Why were the eras of the 'Abbasids and Ummayyads glorious? Because those were the times of great circles of 'ulama of Ahl al Sunnah across Iran, Iraq and Syria Sayyiduna Hafiz al-Shirazi :ra: and Sayyiduna Shams al-Tabrezi :ra: followed Tasawwuf Iran, Iraq and Syria were Sufi. Tasawwuf was taken for granted not considered something mysterious and to get scared of as today..people feel afraid to talk about sufis today..not at that time Sayyiduna Imam al-Suhrawardi, Sayyiduna Bayazid al-Bastami and the list goes on in hundreds of thousands.. these three countries were entirely Sunni lands with tiny pockets of rebels here and there (khwarij and shi'a)
Something aside: If you read Ibn al-Khaldun's history and also Ibn al-Batuta's accounts, the people of Shiraz were actually tall, smart, numerous, ENTIRELY SHAFI'I, and humble, kind, poetic. After all Shiraz is the capital of Faras. Though, some racist Arabs in 'Iraq had the stereotype that Farasis are midget, hairy ugly people who are traitors. But it were these very Shirazis who populated Baghdad al-Shareef.
I think, 70% of the Shafi'i 'Ulama were Iranian. Half of the Sunni scholars were from Iran and Khurasan. Imam Bukhari Imam Muslim Imam Tirmizi Imam Nisai Imam Abu dawood al-Sistani Imam Ahmad were all Khurasani from Persian speaking areas Iran was perhaps 80% Sunni, 10% Non-Muslim, 5% khawarij, 5% shi'a (Isma'ili, Zaydi, 'Alawi, other sects, BUT NO JA'FARI) Even during the time of Shah 'Abbas, Allah disgrace him, the capital Qazvin was majority Shafi'i Sunni. Even today, a 100 kms away from Qazvin you have big Sunni Shafi'i populations The kurds of Iran are the legacy of this great Shafi'i country Iranians knew nothing but Shafi'i madhab. I know this, for proof I can take you on a tour across southern Iran. There wer Isma'ilis in Khurasan, Mazandaran. for example Sayyiduna Imam Shah Shams al-Tabrezi :ra: the teacher of Sayyiduna JalalADDIN Rumi :ra: was Ismai'ili before he became Sunni Shafi'i
I agree 100%. isn't it ironic that all of the famous iranians --whom even the shia love--are all actually sunni in aqaid! Hafiz Shirazi was a great wali and not just a poet as some think although sol great is his poetry that he is farsi's greatest poet! i read once that hafiz shirazi was physically v small and ugly and very poor. he lived with his mother--he was an orphan--and to make ends meet he would sell bread during the day and go to school in the evening. one day he was selling bread in the rich quarter of shiraz and as he looked up his gaze fell on a woman of astounding beauty. he was struck with love and became obsessed with her. everyday he would go there and stare at her. this became his habit. it was well known in shiraz that if you wish to achieve your wish you should go to a certain graveyard, sit down and draw a circle in the earth and read a certain zikr for 40 nights without leaving the circle and then your wish will be fuifilled. no one had ever done that before. hafiz vowed to do it. he completed it and on the 40th night an angel appeared before him. he was so astonished by the angel's beauty that he forgot about the woman saying, 'if this is the beauty of the angel of Allah, how beautiful must Allah Himself be?' and he joined the Sufi path--becoming a Master eventually and composing his diwan in moments of wajd. subhan Allah.
firstly our Master Syedina Shahenshahe 'Ajam Hafiz al Shirazi :ra: is a part of us the community the Ahl al Sunnah wal Jama'ah I want to add something, but just as a clarification, and in no way to start any bickering of any sort that would render this thread into the thicket he is not a shi'a of any sort and this a refutation of all that the present day Iranian Mullahs are brainwashing my people with just because someone loves Imam Husayn 'alayhissalam so much as to mention him in innumerable places in poetry does not mean he is a shi'a or if someone called him or referrred to him as such some where in some book infact the Tasawwuf of him is crystal clear like a diamond, when you peer through it with your Allah Given Eyes with his Tasawwuf, the rejectors of Tasawwuf should fear him (the shi'a in Iran today) however as Sheikh 'Ali Jum'a (the Mufti of Egypt) says Islam is Tasawwuf and Tasawwuf is Islam actuallly what he said was "Islam is sufism and sufism is Islam", yes he did use the word "sufism" there is no Islam without Tasawwuf more to come on the Tasawwuf of Hafiz al Shirazi al Farasi rahimahuAllah ta'ala
ba jurm e ishq e tu-yam mikushand u ghogha ist tu neez bar sar e baam aan ke khush tamasha ist This verse by Hazrat Khwaja Hafiz Shirazi is about Imam Husayn :a: as explained by Hazrat Mufakkir e Islam... So, let's talk about this great Sufi saint and leave aside what the orientalists say...
