QUESTION:
Does a Pir have to be a Hafiz of the Quran?
ANSWER:
It is not compulsory that a spiritual guide should be Hafiz-e-Qur’an.
Imam Ahmad Rida Khan (رحمة الله عليه) has written four prerequisites for a spiritual guide. If any one of them is absent it will not be allowed to make him a Pir.
1. His chain should be continuous and unbroken from him till the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وآله وصحبه وسلم)
2. He should be Sunni Sahi-ul-Aqeedah
3. He should not be Fasiq-e-Mu’allin i.e openly doing acts against the Sharia’h and
4. He should be an Aalim, having enough knowledge not to be misguided himself nor misguide others, and be able to extract rulings from books by himself.
[Fatawa Africa Page-123]
Allah knows best.
Answered by Mawlana Mohammed Kashif
Also see:
[Q-ID0017] A Sufi who doesn’t follow the Shariah, is that possible?
[Q-ID0040] What are the conditions to become a Pir (spiritual guide)?
[Q-ID0076] Intermingling of men & women in front of a Pir, and kissing his hand.
