Oprah Winfrey Inspired by Islamic and Buddhist Faiths, Admits to Reading Daily Sufi Word

Christine Thomasos. Christian Post Oct 16 2012

Oprah Winfrey recently shared her morning routine with Harper's Baazar magazine which includes a breakfast of fruit and almond milk, a workout and inspiration from Sufism, or Islamic mysticism.

Winfrey told the publication that she wakes up at around 5:45 a.m. and reads a passage from
TheDailyLove.com and The Bowl of Saki, which she describes as "like the Sufi daily word."
Although the 58-year-old media proprietor has been vocal about reading the Bible and being a Christian in the past, she has also spent time speaking about Sufism lately.
Last August, Winfrey interviewed author and Sufi teacher Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee for OWN's "Super Soul Sunday" program. On her network's YouTube page, she labeled a preview to the show as "Oprah's Interest in Sufism" and tweeted about her love for the spiritual belief.
"Love Sufism …'the divinity of the human soul,'" Winfrey tweeted last September. "Within Our spiritual heart there is a direct connection to God."
According to the New Oxford American Dictionary, "Sufism is the esoteric dimension of the Islamic faith, the spiritual path to mystical union with God. It is influenced by other faiths, such as Buddhism, and reached its peak in the 13th century."
While Winfrey recently admitted to an interest and daily reading of a Sufi daily word, she has maintained that she is a practicing Christian. During a broadcast of "Oprah's Lifeclass" program in April, Winfrey spoke about her Christianity while having respect for all faiths.
"I am a Christian, that is my faith. I'm not asking you to be a Christian. If you want to be one I can show you how. But it is not required," she said on the broadcast. "I have respect for all faiths. All faiths. But what I'm talking about is not faith or religion. I'm talking about spirituality."
In the episode about "Spiritual Solutions" which featured new age spiritual leader Deepak Chopra, Winfrey also described her definition of spirituality.
"My definition [of spirituality] is living your life with an open heart, through love... allowing yourself to align with the values of tolerance, acceptance, of harmony, of cooperation and reverence for life," Winfrey said. "There is a force energy consciousness divine thread, I believe, that connects spiritually to all of us, to something greater than ourselves."

Read more at http://global.christianpost.com/news/oprah-winfrey-inspired-by-islamic-and-buddhist-faiths-admits-to-reading-daily-sufi-word-83403/#7eydOOyzQHSmGRDk.99

Singers to come together for Sufi music festival in Jaipur

http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/RAJ-JPR-singers-to-come-together-for-sufi-music-festival-in-jaipur-3858202-NOR.htmlDaily Baskhar, 26 October 2012

Jaipur: Sufi singers from various parts of the globe are all set to perform in the annual world Sufi music festival 'Jahan-e-Khusrau' to be held here next month.

"The artists performing this year at Jahan e Khusrau in Jaipur on October 27 and 28 are -Abida Parveen (Pakistan), Whirling Dervishes (Turkey), Shafaqat Ali Khan (Pakistan), Zia Nath (Indian modern dancer)," said Muzaffar Ali, director of the festival.

The event is being organised jointly by the tourism department of Rajasthan and Rumi Foundation.

Each year, Jahan-e-Khusrau presents rare lyrics of Sufi mystics in an innovative form.

Over the last decade it has showcased Sufi singers, dancers and musicians from different parts of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Uzbekistan, Iran, Israel, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, Italy, Sudan, Egypt, Greece, Germany, Japan, USA and Canada, a release said.

Statement Decrying the Murder of Ambassador Christopher Stevens

Statement from Dr. Aref Nayed (former Libyan diplomat, Muslim scholar and Sufi) Sept. 12, 2012: This is to express my deepest condolences to the families and friends of the late Ambassador Christopher Stevens and his fallen colleagues, and to the American people and government. I had the honor of personally knowing Ambassador Stevens, and witnessed, firsthand, in Benghazi and later in Tripoli, the care and hard work that he devoted to fulfilling his duties towards his country and towards Libya and the Libyan people. He was a man of dedication and honor, and I am shocked and deeply anguished for the loss of a dear friend and supporter of the Libyan people’s struggle against tyranny. Tyranny and darkness may wear a thousand guises, including pseudo-religiosity, but must never deceive us. Islam is a religion of peace and understanding, and Islam’s Prophet (peace be upon him) is the Prophet of Compassion. It is outrageous and totally unacceptable for criminals to kill and destroy in the name of defending Islam and its Prophet (peace be upon him). The criminals who committed this cowardly act must be rigorously pursued and rapidly brought to justice. May this tragic loss make us even more dedicated and determined to building our respective countries, based on the values of dialogue, understanding, and peace. Aref Ali Nayed, Former Ambassador of Libya to the UAE, Member of the League of Libyan Ulema.

Why are they targeting the Sufis?

Why are they targeting the Sufis? Richard Schiffman, New Internationalist blog, Oct 23 2012

Afghanistan in 2001? The Taliban destruction of these massive archaeological monuments dating back to the sixth century has become emblematic of the cultural and religious intolerance of radical Islam.What is less well known is that fanatical elements have done equal damage to Islam’s own religious heritage. Not only have Shi’a and Sunni partisans bombed each other’s mosques in countries like Iraq, Syria and Pakistan, but Sufi places of worship are under attack throughout the Islamic world.

In September, the world was shocked to learn that the US ambassador and three other Americans had been killed in an attack on a US Consulate in Libya. Few heard of the other violent events there later that month, which included the destruction of Sufi shrines in three Libyan cities.

In Tripoli, security forces watched passively as militants with bulldozers levelled the shrine of al-Shaab al-Dahmani, a venerated Sufi saint, in broad daylight. In Benghazi, on the other hand, locals fought back, killing three of the militants who were assaulting a holy place.

