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<blockquote class="definition">'''Sufism,''' also known as Islamic mysticism, is a spiritual and ascetic movement within Islam, striving for a direct, personal experience of the divine<ref>Rumi. ''The Masnavi: Book One.'' Translated by Jawid Mojaddedi. Oxford University Press, 2004.</ref> (i.e., [[Connection]]). Sufis often engage in [[Connection Techniques]] such as meditation, chanting, and whirling, in addition to traditional Islamic prayers and rituals, as means to deepen their connection with Allah.
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==List of Connection Frameworks==

{{#ask:[[Is a::Connection Framework]]}}

==Islamic Terms==

[[Islam]] > {{#ask:[[Is a term::Islam]]}}

==Related LP Terms== 

[[Sufism]] > {{#ask:[[Is a related LP term::Sufism]]}}

==Non-LP Related Terms==

[[Sufism]] > {{#ask:[[Is a related term::Sufism]]}}

==Notes==

"A distinct mystical path called ‘Suﬁsm’ became clearly identiﬁable in the late tenth and early eleventh cen- turies with the compilation of the manuals and collections of biog- raphies of past Suﬁ saints. The authors of these works, who were mostly from north-eastern Persia, traced the origins of the Suﬁ trad- ition back to the Prophet Mohammad, while at the same time acknowledging the existence of comparable forms of mysticism before his mission. They mapped out a mystical path by which the Suﬁ ascends towards the ultimate goal of union with God and know- ledge of reality. More than two centuries before the time of the eminent Suﬁ theosopher Ebn Arabi (d. 1240), Suﬁs began to describe their experience of annihilation in God and the realization that only God truly exists. The illusion of one’s own independent existence began to be regarded as the main obstacle to achieving this realization...."<ref>Rumi. ''The Masnavi: Book One.'' Translated by Jawid Mojaddedi. Oxford University Press, 2004.</ref>
Sufi teachings can be divided into three categories, "knowledge," "works" and finally "spiritual realization."<ref>Chittick, William C., and Rumi. The Sufi Path of Love: The Spiritual Teachings of Rumi. Rumi SUNY Series in Islam. New York: SUNY Press, 1983. page xi.</ref> 

"The Law is my words, the Way is my works, and the Truth is my inward states." Muhammad

Sufism is "the mystical tradition of Islam." <Ref>Ernst. Teachings of Sufism. Boston: Shambhala, 1999. p. ix. </ref>

The name "probably" comes from the word ''safa'' or purity,<Ref>Ikbal, Ali Shah. Islamic Sufism. Tractus Books, 2000.</ref> perhaps indicating that the successful Sufi is one who is pure/[[Aligned]]. "Sufis were Sufis because of their pure lives and pure hearts and spiritual elevation."<Ref>Ikbal, Ali Shah. Islamic Sufism. Tractus Books, 2000. p. 23.</ref>

"Writings on Islamic spirituality and mysticism began to appear in Arabic over a thousand years ago." <Ref>Ernst. Teachings of Sufism. Boston: Shambhala, 1999. p. x. </ref>

Islam has an advanced understanding of [[Alignment]]. "Under the teaching of the ''Koran'', nothing is right or wrong in itself. Everything created by God has its own particular use-keept it away from that use and it is sin, according to the ''Koran''. This is what the words ''Junah,'' ''Zanb'', ''Ism'', ''Jurm'' and other literally mean. Anything turned away from its proper pace is ''Junah''. Any abnormal growth is ''Zanb'', anything cut from the main thing is ''Jurm''."<Ref>Ikbal, Ali Shah. Islamic Sufism. Tractus Books, 2000. p. 244.</ref> 

"...their fundamental tenets are, that nothing exists absolutely but GOD: that the human soul is an emanation from his essence, and, though divided for a time from its heavenly source, will be finally re-united with it; that the highest possible happiness will arise from its re-union, and that the chief good of mankind, in this transitory world, consists in as perfect a ''union'' with the Eternal Spirit as the incumbrances of a mortal frame will allow;that, for this purpose, they should break all ''connexion'' (or ''taalluk,as they call it), with extrinsic objects, and pass through life without ''attachments,'' as a swimmer in the ocean strikes freely without the impediment of clothes." 
<Ref>Sir William Jones, quoted in Ernst, Carl W. The Shambhala Guide to Sufism. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 1997. https://amzn.to/2SoFmun. p. 9-10.</ref>

"In treading the Path, the Sufi ascends until perfection is reached, and in the perfect sainy, God and [individual ego] become one again. Abd Al-Kaim Jili <ref>Margaret Smith, Readings from the Mystics of Islam (Westport, CT: PIR Publications, 1994), https://amzn.to/2MdrfqB</ref>

"The Sufi is he who aims, from the first, at reaching God, the Creative Truth. Until he has found what he sought, he takes no est, nor does he give heed to any person. For They sake I haste over land and water: over the plain I pass and the mountain I cleave and from everything I meet I turn my face, until the time when I reach that place where I am alone with Thee." Husayn B. Mansu Al-Hallaj <ref>Margaret Smith, Readings from the Mystics of Islam (Westport, CT: PIR Publications, 1994), https://amzn.to/2MdrfqB</ref> 

Islamic fundamentalists have attempted to contain Sufism. "The polemical attacks on Sufism by fundamentalists have had the primary goal of making Sufism into a subject that is separable from Islam, indeed hostile to it. This strategy permits fundamentalists to define Islam as they wish by selective use of certain scriptural texts. The novelty of this project has so far escaped the notice of most journalists and diplomats..." <ref>Ernst, Carl W. The Shambhala Guide to Sufism. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 1997. https://amzn.to/2SoFmun. p. xiv</ref>

Like early Christianity,<ref>Sosteric. “Rethinking the Origins and Purpose of Religion: Jesus, Constantine, and the Containment of Global Revolution,” Unpublished. https://www.academia.edu/34970150/.</ref> Sufis represented a challenge to the fundamentalist and religious PTB of Islam. "By suggesting that some that people are knowledgeable enough to interpret the scripture, Sufis and others who favour esotericism challenge the monopoly on control of the cultural capital of the Islamic tradition." <ref>Ernst, Carl W. The Shambhala Guide to Sufism. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 1997. https://amzn.to/2SoFmun. p. 38.</ref>

===Form Versus Meaning===

"Form is a thing's outward appearance, meaning its inward and unseen reality."<ref>Chittick, William C., and Rumi. The Sufi Path of Love: The Spiritual Teachings of Rumi. Rumi SUNY Series in Islam. New York: SUNY Press, 1983.</ref>

"Form is shadow, meaning the Sun." (M VI 4747) <ref>Chittick, William C., and Rumi. The Sufi Path of Love: The Spiritual Teachings of Rumi. Rumi SUNY Series in Islam. New York: SUNY Press, 1983.</ref>

"Know that the outward form passes away, but the World of Meaning remains forever."<ref>Chittick, William C., and Rumi. The Sufi Path of Love: The Spiritual Teachings of Rumi. Rumi SUNY Series in Islam. New York: SUNY Press, 1983.</ref>

"The earth has the external shape of dust, but inside are the luminous Attributes of God." <Ref>Chittick, William C., and Rumi. The Sufi Path of Love: The Spiritual Teachings of Rumi. Rumi SUNY Series in Islam. New York: SUNY Press, 1983.</ref>



==Primary Sources==

The Dabistan https://www.amazon.ca/s?k=dabistan&ref=nb_sb_noss. For comments, see Ernst "Shambhala Guide..." p. 9

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