Ṭarīqah and Sharīʿah
Addressed to: Shaykh Darwīsh Muḥammad (may Allah have mercy on him)
نَحْمَدُهُ وَنُصَلِّي عَلَىٰ رَسُولِهِ الْكَرِيمِ
“And the inward completes the outward and perfects it…”
The inner dimension (bāṭin) perfects and completes the outer (ẓāhir); the two are not in conflict with each other — not even by a hair’s breadth.
For example: refraining from lying with the tongue is Sharīʿah, while eliminating even the thought of lying from the heart is Ṭarīqah and Ḥaqīqah.
If the removal of this thought is achieved through effort and discipline, it is Ṭarīqah.
If it occurs naturally, without exertion, it is Ḥaqīqah.
Therefore, in essence, the inner reality — referred to as Ṭarīqah and Ḥaqīqah — serves to complete and perfect the outward form, which is the Sharīʿah. And very few are blessed with this inner reality without traversing the path of Ṭarīqah.
Clarification:
In this letter, Imām Rabbānī Mujaddid Alf Thānī (may Allah be pleased with him) has explicitly stated that Sharīʿah and Ṭarīqah, or ẓāhir and bāṭin, are in no way contradictory or opposed to one another.
- Sharīʿah refers to the divine commandments — the obligatory and forbidden.
- Ṭarīqah is the striving to act upon those commands even when the self resists.
- Ḥaqīqah is when one acts upon them without struggle — when the soul finds effortless delight in obedience, though free of sensual pleasure.
This is the integration of outer form and inner spirit — the hallmark of true spiritual realization.