Students of the Sufism School in Medina
Salah Al-Farsi (May Allah be pleased with him):
Imam Ali (may Allah bless his face) had students from the people of purity and piety who took the path under his guidance after the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and drank from his spiritual meanings and divine knowledge. Among these students, Salah Al-Farsi (may Allah be pleased with him) was at the forefront. Salah is considered one of the ancestors of ascetics who sought the truth. He abandoned his family and homeland to seek it in many places such as Persia, Damascus, Mosul, Nisibis, Amuria, and then Mecca【1】.
In Mecca, he found his purpose in our master Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), where he accepted Islam with his heart and his body, sincerely in word and action. He became one of the people of faith who were not shaken by hardships nor affected by materialism.
Salah Al-Farsi (may Allah be pleased with him) was keen to stay close to the family of the Prophet, and he used to lead the Prophet’s grey mule, which Sayyidah Fatimah (peace be upon her) rode during her wedding to Imam Ali (may Allah bless his face)【2】. Imam Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) described him saying: “He is one of us, the family of the Prophet, he acquired the first and the last knowledge, and he read both the first and the last books”【3】.
Imam Zayn al-Abidin (peace be upon him) mentioned about Salah saying: “If Abu Dharr knew what was in Salah’s heart, he would have killed him”【4】.
The effect of Sufi states was apparent in Salah Al-Farsi (may Allah be pleased with him) when the lights of the Quranic verses touched his heart. It is reported that when the verse “Indeed Hell is the appointed meeting place for them all”【5】 was revealed, he cried out, put his hand on his head, and ran away for three days【6】.
Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman (May Allah be pleased with him):
Among the companions who played a significant role in spiritual Sufism is Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman (may Allah be pleased with him), who was known by the title of “The Keeper of the Secret”【8】. This title refers to a kind of spiritual knowledge that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) entrusted him with. Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) used to teach about the hypocrites and he received this knowledge directly from the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).
As al-Siraj al-Tusi says: “There is no dispute among scholars that among the companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), there were some who were particularly distinguished by a certain type of knowledge, as Hudhayfah was distinguished by the knowledge of the names of the hypocrites”【9】.
About the spiritual relationship between Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) and Imam Ali (may Allah bless his face), Imam Ali said: “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) taught me seventy doors of knowledge, which no one else knows but me”【11】.
The Sufi Unveiling and its Impact on Hudhayfah’s Knowledge:
Hudhayfah’s knowledge (may Allah be pleased with him) was not just a memorization of names, but it was related to Sufi unveiling, which Imam Ali (may Allah bless his face) refers to in his division of knowledge saying: “People are three: a scholar who is God-fearing, a learner on the path of salvation, and a crowd of ignorant followers who lean with every wind”【14】. Al-Siraj al-Tusi divided knowledge into three types: “Knowledge between the private and the public, knowledge that was given to certain companions and not others, and knowledge that was given specifically to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)”【15】.
Imam Ali (May Allah bless his face) and Hudhayfah’s Guidance:
Imam Ali (may Allah bless his face) used to guide Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) on how to deal with people, especially in dealing with matters that concern people and what they aspire to, such as knowledge of the future. He said to him: “O Hudhayfah: Do not tell people what they do not know, for they may become arrogant and deny the truth”【16】.
This points to the importance of the spiritual guidance that Imam Ali (may Allah bless his face) taught to direct others toward what is correct in dealing with people.
The Devoted Companions on Imam Ali’s Path (May Allah bless his face):
Among the companions who represented a group of devoted followers in the time of Imam Ali (may Allah bless his face), we find Miqdad ibn Aswad, Khabbab ibn al-Aratt, Al-Bara ibn Azib, Suhayb al-Rumi, and Bilal ibn Rabah (may Allah be pleased with them all). These companions adhered to the covenant of leadership and chose Imam Ali (may Allah bless his face) as their guide and leader after the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).
Imam Ali (May Allah bless his face) and the Ksenzeny Path:
Spiritual Instruction for the Path:
Sayyid Sheikh Khalifah Muhammad al-Khalsan (may Allah sanctify his soul) believes that the core of the path to Allah is “love”. When a seeker is sincere in their love for Allah, obedience becomes easy for them, and they enjoy it and desire it for closeness to the Beloved.
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said in the sacred hadith: “My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory deeds until I love him”【21】.
The best of the voluntary acts of worship is the remembrance of Allah, because it is not confined to a time or place. The more a person remembers something, the more they love it. Therefore, the remembrance of Allah is the foundation of the path to Allah, love, obedience, and closeness.
The Instruction from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) to Imam Ali (May Allah bless his face):
When Imam Ali asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): “Guide me to the shortest and easiest path to Allah”, the Messenger replied: “O Ali, you should persist in the remembrance of Allah in solitude”. But Imam Ali said: “This is the virtue of remembrance and everyone remembers”. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) then replied: “O Ali, the Hour will not come until there is no one left on the earth who says (Allah)”. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) instructed him on how to perform remembrance with speech, which became the first instruction in Islam for the Sufi path.
Effect of Remembrance on Imam Ali (May Allah bless his face):
Imam Ali (May Allah bless his face) said: “Indeed, Allah has made remembrance a cleanser for hearts, with which they hear after deafness, see after blindness, and submit after resistance.”【23】
This text shows the effect of remembrance on the hearts and how it clears the inner senses and restores purity to the soul.
Chain of Sufism and the Ksenzeny Path:
The Ksenzeny path spread through Imam Ali (May Allah bless his face), and according to this methodology, Sufi paths that originated from Imam Ali (May Allah bless his face) and bore the name “Alia Path” spread and branched. Each Sheikh passed on their spiritual knowledge to the seekers who were deemed worthy, so that this chain remained connected through generations.
Sheikh Ahmad Zarruq described the Sufi path and said: “There is no Sufi path in the Islamic world that is connected to the presence of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) except through Sayyidina Ali (May Allah bless his face).”
Conclusion
Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (May Allah bless his face) was indeed the highest spiritual reference after the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in Sufism, and his school and spiritual approach continue to guide many Sufi paths throughout history.