Perhaps we don’t hear much about these incidents because attacks on Sufis and Sufi sites have become routine, not just in Libya, but throughout the Islamic world. This past summer, Islamic militants in Mali demolished historical mausoleums, universities and libraries in the ancient Saharan trading town of Timbuktu, several of which were on UNESCO’s list of world heritage sites. Sufi worship halls have also been turned to rubble in Iran, where the Islamic government has reportedly jailed and tortured thousands of Sufi practitioners for their unorthodox views. And in Egypt since the fall of Mubarak Sufi shrines have been torched and the Sufi chanting ritual called zhikr has been banned in some locations.

The deadliest attacks to date have occurred in Pakistan, including last year’s bombing of the Sakhi Sarkar shrine during the annual festival of the Sufi saint, in which 41 worshippers were killed. Meanwhile, in the former Soviet Republic of Daghestan, the Sufi leader Effendi Chirkeisky, along with six of his followers, was assassinated at the end of August by a female suicide bomber. Chirkeisky, a critic of Muslim extremism, had ironically been working to broker peace between warring Islamic factions.

For many here in the US, Sufism is associated with the ecstatic verse of the 13th-century mystic, Jalaluddin Rumi, whose poetry in translation sells more copies than any living US poet. Rumi’s popularity derives in part from the fact that he taught that religion is less a matter of external observance than an intimate, personal relationship with God. This undoubtedly appeals to our American ideal of individualism and free-form seeking.

What many contemporary fans of Rumi may not realize is that Sufism in practice is more of a communal affair than a lonely quest. Moreover, the philosophy of Rumi and his fellow Sufis is very much alive today. It has spread to the distant corners of the Islamic world and beyond, and comprises many different orders, each with their own teachings and modes of practice.

Historically, Sufism was one of the great wellsprings of Islamic philosophy, and deeply influenced luminaries like the great Muslim theologian Abu Hamid al-Ghazali and the 13th-century mystic thinker, Ibn Arabi. Some have credited Sufism’s open-minded approach to knowledge with the development of Islamic medicine and other sciences in the Middle Ages. Sufism’s influence on the literature, music, art and architecture of Islam is also immense, and it was a potent force in many of the political and social reform movements in the 19th century.

While nobody can say with certainty how many Sufis there are, they undoubtedly number in the millions in countries like Iran, Indonesia and Pakistan, and untold hundreds of millions of Muslims take part in Sufi ceremonies and festivals.

‘In the Islamic world,’ according to Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Professor of Islamic Studies at George Washington University, ‘Sufism is the most powerful antidote to the religious radicalism called fundamentalism, as well as the most important source for responding to the challenges posed by modernism.’

This pervasive influence may be why Sufis have been targets of the fundamentalist, who see their kinder, gentler form of Islam as a standing challenge to their own rigid orthodoxy. Sufi practices, such as the famous whirling of the Mevlevi dervishes in Turkey, first practiced by Rumi himself, employ music, dance and spiritual recitation to awaken the God who Sufis say is asleep in the human heart. Nothing could be further from the grim-faced puritanism of the Islamic fundamentalists who accuse the Sufis of being ‘idolaters’ and ‘pagans’. Sufis reply that they are hearkening back to the roots of Islam, which means ‘peace’.

I can attest to the power of Sufi practices to provide a glimpse of the ‘peace which passeth understanding’ which is at the core of all religious experience. For several years I attended the weekly zickr of a Turkish Sufi order in New York City. The chanting in Turkish and Arabic was co-ordinated with our movements and the flow of the breath to create a trance-like state which I found to be both subtler and more powerful and enduring than the drug experiences which I had pursued during college. Equally remarkable was the feeling of deep affection and fellowship which was served up along with the tea and Turkish sweets after the ceremony.

The Sufism that I know, while deeply Islamic in form, is universal in spirit. I think often of what our Sheikh, Muzzafer Effendi, told his Turkish followers when they asked him why he didn’t convert more American dervishes to Islam. ‘There are more than enough Muslims already,’ he replied. ‘What the world needs is more lovers of God!’

I would love to say this to the extremists who are bombing holy places and attacking Sufi practitioners.

Richard Schiffman is an American dervish in the Jerrahi order of Sufism. He is also the author of two religious biographies, and a poet and journalist whose work has appeared in the Washington Post, the Christian Science Monitor, Reuters, the Guardian and on NPR.

Talk on Sufism by Dr. Nahid Angha in San Francisco

Title of the talk: Sufism: Mysticism of Islam When: Thu, Oct 25 2012 - 6:00pm Who: Nahid Angha, Ph.D. , Co-director, The International Association of Sufism; Director, Sufi Women Organization, introduced by Michael Pappas, Executive Director, SF Interfaith Council – Moderator. Don't miss this chance to learn about Sufism – the inner, mystical interpretation and expression of Islam – from an internationally esteemed Persian Sufi scholar, author and lecturer. Dr. Angha will discuss Sufi history and Sufi literature, with an emphasis on the poetry of Rumi and Omar Khayam, considered by many to be among the highest literary expressions of spirituality. Angha, a human rights activist, women's rights and interfaith activist will also discuss the rights of women in Islam. The Commonwealth Club presents some of the world’s most important and interesting speakers. Founded in 1903, the Commonwealth Club of San Francisco has continuously hosted diverse discussions including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, actor Alec Baldwin and author Christopher Hitchens. In past events, Martin Luther King, Jr., Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and Bill Gates have all given landmark speeches at The Club. Location: SF Club Office, 595 Market St., San Francisco Time: Thursday, October 25, 2012. 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program Cost: $20 standard, $8 members, students free (with valid ID) Discount available for IAS Members Contact IAS for more information. Register online for this event by visiting the Commonwealth Club website:www.commonwealthclub.org Tickets are also available by calling Commonwealth Club at 415-597-6705 or email them for information at club@commonwealthclub.org

