I am reading a book titled A History of the Arab People by Albert Hourani. I am about halfway through it and I have, so far, found it very interesting and informative. One passage caught my attention that I felt was applicable to Muqtada al-Sadr. Al-Sadr claims his authority due to his lineage alone. His family is believed to be a direct descendant from the Prophet Muhammad. He does not have the traditional education and degrees normally required of Muslim religious leaders. The basis of his power derives from the respect that his followers have for his father and for his lineage.
The passage that caught my attention discusses the spiritual corruption brought to ordinary Muslims by "false and ignorant Sufi teachers" around the 16th and 17th Centuries. The passage states,
In earlier times, the words of such men as those of Qadiri and Shadhili orders, and masters of spiritual states, struck the ears of common folk and touched their hearts. These words enthralled crowds, which have thrown themselves into imitation of them. But what can you expect of an ignorant man who gives rein to his own fancies and does not even know the externals of the holy laws, let alone understanding its inner meaning, and who occupies no high spiritual station? You find him talking vehemently, referring to knowledge both rational and revealed. You find this above all among the sons of holy men, who wish to adorn themselves with the graces of their fathers, and make their adherents follow them without any right or truth, but solely for the sake of vanities of this world ... Such a man will not allow people to love anyone for the sake of God, or know or follow anyone except himself ... He promises them paradise, whatever their acts may have been, because of his intercession for them on the day of judgment ... The ignorant folk are satisified with this, and remain in his service, son after father. Ahmad al-Nasiri al-Salawi
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