Discussing religion in the family

Last Sunday, my family had gathered in my elder's sister house to celebrate her wedding anniversary. Except for one of my elder brothers, most of us came, either with our spouses/kids or alone. Usually such gatherings provided a focal point for me and my brothers to rekindle our relationships and engage in closed discussions. The topics mainly covered religion, though a sprinkling dose of political comments would be a norm.

I must say that most of us enjoyed the sharing and sparring of religious knowledge and views. Last Sunday was no exception. It started with one of my elder brother taking a snipe at those who viewed that the path to salvation is best met with rigorous acquisition of the deeper knowledge of the faith, in matters relating to the "tariqat, haqiqat and ma'rifat". Well, I must first say that while some of my brothers are affiliated with a certain tariqah path others are not. This may have attributed to the cynical comment made by this elder of mine.

He continued with a declaration that according to a certain "alim"(which I am told that he is now strongly attached to) told him that one can achieved higher rank/stations to God through prayers and selawat and not necessarilyy through the "acquisition of ilmu haqiqat or ma'rifat". He quoted instances of individuals in Islamic History and saints who had acquired such status.

This provoked strong reactions from two of my other elder brothers, while I tried very hard to be the moderator of the discussions. My eldest brother spoke about the first time when the Qur'an was revealed. It mentioned "Iqra - Read!". How Islam imposes its adherents to find knowledge, read and understand. So the essence of the faith is "acquisition of knowledge" - the first being "knowledge of God". I remembered the words (some day attributed to Saiddina Ali r.a) "Awwaluddina Ma'rifatullah - The beginning of the religion is to know Allah."

Basically, my view on this is simple that God sent the Prophet to spread the faith to the whole of mankind. As the human race is composed of a myriad of individuals with differing capacities, it is natural to expect that the means of salvation to God will be many - some may devote to simple adhering to the basic obligations of the faith while others look for the more intense path of seeking the "witnessing of God" in this world.

The next day, while I was doing my zikr after tahajjud prayers the the evening topic of discussions came to light. Suddenly, an allegory or sufi story dawned upon. The story goes like this:

There are two men seeking for water. One was told that he should just dig with a spade at certain parts of the land and overtime he would reach the water-bed. He was told that others had achieved this so he should not be disheartened.

The other person was told that he has a better chance of reaching the water-bed, he should go and ask a geologist who knows the terrain of the land. Then he should also learn the various techniques and equipment that would enable him to get to the source of water faster.

Comparing the two it is no doubt that the second man would likely to fare better as he is equipped with the necessary knowledge. Though the first man may have relied on experience of others who were successful, there maybe stories of those who had failed.

Similarly, the first person is like the man who relies on his own efforts (prayers, zikr and salawat) to reach salvation with God. This according to the sufis ignore the true witnessing of God's Oneoness and Supreme Power. It fails to understand that only through God's Bountiful Grace do one enter the Garden as said by the Prophet. However, the second person sought true knowledge of tauhid from those who have acquired the stations/ranks of the elite.