India-Russia cultural fiesta Oct 24-Nov 4

India-Russia cultural fiesta Oct 24-Nov 4 Times of India, IANS Oct 16, 2012

NEW DELHI: Cultural ties between India and Russia have got a boost with the signing of a protocol between both the countries for a festival to be held Oct 24- Nov 4 in New Delhi, Chennai and Mumbai.
The pact was signed by Indian Council For Cultural Relations (ICCR) Director General Suresh Goel and Russian Deputy Minister of Cultural Relations A. Busygin at Azad Bhavan late Monday evening.
"The Russian festival of culture is a response to the Indian artists and officials who visited Russia in 2011 for a similar festival. Russia will host yet another festival of Indian culture in 2013 as a reciprocal gesture," Goel said.
The copy of the pact made available said Russia will bring to India "soloists from the Bolshoi, Marinsky and Mikhailovsky Theatres, St Petersburg folk ensemble 'Barynya'" - the troupe of the Russian Academic Youth Theatre and a photography exhibition.
The festival will end with a ballet gala at Siri Fort Nov 1.
The Indian Council for Cultural Relations will provide hospitality to 65 artists during the festival.
"We will get several high quality groups from Russia. An exhibition of art and photographs is an important aspect of the festival because it will connect Russian art to the Roerich estate (in Kullu district in Himachal Pradesh)," Goel told IANS.
The Roerich estate in Himachal Pradesh has 8,000 artifacts, including 37 rare paintings by the Russian painter-thinker, who settled in India to paint Himalayan landscapes.
The ICCR has several international festivals on its agenda this year and the next to bolster cultural ties with countries like Germany, Australia and Canada, the director general said.
"We are trying out several new initiatives in cross-cultural exchanges to create a common language," Goel said.
"At the opening of the Delhi International Arts Festival (DIAF) Oct 26, we will get Qawaal groups from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan and host them with dervishes (Sufi dancers) from Turkey at the Purana Qila. The two things that India shares with South Asia and West Asia are Sufism and qawaalis," he said.
Sufism has developed in each country in different ways, he said.
The director general said that "the Russian festival was also a similar initiative to explore the connections and commonalities between the cultures of India and Russia, both of which have rich cultural inheritances".

Sufi orders: a vital part of Egyptian society

Sufi orders: a vital part of Egyptian society Al-Sayyed Hossein, Ahram Online, 9 Oct 2012
With an estimate 10 million members, Sufi orders are an under-reported influence in Egyptian life

A march for Sufi Orders in Egypt(Photo: courtesy from sufi.net)

Sufi orders have chapters all over Egypt, which organise festivals on saints days, hold chanting events, and engage in community work. Several chapters offer free-of-charge funerary service and some organise accommodation for visitors.
Sufi sheikhs, or grand masters, have a reputation for austerity and wisdom and are held in great veneration by their murids, or disciples. The murids come from a cross section of society, and many hold high-status posts as academics, officers, doctors,and journalists.
Sheikh Alaa Abu Al-Azayem, the grand master of the Al-Azimiya order, says that many Sufi orders were formed by immigrants who had arrived in Egypt from other parts of the Islamic world centuries ago, which explains the different in approach and style from one order to another.
Abu Al-Azayem adds that the Egyptian Sufism is known for its moderation and easygoing manners.
Researcher Abul Fadl Al-Isnawi says that the most important of Egyptian Sufi orders is the Al-Rifa’iya, founded by Ahmad Al-Rifa’i Ibn Saleh Ibn Abbas (b. 512 hegira), who refused to accept any disciples who have no known profession, as he didn’t want his order to be filled with people who have no desire to work and be part of society.
Another major order is the Al-Badawiya, founded in Tanta by Al-Sayyed Ahmad al-Badawi in Tanta, who taught his disciples to be at peace with themselves and the world.
Sheikh Abdel Rahim Al-Qenawi, who founded the Al-Qenawiya order in Qena, also ordered his disciples to remain fully involved in daily life while seeking spiritual evolvement.
Sheikh Abul Hasan al-Shazli Al-Hoseini ibn Abdallah, founder of Al-Shazliya order, emphasised seclusion and self-control as a path for salvation. Al-Shazliya has served as a role model for several other orders in the country.
In every geographical area, some orders have gained more popularity than others. For example, the Al-Borhamiya and Al-Saadiya are widespread in Cairo; while the Al-Naqshabandiya, Al-Khodariya, Al-Hashemiya, Al-Sharnubia Al-Burhamiya are predominant in Alexandria.
In Al-Gharbiya, the leading orders are the Al-Qasabiya Al-Khelwatiya, Al-Shennawiya Al-Ahmadiya, and Al-Marwaniya. In Al-Menoufiya, the most popular orders are the Al-Zahidiya. Al-Ahmadiya and Al-Mosaylihiya Al-Khelwatiya.
In all, the members of Sufi orders outnumber the members of Egyptian political parties. Some researchers estimate membership of Sufi orders at 10 million in both rural and urban areas.
Over time, every order developed its own paraphernalia, including flags, insignia, music, and ritualised celebrations.
Despite their rivalry, in the sense of seeking to recruit more followers, Sufi orders are remarkably cooperative and hospitable to one another. In various festivals, Sufi orders invite each other and help organise accommodation for visitors, which adds to their visibility and boosts their collective popularity.

Abida Parveen live in Dubai

Review: Abida Parveen live in Dubai

The Pakistani Sufi singer treats fans to an evening of truth and peace

By Anupa Kurian, Readers Editor. Published: 12:26 September 29, 2012 in Tabloid

What is the word you seek when you encounter a glimpse of divinity in the sea of human imperfection?

Haq or truth.

What do the desert sands reveal when they rise and move mountains? The wind blows bright, the sun humbles, thirst destroys and bares the core. And from that stripped down center arises the truth of Sufism.

Abida Parveen is one of the greatest exponents of this truth in our time. So, a review — this is not. It would be too presumptuous an attempt.

She sang for an hour and forty minutes on Friday evening to a crowd of enthusiasts, who drank in every word of her performance with the thirst of a drought-ridden earth.

The sound quality failed her but she performed with the transcendence of one whose calling is to spread the message of peace.

