present in the universe, thus advocating monism and pantheism. Sirhindi
tried to understand Ibn‘Arabi’s mysticism but finally came to the conclusion
that ‘the union with God is only experimental (spiritual) and not existential
(real). God is not and cannot be one with everything’.Thus,Ahmad Sirhindi
rejected the pantheism and
wahdat al wujud
(unity of Being) of Ibn ‘Arabi in
favour of
wahdat al shuhud
(unity ofWitness).
Wahdat al Wujud
This concept of ‘Oneness of Being’ came to dominate Sufism after Ibn
‘Arabi (13
th
century). Ibn Taimiya (13
th
century) saw in it the influence of
philosophers, especially that of Ibn Sina (11
th
century) and condemned it.
But one may say that these ideas were also present in the minor works of Al
Ghazali (12
th
century).
The concept of
wahdat al wujud
is, in a way, a reaction of the neo-platonic
monismof the Islamic followers of Greek philosophers to theAsh’arite
kalam
.
Kalam,
or theology, stressed the idea of One God and denied the independent
existence of created things. In contrast with God, said theAsh’arites and also
the Sufi followers of the concept of
wahdat al wujud
, the created world is not
permanent.The mystics then came to the ultimate conclusion that the illusion
of empirical existence must obliterate itself (
fana‘
) in the only Existence,
which remains (
baqa‘
), that is, the existence of God.
The concept of
wahdat al wujud
, developed by Ibn ‘Arabi (13
th
century)
influenced all subsequent Sufi movements till the time Ahmad Sirhindi
(17
th
century) strongly opposed it.The Naqshbandis, the Sufi order to which
Ahmad Sirhindi belonged, profess
wahdat al shuhud
, while all the other
orders on the Indian subcontinent (Chishtiya, Suhrawardiya, Qadriya) adhere
to the concept of
wahdat al wujud
.
