Sufism: The Philosophy of Love

Sufism: The Philosophy of Love theindependent Bangladesh, Jannatul Maoa, 1 September, 2012
Sufism is a philosophy of love, a philosophy of being deeply absorbed in God. It is the mystical tradition of Islam. Mysticism is a manifestation of a deep spiritual hunger. According to William Stoddart, “to be sure, the body (though made in the image of God) is corruptible and mortal, while life is invisible and immortal. Nevertheless, as far as we in this world are concerned, it is only in the body that life finds its support and expression. So is it also in the case of mysticism or spirituality: this is the inward or supra-formal dimension, of which the respective religion is the outward or formal expression. One cannot be Benedictine without being a Christian or a Sufi without being a Muslim. There is no Sufism without Islam.”  The main aim of life according to the Sufis, is to attain nearness to God, according to some of them the aim is rather to merge the individual soul into the universal soul. The disappearance of consciousness of separate selves and a continuous existence into the being of the Divine Self is the goal of Sufism. Sufism thus is a mode of thinking and feeling based on the love and contemplation of God. Sufism (Tasawwuf or Islamic Mysticism) may be regarded as one of the four main schools of Muslim Philosophy. The Sufis appeal to the intuitive side of human nature and aspire to have the knowledge of God with this means. Sufism is a vast and varied subject. The Sufis mostly differ from one another regarding their goal of life. They also differ regarding the ways and means of attaining it. Moreover, Sufism is more practical than theoretical. Sufi teachings are esoteric, passing from heart to heart. All these make it very difficult to say anything definitely about Sufism.

In Arabic Sufism is called tasawwuf. Both words come from suf (wool), a reference to the woolen robe worn by the earliest Sufis. So, it has been stated by many Islamic scholars that, the word ‘Sufi’ is derived from the word ‘suf’ meaning wool. So by a Sufi is meant a person who, out of choice, uses clothing of the simplest kind and avoids every form of luxury and ostentation. But as Sufism connotes many things other than wearing wool, there have been attempts to attribute the derivation of the word Sufi to other roots also. Some believes that it was derived from ‘safa’ (purity), some from ‘saff’ (rank) and others from ‘suffah’ (bench).  According to the first group, the Sufis are named so because of the purity of their hearts. According to the second group the Sufis are called so because they are in the first rank before God. According to the third group, they are called Sufis because their qualities resemble those of the people of the bench, who lived in the time of Prophet (SAW).  Others hold that the word sufi is a modification of the Greek Sophia, which means wisdom.

The Arabic word sufi refers only to one who has attained the goal. In fact, Sufism is a word uniting divergent meanings and as such it is difficult to give a strict definition. Syedur Rahman in his book Islamic Philosophy, holds, “the sufis are not a sect, they have no uniform dogmatic system, the path through which they seek the knowledge of God vary infinitely, though a family likeness may be traced in them all.” So, it is very difficult to describe about any specific beliefs and practices of Sufism. We have to discuss on Sufism on the basis of those ‘likenesses.’ 

By examining the literal meaning and the goal of Sufi life we have clearly got some specific aspects of Sufism. These are those amazing mystical elements of Islam by which Islamic scholars got attracted by Sufi teachings throughout years. Among these aspects we will discuss here regarding three important aspects of Sufism, these three jewels are Love, Purification and Intuition. Though these three aspects are so attractive among scholars, many conservative Muslim scholars hold the view that Sufism is not that way which Islamic Sharia has paved us to attain the state of perfect bliss in after death. Here we will also try to discuss regarding this contradictory relation of Sharia and Ma’arifa. On this perspective we have to discuss about some beliefs and practices of Sufism which characterize this branch of Islam as a branch of spiritualist. 

Love:
According to Sufism, the relation between man and God is that of love. As the relation between man and God is of the lover and the Beloved, the goal of life according to the Sufis, is to be united with God. God created the universe out of love and man in His own image. So in human soul there is the divine attribute of love. This impels man to pine for union with God. It is said that, a seeker went to ask a sage for guidance on the Sufi way. The sage counseled, “If you have never trodden the path of love, go away and fall in love and come back and see us.” The aim of human life is not the avoidance of hell and attainment of heaven, as the orthodox Muslims generally conceive, but attainment of God, union with God. The famous Sufi Rabia Basri holds: “O God; if I worship you for fear of Hell, burn me in Hell, and if I worship you in hope of paradise, exclude me from paradise. But if I worship You for Your own sake grudge me not Your everlasting beauty” This union is the basis of Sufi ethics. Sufism is a state of mind: a state of ecstasy which can better be felt than described. It is pre-eminently an emotional experience based on the meditation and love of God. This stage can be reached only by personal experience. Hence tasawwuf may be defined as the knowledge of truth and love of God. The Sufi follows the path toward God primarily by means of love. For the Sufi who is enraptured with the love of God (who is the source of all existence, or, as some might say, who is all of existence) is extraordinarily beautiful. In contrast, one who is not in love with God to this degree will not see what is so awesome about existence.

