“I would also like to tell you that there are many people who desire to attain these excellences by way of their own self-invented incantations and litanies. But let me tell you that if you adopt a method that was not practiced by the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, then it is futile. Who could be more truly experienced in the path of those favoured by God than the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him? In fact, he was a man in whose person all the excellences of prophethood reached their final limit as well. The path adopted by the Holy Prophetsa is the most effective and nearest way to God. To abandon this path and invent another—irrespective of the joy that it may bring— in my opinion, leads to ruin. This is what God has disclosed to me.
“By truly following the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, one finds God; but one who does not follow the Holy Prophetsa—even after an entire life of striving—shall not be able to attain the ultimate objective. As such, even Sa’di speaks of the necessity of subservience to the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, in the following words:
بزہد و ورع كوش و صدق و صفا
و لىكن مىفزائے بر مصطفٰى
“Strive to forsake materialism, and to adopt piety, sincerity, and purity; But do not step beyond (the practices taught by) Mustafasa.
“So, do not abandon the path of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. I observe that people have invented a plethora of diverse incantations. They hang themselves upside down and undertake ascetic practices like yogis, but all of this is useless. It is not the custom of Prophets, peace be upon them, to hang upside down, or engage in meditative practices of ‘negation and affirmation’ (nafi-o-asbat), or perform the Sufi ‘invocation of the saw’ (dhikr-e-arra). This is why Allah the Exalted has referred to the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, as a perfect exemplar:
لَكُمۡ فِىۡ رَسُوۡلِ اللّٰہِ اُسۡوَۃٌ حَسَنَۃٌ
“Verily, you have in the Prophet of Allah an excellent model.
“Follow in the footsteps of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and do not try to deviate from his path even an inch.”
(Malfuzat [English], Vol. 2, pp. 71-72)
