The Sufi Book Of Life Pdf

[Michelle Benitone]

Despitea relative decline of Sufi orders in the modern era and attacks from fundamentalist Islamic movements (such as Salafism and Wahhabism), Sufism has continued to play an important role in the Islamic world.[13][14] It has also influenced various forms of spirituality in the West and generated significant academic interest.[15][16][17]

The term Sufism was originally introduced into European languages in the 18th century by Orientalist scholars, who viewed it mainly as an intellectual doctrine and literary tradition at variance with what they saw as sterile monotheism of Islam. It was often mistaken as a universal mysticism in contrast to legalistic orthodox Islam.[21] In recent times, Historian Nile Green has argued against such distinctions, stating, in the Medieval period Sufism and Islam were more or less the same.[22] In modern scholarly usage, the term serves to describe a wide range of social, cultural, political and religious phenomena associated with Sufis.[19]

Sufism has been variously defined as "Islamic mysticism",[23][24][25] "the mystical expression of Islamic faith",[26] "the inward dimension of Islam",[27][28] "the phenomenon of mysticism within Islam",[6][29] the "main manifestation and the most important and central crystallization" of mystical practice in Islam,[30][31] and "the interiorization and intensification of Islamic faith and practice".[32]

The original meaning of ṣūfī seems to have been "one who wears wool (ṣūf)", and the Encyclopaedia of Islam calls other etymological hypotheses "untenable".[6][18] Woolen clothes were traditionally associated with ascetics and mystics.[6] Al-Qushayri and Ibn Khaldun both rejected all possibilities other than ṣūf on linguistic grounds.[33]

Others have suggested that the word comes from the term Ahl al-Ṣuffa ("the people of the suffah or the bench"), who were a group of impoverished companions of Muhammad who held regular gatherings of dhikr,[36] one of the most prominent companion among them was Abu Hurayra. These men and women who sat at al-Masjid an-Nabawi are considered by some to be the first Sufis.[37][38]

The current consensus is that Sufism emerged in the Hejaz, present day Saudi Arabia and that it has existed as a practice of Muslims from the earliest days of Islam, even predating some sectarian divides.[39]

Sufis believe that by giving bayʿah (pledging allegiance) to a legitimate Sufi Shaykh, one is pledging allegiance to Muhammad; therefore, a spiritual connection between the seeker and Muhammad is established. It is through Muhammad that Sufis aim to learn about, understand and connect with God.[43] Ali is regarded as one of the major figures amongst the Sahaba who have directly pledged allegiance to Muhammad, and Sufis maintain that through Ali, knowledge about Muhammad and a connection with Muhammad may be attained. Such a concept may be understood by the hadith, which Sufis regard to be authentic, in which Muhammad said, "I am the city of knowledge, and Ali is its gate."[44] Eminent Sufis such as Ali Hujwiri refer to Ali as having a very high ranking in Tasawwuf. Furthermore, Junayd of Baghdad regarded Ali as Sheikh of the principals and practices of Tasawwuf.[45]

Historian Jonathan A.C. Brown notes that during the lifetime of Muhammad, some companions were more inclined than others to "intensive devotion, pious abstemiousness and pondering the divine mysteries" more than Islam required, such as Abu Dharr al-Ghifari. Hasan al-Basri, a tabi', is considered a "founding figure" in the "science of purifying the heart".[46]

Practitioners of Sufism hold that in its early stages of development Sufism effectively referred to nothing more than the internalization of Islam.[47] According to one perspective, it is directly from the Qur'an, constantly recited, meditated, and experienced, that Sufism proceeded, in its origin and its development.[48] Other practitioners have held that Sufism is the strict emulation of the way of Muhammad, through which the heart's connection to the Divine is strengthened.[49]

Later developments of Sufism occurred from people like Dawud Tai and Bayazid Bastami.[50] Early on Sufism was known for its strict adherence to the sunnah, for example it was reported Bastami refused to eat a watermelon because he did not find any proof that Muhammad ever ate it.[51][52] According to the late medieval mystic, the Persian poet Jami,[53] Abd-Allah ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah (died c. 716) was the first person to be called a "Sufi".[33] The term also had a strong connection with Kufa, with three of the earliest scholars to be called by the term being Abu Hashim al-Kufi,[54] Jabir ibn Hayyan and Abdak al-Sufi.[55] Later individuals included Hatim al-Attar, from Basra, and Al-Junayd al-Baghdadi.[55] Others, such as Al-Harith al-Muhasibi and Sari al-Saqati, were not known as Sufis during their lifetimes, but later came to be identified as such due to their focus on tazkiah (purification).[55]