She opened with Man Kunto Maula Ali from Amir Khusro’s pen, 700 years on and the magic of one of India’s greatest poets still reigns. Yaar Ko Hamne Ja Baja Dekha, which essentially translates to wherever I look I see the work of God, followed this, and Sindh’s (Pakistan) legendary Sufi teacher Baba Bulleshah’s Mere Ishq Na Chahiya.

Originally from Sindh, Abida started training at the age of three. She performs in Urdu, Seraiki, Punjabi, Hindi and Sindhi.

The evening ended with Chaap Tilak, Amir Khusro’s praise to his guide Nizammuddin Auliya followed by Laal Shahbaz Qalander. The dervishes’ message of unity, equality and purity of path stays true in Abida.

Capital’s own sufi ghazal band 

By Cris, September 10, 2012

 

White sheets were spread out on the floor at an apartment in Pattom. Performers and music lovers kneeled down for a quiet evening of ghazal music. “Ghazal music through Sufism,” corrects Manu Thampy, a singer for the evening. And one for the band Mehfil formed by four ghazal lovers who happened to cross each other’s paths.

“It was all by chance. I was hoping to get some guidance in ghazal singing when I was introduced to Hussain Ali Sayed, a teacher at the Kendriya Vidyalaya School here. He was a Sufi singer in Rajasthan,” says Manu.
Hussain who heard Manu sing was impressed enough to suggest the idea of forming a band for ghazal music through Sufism.
“It is called Kalaam-e-ghazal ka sufiyana andaaz. Sufi music is all about expressing your devotion for God through your singing,” says Hussain as he runs his fingers through the harmonium. Hussain brought another crucial member for the band – Murali Menon, who can handle three instruments with ease – sitar, mohana veena and violin.
“He had worked in Rajasthan for 13 years. That’s where he picked up lessons in sitar and mohana veena, so he performs in a North Indian Style. Even the violin, he had learnt in Hindustani style,” says Manu. On a typical day, Murali Menon would set the mood by interpreting a raga. The others would then join him – Manu and Hussain with their rendering and Jithu on the tabala.
Jithu Oommen Thomas is the youngest member of the group, and a student of airport management at Bangalore. He would come down to Thiruvananthapuram when there is a performance. He has performed with even the great Ghulam Ali. Time and distance however have never posed a problem to these musicians.
Manu who works in the health service department and Murali Menon who is employed at the NABARD make it a point to come together for the occasional performance and practice sessions in Thiruvananthapuram.
The next performance of Mehzil will be held on September 12 as part of Hindi Day celebrations at Hotel Mascot.

Can Sufism Defuse Terrorism?

[Please note that although this article was written in 2009 it is included here today as it is still of relevance].

Can Sufism Defuse Terrorism? Time, Ishaan Tharoor, July 22, 2009 

In recent years, the dominant image of Islam in the minds of many Westerners has been one loaded with violence and shrouded with fear. The figures commanding global attention — be they al-Qaeda's leadership or certain mullahs in Tehran — preach an apocalyptic creed to an uncompromising faithful. This may be the Islam of a radical fringe, but in an era of flag-burnings and suicide bombings, it is the Islam of the moment.
And that is why some lament the decline of another, older and more tolerant Islam. For centuries many of the world's Muslims were, in one way or another, practi-tioners of Sufism, a spiritualism that centers on the mystical connection between the individual and the divine. Sufism's ethos was egalitarian, charitable and friendly, often propagated by wandering seers and storytellers. It blended with local cultures and cemented Islam's place from North Africa to the Indian subcontinent. (Read "An Islam of Many Paths.")
Yet amid the hurly-burly of 19th century empires, Sufism lost ground. The fall of Islam's traditional powers — imperial dynasties such as the Mughals and the Ottomans — created a hunger for a more muscular religious identity than that found in the intoxicating whirl of a dervish or the quiet wisdom of a sage. Nationalism and fundamentalism subdued Sufism's eclectic spirit. In the West, Sufism now usually provokes paeans to an alternative, ascetic life, backed up perhaps by a few verses from Rumi, a medieval Sufi poet much cherished by New Age spiritualists. But there was nothing fringe or alternative about it. "In many places, Sufism was the way whole populations expressed their Muslim identity," says Faisal Devji, an expert on political Islam at Oxford University. "In South Asia, it was the norm."
Some analysts think that historical legacy can still be exploited. A 2007 report by the Rand Corp., a U.S. think tank, advised Western governments to "harness" Sufism, saying its adherents were "natural allies of the West." Along similar lines, the Algerian government announced in July that it would promote the nation's Sufi heritage on radio and television in a bid to check the powerful influence of Salafism, a more extreme strain of Islam that is followed by al-Qaeda-backed militants waging a war against the country's autocratic state.
But can Sufism really bend terrorist swords into plowshares? The question is most urgent in South Asia, home to more than a third of the world's Muslims and the cradle of Sufi Islam. Shrines of Sufi saints are ubiquitous in India and Pakistan and still attract thousands of devotees. Yet the Taliban in Pakistan have set about destroying such sites, which are anathema to their literalist interpretation of the Koran. "Despite our ancient religious tradition," says Ayeda Naqvi, a writer and Sufi scholar from Lahore, "we are being bullied and intimidated by a new form of religion that is barely one generation old." (See pictures of the Taliban on LIFE.com.)
Still, Naqvi, Devji and other academics doubt that governments can use Sufism to fight their political battles. As in the past, foreign meddling would likely do more harm than good. "What is needed today, more than the West pushing any one form of religion," says Naqvi, "is a propagation of the underlying values of Sufism — love, harmony and beauty." This is not easy, especially in Pakistan, where poverty, corruption and the daily toll of the global war on terrorism simmer together in a volatile brew. Set against this, the transcendental faith of Sufi mystics seems quaint, if not entirely impotent.
But there is more to the allure of Sufism than its saints and sheiks. In 2001, one of the first things to happen after the Taliban was chased out of Kabul was that the doors of the Afghan capital's Bollywood cinemas were flung open to the public. The language of cosmic love that animates Bollywood music and enchants millions of Muslims around the world, even if sung and acted out by non-Muslims, is a direct legacy of centuries of Sufi devotional poetry. At Sufism's core, suggests Oxford University's Devji, is an embrace of the world. "It allows you to identify beyond your mosque and village to something that can be both Islamic and secular," he says. "It's a liberation that jihadis could never offer."
Nevertheless, it has also been Sufism's fate to fall afoul of more narrow-minded dogmas — even during an earlier golden age. The tomb of Sarmad the Armenian, a storied Sufi saint, sits close to Delhi's Great Mosque. Sarmad looked for unity within Muslim and Hindu theology, and famously walked the streets of Lahore and Delhi naked, denouncing corrupt nobles and clerics. In 1661, he was arrested for heresy and beheaded under the orders of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, a ruler admired now by Pakistani hard-liners for his championing of an orthodox Islam and the destruction of hundreds of Hindu temples. As Sarmad was led to his execution, he was heard to mutter lines of poetry: "There was an uproar, and we opened our eyes from eternal sleep," intoned the Sufi. "Saw that the night of wickedness endured, so we slept again." For many, Sufism's slumber has lasted far too long.

