Just wanted to ask u about this concept of Peeri-Mureedi. What is its background? Is this thing only there in the sub-continent only? I never heard of any such thing in the Arab countries. Is this concept according to the teachings of Islam. Some people say that you should visit the shrines of the Boozurgs (elders) like Datta Sahib & Baaba Farid et.c and say ur Salaam there & ask your dua (prayer/wish) by their HELP or WASEELA. Is this ok? Is it right to keep people as your Pir?
Answer
There is no concept of peeri-mureedi in Islam. We can only be either teachers (mu’allim) or students (mut’allim). In peeri-mureedi, you unconditionally surrender yourself before a peer. That is a completely un-Islamic way. We have been asked to always be careful in the matters of truth. How can we surrender ourselves to the will of someone? How do we know that the person we are surrendering to would continue to remain on the right track in the future too? What if we find that what he is doing something un-Islamic? How shall we ever be able to find that out when we have already surrendered our religious approach before him?
Peeri-mureedi is a part and parcel of tasawwuf, which is the version of mysticism Muslims have adopted. Mysticism is a religious way that transcends all boundaries of religions. You will find it equally popular amongst the Jews, Christians, Hindus, Buddhists etc. as well. The only difference that happens is that when people belonging one faith adopt mysticism, they add the apparent aspects of their particular faiths to the core practices and beliefs of mysticism. That is what has happened in the case of tasawwuf as well.
There is of course no possibility for us to go to the shrines of saints for any reason. Asking them to help us in any way would be shirk. To go there to pray for them is unnecessary, because you can pray for anybody anywhere.