Purification:
Allah has made us of two elements: one higher (soul) and the other, lower (self). According to the Sufis, the human soul is a part and parcel of God. The Qur’an says: “I have breathed upon him (man) on My (God) spirit. Further the Prophet(SAW) says that God created men in his own  nature or spirit resembles the spirit of God.  It should be noted here that Allah has mentioned the necessity of purification. He says in the Qur’an, “Successful is the one who has purified himself”. Sufis, therefore, ask that we wage a jihad against the nafs (self). Our Prophet(SAW) said before he died: “The outer jihad has been completed; now it is time to do inner jihad.” The process of inner jihad is called mujahadah (mortification or control). Mujahadah is actually that inner jihad.

To attain the purity of the soul along with the observance of outward rituals, people should lead a devotional, contemplative life in the love of God and of His prophet (SAW).  Sufism shows the way of purification to the devotee. Al-Junayd defines Sufism as the purification of the heart from associating with created beings, separation from natural characteristics, suppression of human qualities, avoiding the temptations of the carnal soul, taking up the qualities of the spirit, attachment to the science of reality, using what is more proper to the eternal, counseling all the community being faithful to God and following the Prophet(SAW) according to the Law. Zakariya Ansari says, ‘Sufism teaches how to purify oneself, improve one’s morals and build up one’s inner and outer life in order to attain perpetual bliss. The subject-matter is the purification of the soul and its end or aim is the attainment of eternal felicity and blessedness.’

From the above definitions it is very clear that the essence of Sufism lies in the purification of the senses and the will, the building up of inner and outer life and the attainment of eternal felicity and blessedness by approaching the Divine Realities.

Now the murids will be instructed to go through what we call mujahadah of the nafs (self). As the chosen created being of Allah, the purification of the Prophets’ selves was done by Allah Himself in a special way. The ordinary Muslims like you and I need to go through a long and difficult process of purifying the self. We cannot, however, complete the whole journey by our own efforts. We work very hard to achieve our goal, and at some point Allah’s especial grace (lutf) will lift us close to Him. The process of mujahadah involves a great deal of work of discipline.

Intuition:
Real knowledge of God can only be attained by means of Kashf or intuition. According to the Sufis reason is not at all helpful in attaining the knowledge of God. It is through intuition or direct apprehension that knowledge of God can be attained. Psychologically, the basis of Sufism lies in man’s aspiration for a personal direct approach to and a more intense experience of God. It overemphasized the importance of Kashf (intuition) and neglected the role of reason, tradition and sense-experience in the development of human knowledge. It is not concerned with conceptual knowledge based on rational analysis and synthesis, but it is a sort of direct, intuitive knowledge based on feeling and meditation. It is a type of knowledge acquired by an individual in inspired moments during deep meditation. It is difficult to describe the state of mind attained by a Sufi, for it can be realized only by personal experience. It is very difficult, perhaps impossible, to ‘understand’ that experience unless a person has had it himself. In view of the complexity and peculiarity of the nature of Sufi experience, people avoid its free discussion. Hence, Sufis refrain from discussing the matter of their experience to the general run of masses. A second reason for their unwillingness to discuss their experience openly is that the masses may misunderstand what they talk about, and that may land the Sufis into trouble. Intuition results from ecstasy which comes after a long process of spiritual training.