Sufism’s message of tolerance has universal relevance: Sherry

Sufism’s message of tolerance has universal relevance: Sherry Pakistan Today 28 Sep 2012

WASHINGTON - Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Sherry Rehman told an American audience at a cultural event on Saturday night that Sufism embraces the spirit of tolerance and inclusion, and its message is increasingly relevant in this age of competing ideologies.
She was speaking at the Smithsonian Institute, where popular Pakistani Sufi singer Sanam Marvi gave a mesmerizing performance, attended by Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar.The new US ambassador to Pakistan, Richard Olson, senior American officials and a large number of Pakistani and American followers of the mystic poetry and music attended the performance by the acclaimed singer. In her remarks, sherry made it clear that Sufism was not a sect of Islam. “Its practice encapsulates the very essence of our faith,” the Pakistani envoy said.
“For over a decade now,” she said, “we have seen the marketplace of global ideas distorted by new walls of hatred and prejudice... This negativity causes many to lose hope in the project of peaceful civilizations, that instead of clashing, nurture the best in humanity.”
She told the audience that Pakistan’s founding father, Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, actively advocated a plural model of citizenship, asserting that all Pakistani citizens shall enjoy the same rights and privileges, regardless of their religious affiliation.
Sherry explained to the attentive audience the message of Sufism as she observed that “being grounded in the mystical connection between the individual and the divine, Sufism embraces the spirit of tolerance and inclusion in both its discourse and practice”.
“This is one of the reasons why Sufi saints played a central role in the spread of Islam, especially in South Asia, making it the second biggest and the most practiced religion in the world,” she added.
“The Sufi doctrine is simple and universal, that the light of God abides in the heart of each person. The Sufi ‘tariqa’ or the Sufi way guides us on the roads of the inner journey towards discovering the self, for the ultimate goal of reaching the divine light and wisdom that each one of us carries within.”
“What could, indeed, be a more appropriate and opportune time to think and reflect about the message of unity, peace, togetherness and patience exemplified by the life and teachings of Sufi saints and their philosophy of life?” the ambassador stressed.

Screening of film on ‘Sufi Soul: Mystic Music of Islam’

Pakistan Observer, City reporter, September 19 2012

Islamabad—The Institute for Preservation of Art and Culture (IPAC) has arranged screening of the film “Sufi Soul: The Mystic Music of Islam” here on September 18 to highlight the traditions of Sufism.

The film screening will be held at Kuch Khaas, Center for Arts, Culture and Dialogue. In this documentary film the acclaimed historian and travel writer William Dalrymple explores Sufism and its music in different parts of the Islamic world, including Syria, Turkey, Pakistan, and Morocco.

Music lies at the heart of the practice and traditions of Sufism- the mystical dimension of Islam that seeks to experience oneness with God on an intimate, personal level. From the Whirling Dervishes of Turkey to the qawwali music of Pakistan, Sufism has produced some of the world’s most spectacular music celebrated by Muslims and non-Muslims alike. 

Balance at the Heart of Islam: A Message from Medina in light of Benghazi

 Balance at the Heart of Islam: A Message from Medina in light of Benghazi
Claire Alkouatli, Huffington Post 9/16/2012


