Mujaddid Alf Thani’s tomb in Sirhind, India with the names of the Ahlul Bayt
From ‘Maktubat‘: The Letters of Imam Rabbani Ahmad Sirhindi, p. 299:
“Tasawwuf means to follow in the footsteps of Rasulullah (sall-Allahu ta’ala ‘alaihi wa sallam). Different paths have appeared as a result of [the differences in] men’s nature. The purpose of tasawwuf is to increase the ikhlas. A rehber is necessary on the way of tasawwuf. The Twelve Imams and ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Geilani and those who were like them (rahimahum-Allahu ta’ala) were rehbers.
There are two ways leading to Allahu ta’ala: the way of nubuwwa and that of wilaya. A rehber is not necessary on the nubuwwa way, which leads one to attain to the ‘Asl (Origin). A rehber is necessary on the wilaya way. There are no such things as fana’, baqa’, jadhba or suluk on the way of nubuwwa. To make progress on the wilaya way, it is necessary to forget about everything [this world and the next] and not to set the heart upon them. As for the nubuwwa way, the next world need not be forgotten. Tasawwuf is the way of strengthening the faith and living up to Islam with ease. Tariqa and haqiqa are the servants of Islam. Tariqa teaches that creatures should be deemed nonexistent. Haqiqa teaches that Allahu ta’ala should be known as existent. Tariqa does not teach one to keep away from people or to shut oneself up in some nook but to perform al-amru bi’l-maruf wa ‘n-nahyu ‘ani ‘l-munkar and jihad and to live up to the Sunnat.”