Important contributions in writing are attributed to Uwais al-Qarani, Hasan of Basra, Harith al-Muhasibi, Abu Nasr as-Sarraj and Said ibn al-Musayyib.[50] Ruwaym, from the second generation of Sufis in Baghdad, was also an influential early figure,[56][57] as was Junayd of Baghdad; a number of early practitioners of Sufism were disciples of one of the two.[58]

Within the Sufi tradition, the formation of the orders did not immediately produce lineages of master and disciple. There are few examples before the eleventh century of complete lineages going back to the Prophet Muhammad. Yet the symbolic importance of these lineages was immense: they provided a channel to divine authority through master-disciple chains. It was through such chains of masters and disciples that spiritual power and blessings were transmitted to both general and special devotees.[59]

They strive for ihsan (perfection of worship), as detailed in a hadith: "Ihsan is to worship Allah as if you see Him; if you can't see Him, surely He sees you."[61] Sufis regard Muhammad as al-Insān al-Kāmil, the complete human who personifies the attributes of Absolute Reality,[62] and view him as their ultimate spiritual guide.[63]

Sufi orders trace most of their original precepts from Muhammad through Ali ibn Abi Talib,[64] with the notable exception of the Naqshbandi order, who trace their original precepts to Muhammad through Abu Bakr.[65] However, it was not necessary to formally belong to a tariqa.[66] In the Medieval period, Sufism was almost equal to Islam in general and not limited to specific orders.[67](p24)

Sufism had a long history already before the subsequent institutionalization of Sufi teachings into devotional orders (tariqa, pl. tarqt) in the early Middle Ages.[68] The term tariqa is used for a school or order of Sufism, or especially for the mystical teaching and spiritual practices of such an order with the aim of seeking ḥaqīqah (ultimate truth). A tariqa has a murshid (guide) who plays the role of leader or spiritual director. The members or followers of a tariqa are known as murīdīn (singular murīd), meaning "desirous", viz. "desiring the knowledge of knowing God and loving God".[69]

Over the years, Sufi orders have influenced and been adopted by various Shi'i movements, especially Isma'ilism, which led to the Safaviyya order's conversion to Shia Islam from Sunni Islam and the spread of Twelverism throughout Iran.[70]

Existing in both Sunni and Shia Islam, Sufism is not a distinct sect, as is sometimes erroneously assumed, but a method of approaching or a way of understanding the religion, which strives to take the regular practice of the religion to the "supererogatory level" through simultaneously "fulfilling ... [the obligatory] religious duties"[6] and finding a "way and a means of striking a root through the 'narrow gate' in the depth of the soul out into the domain of the pure arid unimprisonable Spirit which itself opens out on to the Divinity."[25] Academic studies of Sufism confirm that Sufism, as a separate tradition from Islam apart from so-called pure Islam, is frequently a product of Western orientalism and modern Islamic fundamentalists.[71]

As a mystic and ascetic aspect of Islam, it is considered as the part of Islamic teaching that deals with the purification of the inner self. By focusing on the more spiritual aspects of religion, Sufis strive to obtain direct experience of God by making use of "intuitive and emotional faculties" that one must be trained to use.[68] Tasawwuf is regarded as a science of the soul that has always been an integral part of Orthodox Islam. In his Al-Risala al-Safadiyya, ibn Taymiyyah describes the Sufis as those who belong to the path of the Sunna and represent it in their teachings and writings.[citation needed]

Ibn Taymiyya's Sufi inclinations and his reverence for Sufis like Abdul-Qadir Gilani can also be seen in his hundred-page commentary on Futuh al-ghayb, covering only five of the seventy-eight sermons of the book, but showing that he considered tasawwuf essential within the life of the Islamic community.[citation needed]

The vicissitudes of life, family affairs and financial constraints engulfed my life and deprived me of the congenial solitude. The heavy odds confronted me and provided me with few moments for my pursuits. This state of affairs lasted for ten years, but whenever I had some spare and congenial moments I resorted to my intrinsic proclivity. During these turbulent years, numerous astonishing and indescribable secrets of life were unveiled to me. I was convinced that the group of Aulia (holy mystics) is the only truthful group who follow the right path, display best conduct and surpass all sages in their wisdom and insight. They derive all their overt or covert behaviour from the illumining guidance of the holy Prophet, the only guidance worth quest and pursuit.[72]

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