Balance was the first thing that attracted me, a decade ago, to the Islamic deen--the comprehensive spiritual and practical life system of Islam. Balance between worldly structure and beautiful essence.
When you step into the Prophet Muhammad's mosque in Medina--at the heart of the Islamic world, shoulder to shoulder with people of every ethnicity on earth--the deep subtle brilliant beauty is resounding. Everything is in perfect balance.
Yet, out there, in the world, balance seems nowhere to be found. Muslims are either extremists or secular. Salafis or Sufis. Sunnis or Shiites. And the non-Muslims? Many observe in fearful incomprehension; others act and react negatively.
Recently, I got a message from a friend from Medina--a clear outline of the balance intrinsic to the deen. I was simultaneously amazed that such clarity continues to emanate from this illuminated city and inspired by the reminder that we all have the potential to attain the ultimate balance: being mindfully present in the world, with our hearts immersed in the Divine. Balance within is the place to begin if we want to contribute to a world in balance.
So, at a time when the world is hurting from the actions of the unbalanced ones, I wanted to share this inspired reminder:
"Our deen is built on three rocks. The first rock is the 'technical rock. It deals with the details of daily life starting with the five pillars of Islam, the oneness of God, the prophethood of Muhammad, the five daily prayers, the zakat, fasting during Ramadan, and performing Hajj for the capable. It also covers economic and social rulings, such as trading, marriage/divorce and inheritance. A person who is deeply knowledgeable about this rock is traditionally called a faqih. The most famous faqihs in our history are the four Imams of the four schools of Islamic jurisprudence (madahib). The majority of Muslims (no less than 95% in every era) follow one of these madahib in their daily routines.
The second rock is the 'faith' rock. It deals with the details of the unseen starting with the six corners of faith (iman), to believe in God, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Day of Judgment, and that fate, both good and bad, is from God. The creed that clarifies these articles of faith is called aqida. The most famous scholars of aqida in our history are Al-Ash'ari and Al-Maturidi. The majority of Muslims (no less than 95% in every era except for some blips in our history) believe in this creed.
The third rock is the 'self-improvement' rock. It deals with the ways of elevating the human condition to become true to God and treat all His creatures with Prophetic standards. The knowledge of how to get one's self to these standards is called the knowledge of tazkiyah, the process of transforming the self from ego-centeredness through various spiritual stages towards the level of purity and true submission to the will of God. It is also called tasawwuf, or sufism. The person who comes close to reaching the pinnacle of these standards is called a sufi. The most famous scholars of tazkiyah in our history are Al-Ghazali, Al-Junaid, Ibn Arabi, and Al-Jilani. With the exception of the past 60 years or so, tazkiyah was part of every type of education in the Islamic world.
These rocks are academic classifications that have helped Muslims, since the third or fourth century, develop the sciences of turning human beings into Prophetic beings; those who Prophet Muhammad longed for when he said, "I wish I could have seen my brothers..."
As time progressed, these sciences matured and kept connecting new generations to the salaf, which refers to, in the traditional sense, the people who lived during the time of the Prophet, peace be upon him, and the next two generations, through unbroken chains of scholars. So a 'salafi' is someone who projects the essence of these early Muslims.
Additionally, scholars cannot excel in their own rock without achieving a masterful command of the sciences behind the other rocks too. So, a master salafi is a master sufi, is a master scholar, is a master faqih. In other words, at the level of mastery, the words 'salafi,' 'sufi,' 'scholar,' and 'faqih' are essentially synonymous. And they all point to the essence of the Prophet Muhammad.
Turbulence has occurred, throughout our history, when someone decides to raise a flag of deen that is based on an incomplete, or deformed, set of rocks. Or, when people see these rocks as independent competitive camps instead of seeing them as parts of a whole. Both occurrences happen, exclusively, because of breaks in the chains of scholars.
The groups that have a solid first rock but a deformed, or missing, second and third rock, for example, tend to be detail oriented, dry, argument oriented, narrow, and sometimes violent.
On the other side of the spectrum, groups that have a solid third rock but a deformed, or missing, second and first rock tend to be mellow, perceptive, tolerant and lost.
The first extreme of the spectrum explains the "kill first, judge later" jihadi, the politically obsessed shiite, the "My way or you're doomed" salafi (which is also the wahabi mentality), and the power hungry Muslim brotherhood. The other extreme of the spectrum explain the disenfranchised Muslim liberal, the "above the need for obligation" sufi, and "let's keep the deen only in the heart" advocate.
This is why we ask God, at least 17 times in our daily prayers, to "Guide us to the Straight Path, The way of those whom You have favored; Not of those who have incurred Your wrath. Nor of those who go astray."
So in short, given the proper definitions, it is my wish to be a salafi, my dream is to become a sufi, my hope to be a faqih--and I would love to see, follow and kiss, every footstep, expression and deed of the beloved Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him.
But, instead, I'm still stuck at trying to achieve a moment, let alone an hour, let alone a lifetime, of what the masters call Al Khalwa fil Jalwa. Which means being, both at once and without contradictions, fully involved with the world with your heart completely immersed with God.
May God give us a taste of that, followed by enough servings to get back Home. Safely.
Salaams,
M.
P.S. Kindly notice that the deen-hijacking criminals who kill treacherously, demean women and children, destroy mosques, dig up graves, and behead people were not mentioned in the spectrum above. Because they are beneath it. They call themselves many things--from salafis, to messiahs, to cowboys--but these behaviors do not belong to any Divine deen."

From Mystical Timeless to Today's Timely

From Mystical Timeless to Today's Timely Religion News Service, Omid Safi, Sept 2 2012
How to make the timeless timely.

This is the challenge that Alexis York Lumbard has undertaken in her masterful retelling of the 13th century masterpiece, the Conference of the Birds.    In this work, she has told the timeless story of the Persian Sufi master Farid al-Din Attar in a way that reads as absolutely timely for today’s audience, especially younger readers.
How to take the timeless language of classical Islamic mysticism, and express in it 21st century American English is something that takes heart and soul, intellect and craft, and Alexis York Lumbard’s beautiful Conference of the Birds is indeed rich with all these qualities.    Lumbard's work is beautifully illustrated by the incomparable Demi.    The result is a stunning work of art that speaks to all who are spiritually seeking, no matter what their age.  
To understand how she arrived at this product, I recently conducted an interview with her.   Here are some of her answers:

Question:  Can you tell us a bit about your self, and how you came to be interested in children's literature?
Alexis York Lumbard:   I never knew that I would one day become a writer.  Some writers know from very early on. Many have MFAs.  I on the other hand have a BA in Religious Studies and while some of that carries over into my work, I wasn't until I became a parent that discovered children's literature. You see, as a parent, I found myself looking for a particular book.  But this book did not exist.  As Toni Morrison once said, "If there's a book you really want to read but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it" And so I did.
Question:  How does a student from West Coast end up writing about a thousand old mystical Islamic poetry?  What about that poem of Attar spoke to you?
Alexis York Lumbard:    Great question.  My early childhood was spent playing on the shores and in the woods of Whidbey Island, Washington State.  Even though we moved to VA by my 7th year, the beauty and wonder of the Northwest made a lasting impression. Later, as a high school student, I felt myself being pulled back to the West. I think in some way I felt that
it would be there, amidst pristine nature, that I would find peace and contentment.  And return I did, as a freshman at the University of Oregon.

