What are Sufism, inspiration, and self-purification, and does self-purification require a guide or a saint, and why is it believed necessary to pledge allegiance to this guide/saint?

The religion of Islam is a religion of direct relationship with God, without an intermediary. The requirement of the doctrine of Tawhid (monotheism) is that God alone is to be worshipped, so no one can claim exclusive mediation. The Prophet, peace be upon him, emphasized, even to those closest to him, that he could not avail them anything against God.

Purifying the soul with good manners and righteous deeds is a long struggle that requires knowledge, action, patience, and vigilance. Its attainment is not limited to a single teacher, for wisdom is the lost property of the believer, found in the universe, in the biographies of the righteous, in understanding the religion, and in contemplating the Qur'an.

The importance of a teacher in guidance and upbringing is an accepted fact. However, the problem arises when the teacher is elevated to a priestly status, where special rituals are imposed, such as an obligatory pledge of allegiance (bay'ah) to obedience. The guide is then vested with a special sanctity that makes the disciple in his hands like a corpse in the hands of a washer, and this is false and an innovation in religion. The legitimate pledge of allegiance is given to the just Imam of the Muslims.

The obligatory Sufi pledge of allegiance that assumes absolute obedience to the shaykh, even if he commits what appears to be an evil act, is an innovation contrary to Islamic law. It leads to the annulment of intellects and the belief in the infallibility of the shaykhs. The Permanent Committee for Issuing Fatwas has ruled that it is invalid, and that the pledging of one's self is to God alone, as an commitment to His law.

Some Sufis have transmitted erroneous concepts that call for submission to the shaykh even if the disciple sees something outwardly blameworthy from him, claiming that its inner reality might be praiseworthy. An example is the claim that the wine drunk by the shaykh might turn into honey, which leads to the belief in the infallibility of shaykhs even in sin. This is an annulment of intellects and polytheism with God.