What is the stance of the Sunnis regarding Sufism, especially given the existence of statements from great imams such as Abu Hanifa, Anas ibn Malik, and Al-Shafi'i, who said: "Three things from your world have been made beloved to me: abandoning pretentiousness, interacting with people gently, and following the path of the Sufis," and Ahmad ibn Hanbal, who said: "I do not know of a people better than them." He was asked: "They listen and experience ecstasy?" He replied: "Let them rejoice with Allah for an hour"?

Lying has no end, and those who make claims without proof are not worthy of them.

What has been attributed to Al-Shafi'i and Ahmad concerning the love of this world is incorrect.

The stories attributed to Imam Al-Shafi'i have not been reported in reliable books and have no chain of transmission (isnad), such as "And in the words of some of them that...".

As for what was attributed to Imam Ahmad, that "I do not know of any people on the face of the earth better than them," this is a fabricated story. Al-Dhahabi mentioned in "Mizan al-I'tidal" that Ali ibn al-Hasan al-Tarsusi al-Sufi fabricated a story about Ahmad in praise of the Sufis' conditions.

The correct view is that the imams used to denounce Sufism and warn against it. It is reported that Imam Malik laughed when he was asked about Sufis and whether they were Muslims. And Al-Shafi'i said: "If a man becomes a Sufi at the beginning of the day, he will not reach noon before becoming foolish," and "No one who adhered to Sufism for forty days ever regained his intellect."