The summer before my first semester began however, my family and I traveled to Turkey.  It was at the Blue Mosque that I heard the call to prayer for the first time.  That trip was a time of many firsts--my first time in a mosque, my first exposure to Islamic people and Islamic art, but it was that singular moment at the Blue Mosque when the call sounded and something sacred pierced my breast.  That experience planted a seed and by the end of my freshman year I had converted to Islam.  I then transferred to GWU where I studied Sufism with Dr. Seyyid Hossein Nasr.  I remember Dr. Nasr mentioned Attar in one of his classes (Dr. Nasr is after all Persian and Attar is after all a supreme Persian poet) but at that point I still hadn't read the original. Continue reading here

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

Timbuktu: The Ink of Scholars and the Blood of Martyrs 

Rudolph Ware Huffington Post 8/31/2012

In this excellent montage Alexandra Huddleston closes by reminding us of a hadith of the Prophet Muhammad -- still learned and taught in Timbuktu -- "the ink of the scholar is more precious than the blood of the martyr." These words echo today as a reminder that the mainstream Islamic tradition has always harbored the most profound respect for scholarship and sanctity while questioning worldly ambitions.
Unfortunately, the "radical Islam" of groups like Ansar Dine and al-Qaida have spilled far too much blood and ink in Northern Mali and beyond. Armed with deadly weapons, a false doctrine of jihad, and a perverse sense of martyrdom they have committed countless acts of violence. While the Western imagination is captivated by fear of 'radical Islam' its victims -- in Timbuktu as elsewhere -- are almost invariably Muslims.
Ms. Huddleston shows us their faces -- the men, women, and children of Timbuktu -- many warmly rejoicing in the pleasures of ancient knowledge, all fully connected to the contemporary world. In a single blow they have suffered a double violence: their lives and ways of life have been taken, and their religion has been disfigured, disgraced, and defamed by their tormentors.
It is important to understand that the leadership of groups like Ansar Dine and al-Qaida often has little or no formal training in the Islamic religious sciences. This does not stop them from passing judgment upon the Islam of their well-learned and lettered adversaries. To make up for their lack of knowledge they routinely resort to spectacles of symbolic violence, desecrating the tombs of scholars and destroying manuscripts. They seek, not only to cow opposition, but to wipe the slate clean of competing forms of Islamic authority
In a place like Timbuktu this is no small task, for it first gained an international reputation for Islamic knowledge in the fourteenth century when the great medieval empire of Mali was at its height. Its fame as a city of learning attracted students and scholars from all over West Africa as well as the Maghrib, Egypt, Baghdad and Damascus.
Though they usually maintained cordial relations with emperors, the scholars and teachers of Timbuktu, like most West African Islamic scholars, tended to scrupulously avoid overt involvement in politics. Islamists like to say "Islam is religion and politics," but this is no Prophetic tradition, it is a maxim little more than a century old. It was coined as some began to transform Islam from a universal religion to an ideology of resistance to Western imperialism. The classical tradition, of which Timbuktu was an integral part--tended to be suspicious of such things. As a rule it preferred for scholars to maintain a pious distance from power for fear that it might corrupt their intellectual and ethical autonomy. In the West, efforts to separate church and state evolved primarily to protect the latter. In Muslim Africa scholars and saints usually maintained distance to protect the former. Continue reading here  The article also contains an excellent video.

Painting Secularism with Sufi Colours

The Hindu August 31st 2012 Staff reporter

 

The Hindu A SILENT PAUSE CAPTURED: A picture of Hazrat Nizamuddin dargah clicked by Shivani Dass is on display at Alliance Francaise de Delhi. The photo exhibition of Sufi shrines ends today.

Painting Secularism with Sufi Colours

Delhi-based photographer Shivani Dass’ abiding interest in Sufism has taken her to nine important Sufi shrines across the country.

Besides paying her respects at the shrines, this 28-year-old, who has been pursuing photography for the past four years, has managed to capture 1,000 colour pictures to highlight the secular character of the shrines.

Since she could not show all her images at one exhibition, she has shortlisted 28 images, each of which has been put on display at a solo exhibition at Alliance Francaise de Delhi and has an interesting new story to tell.

Titled “Violet Dreams”, the exhibition capturing different facets of Sufism was inaugurated last weekend and ends today.

Shedding light on how her interest in Sufism developed, Shivani says her closest friend Anamika often took her to the famous Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargarh. “I used to observe that people from different religious denominations visited and prayed at the shrine. Their faith in Sufism was heartening. What I best liked about Sufism is that it does not prevent anyone from paying homage at dargahs which embrace everyone with open arms. This created a lot of interest about Sufism in me. I have always been intrigued by its mystical ways and wanted to provide a visual language to the quest for this path.”

The shrines Shivani visited included Khwaja Moinuddin Chisthi’s Dargah in Ajmer, Dargah Hazrat Tawakkal Mastan in Bangalore, Yousufain Sharifain in Hyderabad, Nagore Dargah in Tamil Nadu and Delhi dargahs of Hazrat Nizamuddin and Matka Pir.

The photographs capture different moods of the believers and ignored corners of Sufi shrines. “There was so much going on in each place that I visited. People were healed at Mira Datar’s Dargah in Gujarat and at Nagore Dargah in Tamil Nadu when I went there during Urs. But I did not want to capture the obvious imagery of suffering and joy. I wanted to look at the in between pauses when nothing is really happening, yet a great deal is,” Shivani says.

Shivani’s favourite pictures include one of a girl whose face is turned away from the camera. She is one of three sisters at Mira Datar’s Dargah who was disillusioned as her father sat outside complaining about the loss of their only son who died during the Bhopal gas tragedy.

UNESCO urges Libya to stop destruction of Sufi sites

UNESCO urges Libya to stop destruction of Sufi sites Paris August 28 2012

UN cultural body UNESCO on Tuesday called on Libya to immediately cease the destruction of Sufi holy sites after Islamist hardliners wrecked shrines across the country.

UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova expressed “grave concern” at the destruction of Sufi sites in Zliten, Misrata and Tripoli and urged perpetrators to “cease the destruction immediately”.

