What is Sufism?

[ZoyaHayat]

Many people seek an answer to the question: What is Sufism?...

Many people attribute Sufism to Islam...which is untrue...
Sufism encompasses all ways to God...
In a way you can say Sufism is religionless...
the Divine Love encompasses the Lover and the Beloved(God)...
Below is an abstract...please refer to it ...


[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Sufism, the Religion of the Heart[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The subject of Sufism has been interpreted in various ways in India , Arabia , and other Middle Eastern countries over hundreds of years. This subject is also found in numerous historical documents as well as in contemporary publications, and yet to the question, ‘what is Sufism?’ there seems to be no precise definition which could satisfy the curiosity of those who, in the disguise of seekers on the spiritual path, are searching only for the key to performing wonders.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Sufism is neither a religion nor a cult nor a sect, nor is it only from the East or from the West. Sufism, which means wisdom, has always been and shall always be an open door to Truth; the wise feel sympathy towards all beliefs, while at the same time avoiding speculation upon abstract concepts. Sufism believes in the Divine origin of every form of worship in which the unity of religious ideals is respected.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Sufism, which is without any religious obligations, regards spirituality as the religion of the heart. That religion is one wherein the unity of religious ideals is followed unconditionally in search of truth, without going astray in following the followers of the followers of the great religious reformers, whose messages have been altered beyond recognition through the centuries by those who confuse mysticism with fanaticism.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]In Sufism there is no place for comparisons or preferences. All Messengers are regarded with the same respect and their messages are worshiped with the same veneration, knowing that Buddha was not a Buddhist, Christ was not a Christian, and Mohammed was not a Mohammedan. They were bringers of new impulses of the Divine Message, which the multitude uses as toys to play with, and impostors use for power games.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Sufism is an attitude of inner sympathy towards all beliefs. All religions are Sufi religions as long as they recognize the limits inherent in any speculative interpretation of Truth. One might say that Sufism is a process leading to the widening of the horizon of the heart, so that Truth may shine within as a brilliant sun, illuminating all that is receptive of its rays of light.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Through the ages there has been one religion after another, but each one came as a confirmation of the previous one. Now, in our century and with the development of science and communication, it has become clear that each religion had a special purpose to fulfil at a particular period of human evolution. For the wise, one can only be really attuned to any religion if one’s heart is open to all religious beliefs with the same love and understanding for each.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The word Sufi means wisdom, but that does not mean that when pursuing the Sufi path one is necessarily wise. Sufism is a test with which one is constantly confronted, when expected to show an example of how well one understands what spirituality truly is. Spirituality does not mean drifting away upon the clouds of illusion; it means having the feet firmly on the ground of reality, proving thereby, without pretence to have acquired discipline over the physical and mental energies. It is only then that one can possibly inspire others on the path where honesty in spirituality is the watchword.

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]A Sufi is a religious soul whose nature is to refuse to submit to imposed beliefs, and who is conscious that life is not necessarily just what one might think it to be, nor what one is told it to be. Life is not only lived at the level of physical experience, nor only at the level of thought, nor only at the level of feeling, but also, and most importantly, at a still higher level of consciousness, where the self is no more the barrier separating reality from illusion.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]On the path of spirituality, one ventures to vanquish one’s own faults rather than to judge others, whose faults are not very different to one’s own. One tries to master one’s own feelings rather than misinterpreting those of others, and one treasures even the smallest sign of appreciation coming from those who are dependant upon one’s sympathy.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]At this level of consciousness, there are neither limitations nor opposites, nor is there any relationship with pre-conceived ideas, such as those expressed in all dogmatic religious interpretations of Truth. When trying to explain God one only fashions an individual concept, limited to the size of ones thoughts.[/FONT]
[/FONT]

 

[A-ManESL]

An admirable post, dear friend, but with all due respect, you have missed a very important part of Sufism. The crucial point of Sufism, indeed any mystical idea is not simply about accepting other's beliefs. There is much more to it and that involves the "path to spirituality" which you spoke of in passing. This important point of Sufism is summarized thus:

The purpose of a human being is to re-establish its organic link with God, and life is devoted to this cause. There exists an urge, an itch within every man towards God, which is love. The man receptive to this itch, a Sufi, knows that he exists and God exists, and for the union to be achieved duality between the two must disappear. Now since duality can only disappear if one of the two is erased from the picture, the only solution is that either God or man must die. Now as it is impossible that God dies, the Sufi himself attempts to die (not in the literal sense, but in the sense described below).

In God’s presence two I’s cannot exist. You cannot know your self and God’s Self; either die before God, or God will die before you so that duality will not remain. But as for God’s dying, that is both impossible and inconceivable, for God is the Living, the Immortal. So gracious is He that if it were at all possible He would die for your sake. Since that is not possible, then you must die so that God can reveal Itself to you, and duality can vanish.​

-Discourses of Rumi.

The Sufi aims to achieve fanaa (annihilation of the self), the curbing of his personal desires for the sake of God. This is the ultimate submission, the killing of the self, where the most important vestige of polytheism (meaning the worship of the self) is erased. Only when the Sufi has achieved fanaa, does he gain a measure of unity with God. While a swimmer was in the water there were two forms: the swimmer and the water. Now that the swimmer has become unconscious, there is essentially only one form: that of the water. The swimmer is no longer there, he moves as the water wills.

Still higher he may rise, when he starts to subsists in God, (baqaa). Indeed as the hadith of the Prophet (pbuh) says,

God the All-Mighty says: ". . . My servant does not draw near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties that I have imposed upon him, and My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works so that I shall love him. When I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes, his foot with which he walks. . ."

