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Let
us take the example of a famous Chishti Sufi Gisu Daraz. "Gisu
Daraz learned Sanskrit and acquired knowledge of the Hindu epics in
an attempt to refute the religious beliefs of Hinduism....Gisu Daraz
refused to recognized the importance of Hindu ascetic exercises
calling them merely physical exercises, which failed to lead to an
understanding of the truth. The latter, according to Gisu Daraz,
depended only on obedience to the Sharia.
"Sufi Daraz was one of the more orthodox among the Chishtis
but reflects a common sentiment among Sufis to exalt the Sharia,
which requires denying the validity of other forms of mysticism and
religion. Similar is the view of
Ahmed Sirhindi that "some infidels who exhibited a certain
degree of love for God were able to develop mystical ecstasy but
without obeying the Sharia of the Prophet they were doomed." In
other words, only those who follow the Sharia can be genuine mystics
and all others are false, however genuine the states they achieve
appear to be or however other virtues they might demonstrate in
their own lives.
Let us remember Sharia laws that
require the testimony of two women to equal that of one man to see
how unbalanced its ideas are. Can one imagine the position of Hindus
under such laws? For a Hindu to say Hinduism was as good as Islam
would be taken not as a statement of conciliation but of blasphemy
and punished accordingly. For a Hindu to say that Hinduism was
better than Islam would merit a death sentence.
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