STATUS OF SUFISM IN ISLAM
Many
misconceptions are when we talk about Islamic Sufism. Many of the people have
wrong belief that it is some inherent knowledge which is transferred from generation
to generation, and are equal to the recognized laws of the shariat which is Islamic law. In a research
paper, it is stated that “they hold that it was originally secretly taught by
the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to Hazrat Ali, the fourth Caliph,
and then passed on through him to the rest of the Muslim community…Hazrat Ali's
name is most often associated with sufism because the leading sufis in many of
the sufi orders trace their genealogy to Hazrat Ali…However, it is incorrect to
ascribe the origin of Islamic Sufism to Hazrat Ali solely on this ground
because the genealogy of sufis from some other orders leads to Hazrat Abu Bakr,
the first Caliph.”[1]
Sufism
is a based on religious philosophy of Islam. It is described in the oldest
extant definition as ‘the apprehension of divine realities.’ Mohammedan mystics
are fond of calling themselves Ahl al- Haqq, ‘the followers of the Real.’[2]
We can understand Sufism
from the point of view of three basic religious notation which in the Qur’an
which are attitudes of Islam, Iman and Ihsan. According to an article, “there
is a Hadith of the Prophet (saw) which describes the three attitudes separately
as components of Din (religion), while several other traditions in the
Kitab-ul-Iman of Sahih Bukhari discuss Islam and Iman as distinct attitudes
varying in religious significance. These are also mentioned as having various
degrees of intensity and varieties in themselves. The attitude of Islam, which
has given its name to the Islamic religion, means Submission to the Will of
Allah. This is the minimum qualification for being a Muslim.”[3]
As per three stages of religious notion,
definition of Sufism may be “as the
Spiritual Progress of a devotee from the initial stage of Islam to the final
stage of Ihsan.”[4]
Macdonald in his book,” the Religious
Attitude p. 159, writes, “From the earliest times there was an element in the
Muslim church which was repelled equally by traditional teaching and
intellectual reasoning…It felt that the essence of religion lay elsewhere; that
the seat and organ of religion was in the heart. In process of time, all Islam
became permeated with this conception, in different degrees and various forms…More
widely than ever with Christianity, Islam became and is a mystical faith.”[5]
Sufism in the sense of ‘mysticism” and
quietism”, was a natural development of the ascetic tendencies which manifested
themselves within Islam during the Umayyad period. To understand Sufism, we
must understand mysticism. The Greek root myein, “to close the eyes,” is also
the root of “mystery”; the mystic’s goal is not to be reached by the intellect
or by ordinary means
Thus, we can define Sufism a movement that
purpose is to make people good and better Muslims. It is a call to them to actualize truly and internally those teachings
of Islam they have accepted only formally or intellectually as part of their
inheritance.[6]
Sufism:-
A heart of Islam:
A person who is Sufi indeed gives up
all the worldly pleasures. the cheap sensations, the materialism and the
corruptions, but not in the least withdraws from the worldly living. He does
not depend on any other person for his own bread.
The purpose of Sufism is not to obtain an
immediate knowledge of truth, but also he is a servant of God. No stage is higher
than the stage of servant hood and it is believed that no truth is beyond the
Shari’ah. The purpose of Sufi Tariqah is
to prove conviction on the notions
of the Shari’ah and to promote the awareness
of its rules.
Although there are some differences from
traditional Islam, yet it is indeed the heart of Islam. The phrase “heart of Islam must be given a pinned definition
in this context, as some will see it as being the most important thing of the Islamic
religion while others will see it simply as Islam’s truth. Both interpretations
of the phrase heart of Islam are vitally the same yet evidence can adjust
whether they are the primary hearts of
Islam or even secondary.”[7]
This different explanation of Sufism is because
though the Quran focuses on that “all Muslims stand equally before God, it also
insists that human beings are distinguished in rank according to their
knowledge of the truth and virtue, as in the verses, ‘are those who know equal
with those who know not?” (Quran39:9) and one of Sufism’s main goals is
ultimate knowledge, knowledge of God, which is why they must be the heart
of their religion, as they create extra emphasis on the fundamental virtues of
Islam.
Conclusion
After observing the concept of Sufism, it is
considered that all the spiritual and great religious persons (teachers) were sent by one God on the
earth. All teachers are very true and
they teach from the ground of reality. Their teachings originated from the same
Divine Source. There is no fundamental difference among all the spiritual
teachers and what they have brought; however, just as some bulbs give more
light, some teachers have illuminated more of humanity than others. The Sufis
love and accept them all, because the Sufis believe there is one God and one
message and many prophets. The differences among religions are of human origin,
but the truth of all religions is the same and comes from God. The saints are
those men and women who interpret the teachings of religion and live by the truth
of their religion.
[1]
Position of Sufism (Tasawwuf) in Islam: by Dr
Basharat Ahamad, Compiled by Dr Mohammad
Ahamad. http://aaiil.org/text/books/others/basharatahmad/essaysislamicsufiism/positionsufiismislam.shtml
[2] Nicholson, Reynold A., The Mystics of Islam,
Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1963.
[4] Schimmel, Annemarie, Mystical Dimensions of Islam,
University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 1975, p.9.
[5] Arberry , Arthur J.,An Introduction to the History
of Sufism: The Sir Abdullah Suhrawardy lectures for 1942, Orient Longman
Limited, New Delhi, 1992.
[6] Faruqi, I. H. Azad, Sufism and Bhakti: Maulana-
Rum and Sri Rama Krishna, Abhinav Publications, New Delhi, 1984.
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