“I am deeply concerned about these brutal attacks on places of cultural and religious significance. Such acts must be halted, if Libyan society is to complete its transition to democracy,” she said in a statement.

“For this, we need dialogue and mutual respect. Libya’s future prospects depend on its inhabitants’ ability to build a participatory democracy that respects the rights and the heritage of all its citizens.”

Several Muslim shrines have been attacked in recent days, including those of the mystic Sufi strand of Islam.

Islamist hardliners on Saturday bulldozed part of the mausoleum of Al-Shaab Al-Dahman, close to the centre of the Libyan capital.

The demolition came a day after hardliners blew up the mausoleum of Sheikh Abdessalem al-Asmar in Zliten, 160 kilometres (100 miles) east of the capital.

According to witnesses, another mausoleum — that of Sheikh Ahmed al-Zarruq — was destroyed in the port of Misrata, 200 kilometres east of Tripoli.

Hardline Sunni Islamists are opposed to the veneration of tombs of revered Muslim figures, saying that such devotion should be reserved for God alone.

The Sufis, who have played a historical role in the affairs of Libya, have increasingly found themselves in conflict with Qatari- and Saudi-trained Salafist preachers who consider them heretical.

Sufis say Islamists in Egypt could squeeze out their traditions

 

Sufis say Islamists in Egypt could squeeze out their traditions

Al Arabiya News 29 August 2012 By SHAIMAA FAYED AND ABDEL RAHMAN YOUSSEF
REUTERS CAIRO AND ALEXANDRIA

Down the narrow alleyways of Cairo’s Sayidda Zeinab neighborhood, 100 men sway their heads and clap in rhythm as they invoke God’s name.
“O how you have spread benevolence,” chant the men, some dressed in ankle-length galabeya robes, to celebrate the birth of Fatima al-Zahraa, the daughter of the Prophet Mohammed. The men are followers of the centuries-old Azaimiya Sufi order who seek to come closer to God through mystical rites. Some say their traditions are now threatened by Islamists elbowing for influence after the overthrow of Egypt’s veteran leader Hosni Mubarak. Tensions have long rumbled between the country’s estimated 15 million Sufis, attached to some 80 different orders, and ultra-conservative Salafists who see Sufi practices such as the veneration of shrines as heresy. The ousting of President Mubarak in February has loosened state control over Islamist groups that he suppressed using an emergency law in place since 1980. As Sufis seek to defend traditions dating back centuries, what began as a loose religious identity could be gelling, gradually, into a political movement. “If the Sufis stood side by side, they could be an important voting bloc ... but their political and organizational power is less than their numerical power,” said political analyst Nabil Abdel Fattah. Alaa Abul Azaim, sheikh of the Azaimiya Sufi order, says moves by Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood and Salafi groups to enter formal politics endanger religious tolerance and oblige Sufis to do the same. “If the Salafists or Muslim Brotherhood rise to power, they could well cancel the Sufi sheikhdom, so there has to be a party for Sufis,” Abul Azaim said. Shrines dedicated to saints are central to Sufi practice and can be found in towns and villages across Egypt, but they are frowned upon by Salafists. Many are built inside mosques and contain the tombs of saints. They are often highly decorated, using wood and mother-of-pearl. Some religious conservatives also dislike Sufi moulids -- festivals celebrating the birthdays of saints that have become carnival-like events popular even among non-Sufis in Egypt. Moulid music has found its way into pop culture, such as the well-known puppet operetta “El Leila El Kebira” (The Big Night).
Fears for the future of Sufi traditions were underlined in April, when two dozen Islamists wielding crowbars and sledgehammers tried to smash a shrine used by Sufis in the town of Qalyoub north of Cairo. Their plan failed when residents rallied to defend the site revered for generations.

Salafist leaders denied their followers were behind the shrine attack and condemned it, while making it clear that they oppose the shrines. “The Salafi call does not reject Sufism,” said Sheikh Abdel Moneim el-Shahat, official spokesperson for the Salafi movement in Alexandria. “We reject (the practice of) receiving blessings from tombs and shrines because it is against Sharia law.” He said Salafis believe religious blessings can only be sought from the Black Stone of the Kaaba in the Saudi city of Mecca. Millions of Muslims circle the stone during the Hajj pilgrimage. Egypt’s constitution forbids political parties formed on overtly religious lines. That has not stopped Salafist groups such as al-Gama’a al-Islamiya and the once-banned Muslim Brotherhood moving to create parties to compete in September elections. No overtly Sufi party has emerged -- adepts of Sufism, with their emphasis on personal development and inner purification, have till now seen little sense in forming a political movement. But one nascent party, al-Tahrir (Liberation), has pledged to defend their interests and, by doing so, has built most of its membership from among the Sufi community. “There is no doubt that the (Islamist) flood that’s coming ... scares them,” said the party’s founder Ibrahim Zahran.
Affirmative political action would mark a departure for Egypt’s Sufis, who have tended to submit to the will of Egypt’s political leaders since the 12th century.

“From Sultan Saladin al-Ayubi until Mubarak, Sufism was used by the state to reinforce its legitimacy,” said sociologist Ammar Aly Hassan.

In a sign they are more ready to challenge authority, sheikhs of 13 Sufi orders have staged a sit-in since May 1 calling for the removal of Sheikh Abdel Hadi el-Qasabi, the head of the Sufi Sheikhdom who was appointed by Mubarak in 2009. They say Sheikh Qasabi broke a tradition of ordaining the eldest sheikh to the position and they refuse to have him as their leader as he was a member of President Mubarak’s disbanded National Democratic Party. Many Sufis oppose the idea of an Islamic state promoted by Islamists who take the Iran’s theocracy or the Wahhabi ideology of staunchly conservative Saudi Arabia as a model.
Sufi Sheikh Gaber Kassem of Alexandria criticised the political ambitions of the Muslim Brotherhood and its slogan “Islam is the Solution.”
“This is a devotional matter, a religious call ... so how are they entering politics? Is this hypocrisy?” he said.