انا ابو محمد عبد الرحمن، قال: ثنا ابي، قال: سمعت يونس بن عبد الاعلى، قال: قلت للشافعي: تروي يا ابا عبد الله ما كان يقول فيه صاحبنا؟ اريد الليث او غيره، كان يقول: لو رايته يمشي على الماء، - يعني: صاحب الكلام - لا تثق به او لا تغتر به، ولا تكلمه».
قال الشافعي: فانه والله قد قصر ان رايته يمشي في الهواء، فلا تركن اليه.
قال ابو محمد: اني قد سمعته من يونس، ولم اجده مكتوبا عندي، فانا ارويه عن ابي، الى ان اقع عليه في كتابي
Abu Muhammad Abdul Rahman (ibn Abi Hatim) said: My father narrated to me, saying: I heard Yunus bin Abdul A’la, may Allah have mercy on him, saying: I said to ash-Shafi’i: 'Do you narrate, O Abu Abdullah, what our companion used to say?' I was referring to al-Layth or someone else. He used to say: 'If you saw someone walking on water,' - referring to the companion of speculative theology -, 'do not trust him nor be deceived by him, and do not speak with him.'
Ash-Shafi’i said: 'By God, he (Al-Layth) has fallen short (i.e. he didn't warn about it enough) If you saw him walking in the air, do not rely on him.'
Abu Muhammad said: 'Indeed, I heard this from Yunus, but I did not find it written with me, so I am narrating it from my father until I find it in my book.' (Adab ash-Shafi'i wa manaqibah by Ibn Abi Hatim)
Another mention (and attributed) from Ash-Shafi'
وقال يونس بن عبد الأعلى: قلت للشافعي: إن صاحبنا، يعني: الليث بن سعد، كان يقول: إذا رأيتم الرجل يمشي على الماء فلا تغتروا به حتى تعرضوا أمره على الكتاب والسنة، فقال: قصر، بل إذا رأيتم الرجل يمشي على الماء، ويطير في الهواء، فلا تغتروا به، حتى تعرضوا أمره على الكتاب والسنة.
Yunus ibn Abdul ‘Ala reported: I said to Al-Shafi’i, may God be pleased with him, “Our companion Layth ibn Sa’d would say: If you see a man walking on water, do not be amazed by him until he shows that he follows the command of the Book and the Sunnah.” Al-Shafi’i said, “He has fallen short (i.e. criticising Layth's stayement), may God have mercy on him. Rather, if you see a man walking on water and flying in the air, do not be amazed by him until he shows that he follows the command of the Book and the Sunnah.” (Tabaqat ash-Shafi'iyyin by Abu al-Fida' ibn Kathir)
Attributed to Junayd Al-Baghdadi:
وقد قال امام هذه الطايفة الجنيد اذا رايتم الرجل يمشي على الماء ويطير في الهواء فلا تلتفتوا اليه فان الشيطان يطير من المشرق الى المغرب ويمشي على الماء، ولكن انظروا في اتباعه الكتاب والسنة، فان الشيطان لا يقدر على ذلك ابدا او كما قال
Imam of this group, Al-Junayd said: "If you see a man walking on water or flying in the air, do not be amazed by him, for Satan can fly from the east to the west and walk on water. Rather, examine whether he adheres to the Quran and Sunnah, for Satan can never adhere to them." Or as he said (Al-Madkhal by Ibn al-Haj)
Attributed to Sari al-Saqati:
وقد قال سري السقطي لو ان واحدا دخل بستانا فيه اشجار كثيرة وعلى كل شجرة طير يقول له بلسان فصيح السلام عليك يا ولي الله فلم يخف انه مكر لكان ممكورا به
Sari al-Saqati said: "If someone were to enter an orchard with many trees, and upon every tree was a bird that greeted him in a clear voice saying, 'Peace be upon you, O friend of God,' and he did not fear that it might be a deception, he would indeed be deceived." (Al-Madkhal by Ibn al-Haj)
Ibn al-Haj in his Al-Madkhal said:
وكذلك يتعين ان يعرض على الكتاب والسنة ما يجري على يدي المباركين المتبعين له من خرق العادة مثل القليل يصير كثيرا ومثل الطيران في الهواء والمشي على الماء وصفاء الباطن والنظر بالنور وسماع الخطاب والهواتف الى غير ذلك من احوالهم السنية، فاذا عرض ذلك على الكتاب والسنة فوافق كان بشارة، وتانيسا لمن وقع له او في حق غيره وكل ذلك ما لم يسكن الى شيء منه،
فان سكن خيف عليه وقد قالوا ان الكرامة كرامة ما لم يحدث بها لغير ضرورة ادت الى ذلك او يزهو بها
Similarly, it is necessary to present to the Quran and Sunnah whatever extraordinary events occur at the hands of the blessed followers of the Prophet ﷺ, such as a small amount becoming plentiful, flying in the air, walking on water, inner clarity, seeing with divine light, hearing voices, and other such states of theirs. If such events align with the Quran and Sunnah, they are a glad tiding and a reassurance for the person involved or for someone else, as long as they do not become attached to it.
If one does become attached to it, there is a fear for him. It has been said that a miracle remains a miracle as long as the person does not speak of it to others without necessity or take pride in it.
