"The Virtues of Ali Ibn Talib"- Luqma al-Andalusi- Forward by Walid Lounès Bouzerar
The Naqshbandiya Foundation for Islamic Education (NFIE) is a non-profit, tax exempt, religious and educational organization dedicated to serve Islam with a special focus on Tasawwuf(Sufism),
"The Prophet (upon whom be peace) said, 'Whoever visits my grave, it is necessary for me to intercede on her/his behalf' " (Hadith of the Prophet in the Sunan of Daraqutni, Shu'ab al-imam of Bayhaqi) قال النبي عليه السلام: من زارَ قَبْرِي وَجَبَتْ لَهُ شَفَاعَتِي Qala n-nabi 'alayhi s-salam: man zara qabri, wajabat la-hu shafa'ati. A similar version is in the al-Mu'jam al-awsat and al-Mu'jam al-kabir of Tabarani: مَنْ زَارَ قَبْرِي بَعْدَ مَوْتِي كَانَ كَمَنْ زَارَنِي فِي حَيَاتِي "Whoever visits my grave after my death, it is as if s/he has visited me during my life."
"I only created jinn and humans so they could worship Me" (Qur'an, Surat al-Dariyat 51:56) وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنْسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ wa-ma khalaqtu l-jiina wa-l-ins illa li-ya'buduni . One of the foremost authorities on Qur'anic commentary among the companions, Ibn 'Abbas, was reported by his student Mujahid to have stated that "so they could worship Me" means "so they could know Me (li-ya'rifuni). (There is another isnad that includes Ibn Jurayj and stops at Mujahid and does not include Ibn 'Abbas.) This report of Ibn 'Abbas is part of the textual justification commonly given by Sufis to support their contention that the purpose of the creation is to gain direct experience of God (ma'rifa). Often it is cited together with the hadith qudsi, where God said, "I was a hidden treasure and I loved to be known, so I created creation in order to be known (li-yu'rafa)."