Sharia and Ma’arifa:
In Islam the two domains - outward and inward - remain more or less distinct, though they bear a very definite relationship to one another. This relationship can perhaps best be described as follows: the outward religion, or ‘exoterism’ (known in Islam as the sharia), may be likened to the circumference of a circle. The inner truth or esoterism, that lies at the heart of the religion (and is known in Islam as haqiqa), may be likened to the circle’s centre. The radius proceeding from circumference to centre represents the mystical or ‘initiatic’ path (tariqa) that leads from outward observance to inner conviction, from belief to vision, from potency to act. Sufism comprises both  esoterism and initiation, haqiqa and tariqa, doctrine and method. The Sharia, for its part, is the outward religion which is accessible to and indispensable for, all. Tasawwuf, on the other hand is only for those possessed of the necessary vocation. The first thing that we must understand is that Sufis are Muslims. In its ritual aspect it emphasizes the observance of certain practices such as Kalima, namaz, roza, hajj and zakat.  Islam stands on those fundamental doctrines and rituals. The most fundamental requirement of the people starting their journey on the Sufi path is that they must be good Muslims fulfilling all the requirements of Sharia. In addition to these, Sharia enjoins upon man certain other things for a disciplined life in this world. But there are some persons who follow a special line (Tariqa). They appeal to the intuitive side of human nature and exhort people to lead a contemplative life, through which divine love enters into the soul of devotee. This intuitive knowledge is called ma’arifa (Gnosis) or real knowledge. The experience of tawhid brings to the Sufis a special kind of knowledge called ma’rifa.

Thus there are two paths leading to God - Shariat and Ma’arifa. Ma’arifa, as distinguished from the faithful observance of the rituals of sharia, is concerned mainly with intuitive experience in which intellect plays a minor part. Ma’rifa is direct and immediate knowledge of Allah. Actually this knowledge is Allah’s own knowledge of Himself. He gives a tiny part of that knowledge to His friends (awliya, plural of wali). Because Sufis are endowed with ma’rifa, they are sometimes referred to as ‘arifun (plural of ‘arif, ‘knower’).

Beliefs and Practices of Sufism:
A person, who is walking through the Sufi path, has to pass through the different stages before he attains perfection. Syedur Rahman tells us about four stages. According to him, “in the first stage he must acquires empirical knowledge of facts and in the second he has to practice the rituals of religion in right earnest. In the third, he sees God everywhere and in the fourth he turns after reaching the goal.” Professor Nicholson has told another some stages of Sufism. According to him, “the first stage is the stage of repentance, in the second stage he practices self-abnegation and places himself under the guidance of a Pir or master to abstain from all worldly enjoyments.

The behavioral absolutes of the sharia set the outer limits that the Sufi must keep within. But the Sufi struggle with one's nafs puts further curbs on the Sufi's behavior and consciousness. In this regard, the struggle with one's own nafs has been called the greater struggle or greater "holy war" (al-jihad al-akbar) in contrast to the lesser struggle (al-jihad al-asghar), which is against injustice and oppressors in this world. The concept derives from the popular hadith of the Prophet (SAW), in which he said to Muslims returning from a battle, "You have returned from the lesser struggle to the greater struggle." And he was asked, "What is the greater struggle?" He answered, "The struggle against one's self (nafs), which is between the two sides of your body." Needless to say, in Sufism these two struggles are mutually reinforcing and occur simultaneously. The passions are great obstacles to the attainment of union with God. To cope with these passions one should forget his self and live in God. This is the stage of tawakkul or trust in God, a stage of total passivity involving the loss of personal initiative. In this attitude of total indifference and selflessness Sufis completely placed themselves at the mercy and care of God. What is meant by complete trust is simple: accept whatever happens to you as an act of Allah’s Will, for whatever He does is for our good.

Murids are required to do a great deal of fasting. Here we are not talking of fasting in the month of Ramadan which they must also do. We are talking about additional fasting. Experience has shown that fasting works as a good means of controlling the low desires and passions and thus of purifying the heart.

Next we come to the practice of zikr (remembrance) of Allah. In order to make an advance towards the ecstatic state, the Sufis have recourse to zikr. It is said in the Quran “…remember God often”. The Sufis give stress on this injunction and remember God by repeating a name of God (asma’ul husna) or a verse of the Quran constantly. Sufis consider zikr as the practice per excellence. Repeating the Names of Allah and other formulas prescribed by the master many times, either alone or in groups, is considered the best means of purifying the heart. The formulas most used in Sufi zikr are ‘Allah’ and ‘la ilah illallah’. It is believed that, “At prayer the mind may wander way; but in zikr it does not.”   Of course Allah has ordered us in the Qur’an to do zikr of Him while standing, sitting, and lying on our sides. The Qur'an instructs Muslims to remember God. Sufis have developed this into the quintessential Sufi practice of silent and vocal zikr (remembrance). An inherent problem in zikr, however, is the difficulty in remembering God when one has little or no awareness of God. To start with, Muslims begin with a name of God, such as "Allah," which is often called the "comprehensive" name (al-ism al-jami'). It is comprehensive in the sense that it comprises all of the infinite names of God, which refer to the source of the awareness of all of reality. Thus, remembering God can begin quite simply and ordinarily with the awareness of two things: one's present awareness and the name Allah--even when one has no awareness of the reality to which the name Allah refers.

