YOUR SECOND QUESTION

Since the phrase, “May God be pleased with him” is used for the Companions of the Prophet (UWBP), is it appropriate to use it in the same way for others?

T h e   A n s w e r : Yes,  it may be used, because  unlike  “Upon whom  be blessings  and  peace,”  which is a mark of God’s  Messenger  (UWBP),  the  epithet, “May God be pleased with him” is not particular to the Companions, but should be used for persons who, like the Companions, attained to the “greater sainthood” known as “the legacy of prophethood,” rising to the station of God’s pleasure. Examples are the four Imams, and Shaikh ‘Abd al-Qadir Gilani, Imam-i Rabbani (Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi), and Imam Ghazali. But the general practice among religious scholars has been to use “May God be pleased with him” for the Companions; “May God have mercy on him” for the two generations succeeding them; “May God forgive him” for subsequent generations; and “May his mystery be sanctified” for the great saints.

YOUR THIRD QUESTION

Which were superior, the great imams and interpreters of the Holy Law, or the shahs and spiritual poles of the true Sufi paths?

T h e  A n s w e r : Not all the interpreters of the Law were superior to the shahs and spiritual poles, only Abu Hanifa, Malik, Shafi‘i, and Ahmad b. Hanbal. But in some  respects,  some  wondrous  spiritual  poles  like  Shaikh  Gilani  reached  more brilliant stations in particular virtues. However, general virtue was the Imams’. Furthermore, some of the shahs of the Sufi paths were also interpreters of the Law; it cannot therefore be said that all interpreters of the Law were superior to the spiritual poles. But it may be said that after the Companions and the Mahdi, the four Imams were superior.

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[6] Bukhari, Da’wat, 22; Muslim, Dhikr, 90-1.