وكان سيدي ابو محمد يقول: ان اكبر الكرامات في هذا الزمان اتباع السنة والعض عليها بالنواجذ والتشمير لامتثال ما وردت به في كل وقت واوان
وترك البدع وقلاها وترك الالتفات لمن يتعاطاها او يرضى بها اذ ان هذا ليس زمان ذلك وليس ثم اسباب تعين عليه الا فضل الله؛
لان اكثر الناس في هذا الزمان لعدم اليقين وضعف الايمان لا يسكنون لما من به عليهم من الاتباع ولزوم الخير والمسارعة اليه حتى يروا كرامة او رويا منام وكل ذلك مهمل يحتمل لاشياء والاتباع لا يحتمل الا وجها واحدا، وهو التوفيق؛ لانه خلعة محققة خلعت عليه من قبل المولى لا يراها الا اهل الصدق والتصديق
My master, Abu Muhammad, used to say: "The greatest of miracles in these times is following the Sunnah and holding firmly to it with one's teeth, striving to implement what it teaches at all times, abandoning innovations and distancing oneself from them, and not turning towards those who engage in them or are pleased with them. Indeed, this is not the time for such things, and there are no means to assist one in it except through the grace of God.
Most people in these times, due to lack of certainty and weakness of faith, do not settle for what has been bestowed upon them in terms of following the path of goodness and hastening to it unless they witness a miracle or a dream. All of this, however, is unreliable and can be interpreted in multiple ways, while following the Sunnah only has one clear direction, which is divine guidance, for it is a verified robe of honor granted by the Lord, and only the truthful and sincere can perceive it." (Al-Madkhal by Ibn al-Haj)
سمعت الجنيد يقول قال ابو سليمان الداراني ربما يقع في قلبي النكتة من نكت القوم اياما فلا اقبل منه الا بشاهدين عدلين الكتاب والسنة
Heard from al-Junayd, Abu Sulayman ad-Darani said, 'A word of wisdom occurs in my heart as it does to the nation [of the righteous] but I do not accept it until I first compare it to the Two Witnesses - the Book and the Sunnah.' (Tabaqat as-Sufiyyah)
قال سهل بن عبد الله التستري / ابو عمرو بن نجيد: كل وجد لا يشهد له الكتاب والسنة فهو باطل
Attributed to Abu 'Amr ibn Nujayd / Sahl ibn 'Abdullah who said, 'Every wajd (spiritual experience) that is not born testimony to by the Book and Sunnah is false.' (Ihya' 'Ulum ad-Din by Abu Hamid al-Ghazali / Majmu' Fatawa of Taqi ad-Din ibn Taymiyyah)
وكل من خالف شييا مما جاء به الرسول مقلدا في ذلك لمن يظن انه ولي الله فانه بنى امره على انه ولي لله؛ وان ولي الله لا يخالف في شيء ولو كان هذا الرجل من اكبر اولياء الله كاكابر الصحابة والتابعين لهم باحسان لم يقبل منه ما خالف الكتاب والسنة؛ فكيف اذا لم يكن كذلك
Ibn Taymiyyah said, anyone who opposes something that the Messenger brought, following someone whom they believe to be a saint of God, has built their belief on the assumption that this person is indeed a saint, and that a saint of God does not oppose anything. Even if this individual were among the greatest saints of God, like the most prominent of the Companions and the righteous followers (Tabi’in), what contradicts the Qur’an and Sunnah would not be accepted from them. So, how can it be accepted from someone of lesser rank?
وتجد كثيرا من هولاء عمدتهم في اعتقاد كونه وليا لله انه قد صدر عنه مكاشفة في بعض الامور او بعض التصرفات الخارقة للعادة مثل ان يشير الى شخص فيموت؛ او يطير في الهواء الى مكة او غيرها او يمشي على الماء احيانا؛ او يملا ابريقا من الهواء؛ او ينفق بعض الاوقات من الغيب او ان يختفي احيانا عن اعين الناس؛ او ان بعض الناس استغاث به وهو غايب او ميت فراه قد جاءه فقضى حاجته؛ او يخبر الناس بما سرق لهم؛ او بحال غايب لهم او مريض او نحو ذلك من الامور؛ وليس في شيء من هذه الامور ما يدل على ان صاحبها ولي لله؛ بل قد اتفق اولياء الله على ان الرجل لو طار في الهواء او مشى على الماء لم يغتر به حتى ينظر متابعته لرسول الله ﷺ وموافقته لامره ونهيه.
Ibn Taymiyyah continued, 'We find that many of these people merely depend upon the fact that a particular individual was able to unveil certain realities or perform some miraculous feats to prove that he is a friend of God. Examples of such feats would be his pointing at a person who subsequently dies, or his flying through the air to Mecca or any other city, or his walking on water, or filling a pot from nothing, or his vanishing in front of people, or some people seeking relief and succour with him while he was absent or dead and they see him coming to them and fulfilling their need, or his telling people the whereabouts of their stolen property, or his telling them of the condition of one who is absent or sick, or other similar matters. None of these matters prove that the one doing them is a friend of God, rather the Friends of God are agreed that if a person were to fly through the air or walk on water, none should be deceived by him until his following of God's Messenger (APBH) and his conforming to his order and prohibition are confirmed.' (Majmu' Fatawa of Ibn Taymiyyah)
