ZAHUD

ZAHUD

Another aspect or feature of Tasawwufwhich excels other modes of religious practices is the element of Zuhd,literal meaning, abstinence, continence or extreme devotion to the religion at the cost of even the permissible limited freedom of enjoyment of worldly affairs, mostly in respect of familial social life.This concept of Zuhd is very close to the cult of monasticism known as ‘Rohbaniyat‘, and ordinarily this single trait of religious devotion could be taken as synonymous toTasawwuf, but on close examination we find that even Zuhd falls short of the definition of the creed of Tasawwuf, in spite of the fact that the heart of the Zahid (one who has adopted the attribute of unattracted (rather repulsive of) by the pleasures and delights of the perissible indulgence. But the fact still remains that this trait of absolute abstinence (Zuhd) is one thing and the niceties and delicacies of Tasawwuf is another brand of thing and the twain cannot be taken as interchangeable with one another! Some people are inclined to call and extreme devotee of worship as ‘Soofi‘, but this is an underestimation of Tasawwuf through this may not be an over valuation of Zuhd. Such a person be equated with a true bred Soofi.
Ibne Sina, perhaps the greatest exponent of all social, moral and medical sciences affecting the human destiny on earth (and even beyond!) has differentiated between the three seemingly allied modes of religious devotion namely the Zahid (devoted to Zuhd or abstinence of worldy pleasures) Aabid (devoted to over-engagement in worship) and the ‘Soofi‘ in his famous book ‘AL-ISHARAAT‘ in the following candid exposition.
“The man who is devoted to absolute abstinence of worldly pleasures is called ‘Zahid‘ and the man who keeps almost every moment of his life devoted to worship is remembered among the people with the epithet of Aabid and 
والمنصرف بفکرہ الی القدس الجبروت مستدیما لشروق نور الحق فی سرہ یخص باسم العارف
The man who keeps his attention perennially focussed towards the Holy Omnipotence (Qudoos -e- Jabroot) and expects every moment the Manifestations of Divine Light in his inner self to illumine every bit of spectrum of his life as a whole, is recognised and venerated with the ever shining title of Aarif (Recognizant of Divine Manifestation in all things in the universe) and in the opinion of Hakeem Ibne Sina only such an expectional individual among the countless creatures of Almighty Allah is worthy of being honoured and remembered with the title of a (true) Soofi.”
The two here mentioned categories of worshipers namely Zahid and Aabid adopt the modes of worship through abstinence of worldy pleasuers and over preoccupation in devoted worship of Allah respectively in compliance to their mental and sentimental inclinations with the sole intention of seeking deliverance from the fire of the Hell on the Day of Judgement and getting admitted in the gardens of Paradise where they would enjoy and please themselves eternally with the Bounties and Delicacies of the Paradise as a compensatory reward for their respective abstinence from worldy ease and comfort (by the Zahids) and over preoccupation in the worship of Almighty Allah (Aabids). But in the sight of the Soofi both these concepts are not the central focus of his attention. Overlooking the Dread of Fire of Hell and the Pleasures of the Paradise, the heart and mind, both in perfect unison and Harmony are rivetted to the Remembrance and Love of Almighty Allah Who Himself and Whose Pleasure are the central focal aim of their inner Eyes, and pray that this holy chain of Divine Rays ever continues till their last breath of earthly  life so that the continuum of Divine Manifestation remains unbroken even after the entry in the Eternal world of the Hereafter through gate of the grave.
A true Soofi is unconcerned and disinterested either of Fear of Hell or the Greed of the Paradise. He worships Almighty Allah with the unswerving Faith that to only Allah and Almighty Allah Alone are the due all the Praise and Worship and no one else besides. The following enunciation of Hazrat Rabiah Basriillustrates and affirms the here-mentioned maxim which is the gist and soul of the Soofis life. One day she prayed to Alimighty
اللھم ان کنت اعبدک خوفا  من نارک فالقنی فیھا
O Allah!If I worship Thee out of the fear of Hell Fire, then throw me down into that Fire.
و ان کنت اعبدک طمعا فی جنتک فاحر مینھا
“And if I worship Thee in the Greed of Thine Paradise, then deprive me of that Paradise”
و ان کنت اعبدک لو جھک الکریم فلا تحر منی من رویتہ
“And if I devote myself in Thine worship with the hope of vision of Thine Grand Countenance (Visage) O my Beloved Allah then do not deprive me from the Vision of Thine.”
This shows that Tasawwuf is not the name only of Grand Norms of moral conduct nor the abstinence from the worldly pleasures nor even the preoccupation of Divine worship during the day and night even though it comprises of both these elements as integral parts of its edifice, yet the Real Tasawwuf is something different and above all other things.
Therefore we are still in search of the true and infallible definition of the creed Tasawwuf, for which we proceed further in our search in this behalf!
Abu Saeed Al-Kharraz (d.268 AH) while answering a questioner about ‘Soofi‘ said:
من صفی ربہ قلبہ فامتلا قلبہ نورا ومن دخل فی عین اللذۃ بذکر اللہ
“One whose heart his Lord (Allah) cleans and purifies and his heart gets filled with the Divine Light and he gets hiself immersed in the ecstatic pleasures the moment the Rituals of Remembrance of Allah begin in his soul or in group of the devotees of his Calibers only such a person is worthy of being mentioned as theSoofi.”
Hazrat Junaid Baghdadi defines ‘Tasawwuf‘ in these memorable words:
التصوف ھو ان یمیتک الحق عنک و یحبیک بہ
“It means that Tasawwuf is that (extra sensori) perception in which Almighty Allah annihilates the self of you (outward existence) and grants you a fresh (revived) life of accompany His own Divine Self.”