Fana and Baqa:
A Sufi, who is always anxious for the knowledge and love of God, is ready to undergo any amount of hardship to remove the distance with God. He tries to lose the consciousness of individual things and of the self through several practices, to be absorbed in universal consciousness and love of God. Through ecstasy he can communicate with God and can become one with Him. This state of losing self consciousness in a state of ecstasy is called Fana or passing away. It involves a moral transformation of the soul through the extinction of all its passions and desires. It means the cessation of all consciousness other than that of God. There are two stages of fana. The first stage of fana is called fana-i-kulli that means absolute annihilation. When the feeling of non-possession attains perfection it is called fana-i-kulli. In the highest stage of fana even the consciousness of attaining fana disappears, this is known as fana-al-fana.

The final stage of fana marks the beginning of baqa. It is that united state in which the sufi lives in the consciousness of God. Through fana devotee passes from the phenomenal self to real self and the baqa followed by fana is a permanent or continuous life in God. Fana, the consummation of individual death marks the beginning of baqa or union with divine life.

In a state of baqa Mansur al-Hallaj shouted saying, “Ana al- Haqq”, I am the Reality, I am the Truth. Abu Yazid al Bistami said, “Subhani, ma a’jama al- sha’ni”, Glory be to me!  How great is my majesty! These famous utterances of Sufis have created rift between mainstream Islam and Sufism.  We Muslims are supposed to say, “Anta al-Haqq”, You are the Truth; and “Subhanaka, ma a’jama al-sha’nuka,” Glory be to You. How great is Your majesty! Hence the statements made by those Sufis go against sharia.  Sufis themselves have an explanation of these paradoxical statements. According to some scholars, A Sufi who has attained ma’arifa has an illuminated soul and is rather indifferent to sharia.

A common criticism of Sufism is that it is bid'ah (innovation) and thus is not authentically Islamic. But, if we observe carefully we will find that, the keynote of Sufism is love of God and a disinterested, selfless devotion to Him. This idea was there in the teaching of mainstream Islam too. It is held there are passages in the Qur’an and Hadith which have deep mystical significance. ‘For God is in the east and west, so wherever thou turns the face, there is the reality of God.’ ‘He is with you wherever you are.’ These verses indicate the all-pervading influence of God. There are verses which indicate the nearness of God to man. ‘God is nearer to man then his nekj-vein.’ ‘We are nearer to man than you, but you do not perceive.’ In the Qur’an God says- “I was a hidden treasure and I desired to be known and so I created the world and all that is in to know myself.’  Sufism also stands on the basis of unfolding the truth. Rumi says, “do not be satisfied with the stories that comes before you, unfold your own myth.”

Sufism has some specific and great contributions  to Islam. Through the long journey of the history of Sufism we have got many great poets and thinkers. As it is well known, Sufis have contributed a great deal to Islamic thought and literature. Mention may be made of Rumi, Hafiz, and Ibn al-Arabi in this respect. The most important contribution that Sufis made is that they spread the religion of Islam far and wide. After Muhammad(SAW)’s death Muslims conquered lands after lands. Within 80 years of his death Muslim conquerors reached India in the east and Spain on the west –indeed a miracle of history. In the wake of the conquests came the Sufis, set up khankas (Sufi centres) and taught Islam and the Sufi way of life to the conquered people. If we take the case of old India, we find a large number of people of lower castes, suppressed and oppressed by the higher caste Hindus. These lower caste Hindus were attracted by the Islamic teaching of equality and the extraordinary human qualities of the Sufis. Hence they flocked to the khankas to join Islam. Sufis have also emphasized the element of love in Islam. Allah to them is more of an object of love than of fear.  Hence the objective of their life is to come close to Him.  They also inspire their murids to become compassionate, loving and tender human beings like themselves.  Sufism is gentle, loving, caring, tolerant and moderate Islam. It is through the Sufis that many people of western and northern Europe, Africa and North America are becoming Muslims today. That is why; more and scientific study on Sufism is the demand of the time. So that we can remove the rift between Sharia and Ma’arifa and we can make a mutual way which will lead us to the nearness of God, through which we will be able to get the grace of God.

Jannatul Maoa is an M.phil researcher,  Dept. of World Religions and Culture, University of Dhaka.
E-mail: jannat_maoa@yahoo.com