Latter-Day Scholars
Ibn ‘Abidin
The great scholar, Ibn ‘Abidin in his book Risa’il Ibn ‘Abidin p. 172 & 173:
“the Seekers in this Way don’t hear except from the Divine Presence and they don’t love any but Him. If they remember Him they cry, and if they thank Him they are happy; and if they find Him they are awake, if they see Him they will be relaxed; if they walk in His Divine Presence, they melt; they are drunk with His Blessings; May Allah bless them.”
ash-Shaykh Muhammad ‘Abduh
“Tasawwuf appeared in the first century of Islam and it received a tremendous honor. It was cleansing the self and straightening the conduct and giving knowledge to people from the Wisdom and Secrets of the Divine Presence.” [Majallat al-Muslim, 6th ed. 1378 H, p. 24].
ash-Shaykh Rashid Rida‘
“Sufism was a unique pillar from the pillars of the religion. It was to cleanse the self and to make account of one’s dailybehavior and to raise the people to a high station of spirituality.” [Majallat al-Manar, 1st year, p. 726].
Maulana Abul Hasan ‘Ali an-Nadawi
Maulana Abul Hasan ‘Ali an-Nadawi is a member of the Islamic-Arabic Society of India and Muslim countries. He said in his book, Muslims in India p. 140-146,
“These Sufis were initiating people on Onenness and sincerity in following the Sunnah of the Prophet (s) and to repent from their sins and to be away from every disobedience of Allah ‘Azza wa Jall. Their guides were encouraging them to move in the way of perfect Love to Allah ‘Azza wa Jall.”
He continues,
“In Calcutta India, everyday more than 1000 people were taking initiation into Sufism.”
…
“by the influence of these Sufi people, thousands and thousands and hundreds of thousands in India found their Lord and reached a state of Perfection through the Islamic religion.”
Maulana Abul ‘Ala Maudoodi
He said in his book Mabadi’ al-Islam li Abil ‘Aala Maudoodi p. 17, “Sufism is a reality whose signs are the love of Allah and the love of the Prophet (s), where one absents oneself for their sake, and one is annihilated from anything other than them, and it is to know how to follow the footsteps of the Prophet (s).”
Further he says,
“Tasawwuf searched for the sincerity in the heart and the purity in the intention and the trustworthiness in obedience in an individual’s actions.”
Describing the relationship between the Divine Law and Sufism, he said,
“Sufism and Shari’ah: what is the simile of the two? They are like the body and the soul. The body is the external shari’ah knowledge and the spirit is the internal knowledge.”
