Sayyiduna Junaid Baghdadi Rahmatullahi alaihi
Junaid Baghdádí Rahmatullahi alaihi is one of the “Greats” among our mashá’ikh, with countless people having benefited from him. Shiblí came to him, requesting to become bai’at.
Junaid Baghdádí Rahmatullahi alaihi:
“I have no objection to making you bai’at and entering you into the silsilah. However, work should have a methodology. You have been a ra’ís in your province and you have been a hákim there as well. Firstly, proceed to your locality and ask forgiveness from all those over whom you have ruled. Then we will consider bai’at.”
Hadhratjee Moulana Maseehullah Khan Rahmatullahi alaihi commenting on this qissah says:
Nowadays, bai’at has become very cheap. It is an everyday request: “Make me bai’at.” This appears to be the only desire – to become bai’at. In these days of our decline as Muslims, some are made bai’at on request, others are given little tasks to perform before their request is acceded to. The reason for giving in easily to such requests is the following: in this era of our decline the process of bai’at will, at least, keep the muríd away from customs and bid’ah, get him/her to perform the five daily namáz, get him/her involved in some wazá’if and, simultaneously, it is hoped that others will be saved from any mischief from the muríd.
These are some simple objectives attained by the process of bai’at nowadays.
Testing the Mureed before bai’at
But before? Oho! Previously, great trials and tests took place before initiation into a silsilah. Candidates were scrutinised properly. Among other things, was the candidate capable of eating properly? Unknown to him, he was being “interviewed.” You must know what “interview” is – this is a word very much in vogue nowadays! The mashá’ikh in days gone by used to “interview” the potential muríd. The idea was to see whether he had any worth in him for the important privilege of entering a silsilah.
One sheikh used to provide the applicant with a meal, making sure that the sálin and rotí provided were in proportional amounts. After the candidate had eaten, the sheikh would inspect the remains of the meal. If both sálin and rotí had been eaten, well and good. If the sálin was eaten, but the rotí remained or, the opposite, the rotí was eaten and the sálin remained, he would tell the candidate: “There is no equilibrium in you. Our temperaments are not the same and we will not get along together.”
He would not make him bai’at. The candidate had failed the “interview”. In worldly affairs, a lot of emphasis is placed on interviews. We hear of people having passed their written examinations, but failing on the results of an interview. muríd before bai’at.
For Friends, pg44-45
