her. Imam Maalik (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Do not marry the

people of innovation, or give your womenfolk to them in marriage, or greet

them with salaam… al-Mudawwanah (1/84).

Thirdly:

If he did

not know that the woman was a follower of Sufism until he married her, then

if she is of the first type that commits shirk in word and deed and belief,

he should call her (to the proper way) and advise her and explain to her. If

she responds, then praise be to Allaah, otherwise it is obligatory to

separate from her, because it is not permissible to marry a mushrik woman or

to remain in such a marriage, because Allaah says (interpretation of the

meaning):

“And do

not marry Al-Mushrikaat (idolatresses) till they believe (worship Allaah

Alone)”

[al-Baqarah 2:221]

But if she

is of the second type, which does some innovated actions that do not reach

the extent of kufr, then each case should be examined separately – to what

extent does the woman adhere or not to the innovation that she believes in,

and what effect will that have on the household and the children?

He should

also look at the consequences of divorcing her, and he should do that which

is in the best interests of Islam in each case, and which will ward off harm

or reduce it as much as possible.

May Allaah

help us all to do that which He loves and which pleases Him.

And Allaah

knows best.