This is briefly the first goal of all Sufis.

One final point. Sufism is indeed, at its deepest level or esoterically speaking, not a religion, but you cannot disregard the fact that exoterically, and traditionally, Sufism has, starting from Imam Ghazali (who made it mainstream), paid allegiance to the obligations of Islam. In fact, this is not mere lip service, but the necessary shell without which the kernel couldn't exist.

Form too possesses great importance. No, much more than importance—it is of true substance. Just as the body will fail if it lacks a heart, so too it fails without a skin. If you plant a seed with no husk, it cannot grow, but if you bury it in the earth with its shell, then it germinates and becomes a great tree. So, form is a great and necessary principle, and without it our task fails and our purpose is not attained. Yes, this principle is reality in the eyes of those who know reality and have become reality! - Discourses of Rumi.​

Regards.

 

[ZoyaHayat]

I fully agree with you for the first time A-ManESL hehehehehe...

 

[Mr Cheese]

One day during a storm a heavy branch fell onto a little snowdrop plant.

Later when the branch was removed the small tender stems, unharmed, were seen to have spread out and curled around as if to embrace the log.

Less than an hour later, the little shoots had all but straightened out and, unimpeded, were growing upward toward their fulfillment.

–Murshida Sitara Brutnell

 

[ZoyaHayat]

One day during a storm a heavy branch fell onto a little snowdrop plant.

Later when the branch was removed the small tender stems, unharmed, were seen to have spread out and curled around as if to embrace the log.

Less than an hour later, the little shoots had all but straightened out and, unimpeded, were growing upward toward their fulfillment.

–Murshida Sitara Brutnell

Mr Cheese that was beautiful ...

 

[Sufi]

Shaykh Muhammad 'Abduh (1265 - 1323 AH.)

"Tasawwuf appeared in the first century of Islam and it received a tremendous honor. It purified the self and straightened the conduct and gave knowledge to people from the Wisdom and Secrets of the Divine Presence."

[Majallat al-Muslim, 6th ed. 1378 H, p. 24].

 

[Sufi]

Imam Ghazzali (450 – 505 AH.)

“I knew verily that Sufis are the seekers in Allah’s Way, and their conduct is the best conduct, and their way is the best way, and their manners are the most sanctified. They have cleaned their hearts from other than Allah and they have made them as pathways for rivers to run receiving knowledge of the Divine Presence.”

[al-Munqidh, p. 131].

 

[ConfusedKuri]

I'm afraid I have to admit I've never bothered to learn a lot about Sufism, for the majority of people in my community consider them non-Muslim, I enjoy Ghazals by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and poetry by Rumi and Baba Bulley Shah, I also read some of Ghazali's work(of whom an accquaintance once said he had been "misguided" for a while), however more than that I do not know.

I guess I should research it properly before coming to a final decision.

Maybe I should take a deep look into it before I end up

 

[Alulu]

Germany has a big Turkish Muslim community. Turkish culture is full of sufism and their past has been marked by great sufi scholars. Turks still read poetry by the likes of Yunus Emre, are proud of Mevlana etc. So I would assume, you living in Germany, that you will also find positive responses about sufism in Germany.

 

[fenrisx]

An admirable post, dear friend, but with all due respect, you have missed a very important part of Sufism. The crucial point of Sufism, indeed any mystical idea is not simply about accepting other's beliefs. There is much more to it and that involves the "path to spirituality" which you spoke of in passing. This important point of Sufism is summarized thus:

The purpose of a human being is to re-establish its organic link with God, and life is devoted to this cause. There exists an urge, an itch within every man towards God, which is love. The man receptive to this itch, a Sufi, knows that he exists and God exists, and for the union to be achieved duality between the two must disappear. Now since duality can only disappear if one of the two is erased from the picture, the only solution is that either God or man must die. Now as it is impossible that God dies, the Sufi himself attempts to die (not in the literal sense, but in the sense described below).


The Sufi aims to achieve fanaa (annihilation of the self), the curbing of his personal desires for the sake of God. This is the ultimate submission, the killing of the self, where the most important vestige of polytheism (meaning the worship of the self) is erased. Only when the Sufi has achieved fanaa, does he gain a measure of unity with God. While a swimmer was in the water there were two forms: the swimmer and the water. Now that the swimmer has become unconscious, there is essentially only one form: that of the water. The swimmer is no longer there, he moves as the water wills.

Still higher he may rise, when he starts to subsists in God, (baqaa). Indeed as the hadith of the Prophet (pbuh) says,


This is briefly the first goal of all Sufis.

One final point. Sufism is indeed, at its deepest level or esoterically speaking, not a religion, but you cannot disregard the fact that exoterically, and traditionally, Sufism has, starting from Imam Ghazali (who made it mainstream), paid allegiance to the obligations of Islam. In fact, this is not mere lip service, but the necessary shell without which the kernel couldn't exist.



Regards.

I meant to start a thread on questions of Sufism, but you guys beat me to it. Thanks for this.

 

[fenrisx]

I'm afraid I have to admit I've never bothered to learn a lot about Sufism, for the majority of people in my community consider them non-Muslim, I enjoy Ghazals by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and poetry by Rumi and Baba Bulley Shah, I also read some of Ghazali's work(of whom an accquaintance once said he had been "misguided" for a while), however more than that I do not know.

I guess I should research it properly before coming to a final decision.

Maybe I should take a deep look into it before I end up

This may be where things get a wee bit murky for some, sufis being Muslims or not, but with respect to all, it is the religion of the heart, and it is the pursuit of divine wisdom and unity, its always been with us, and always will be, at this point, do names really matter?

Towards the one, and may god bless you.