Sufism

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Sufism, also known as Islamic mysticism, is a spiritual and ascetic movement within Islam, striving for a direct, personal experience of the divine[1] (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.

List of Connection Frameworks

Arica School, Baha'i, Buddhism, Eupsychian Theory, Gnosticism, Holistic Nursing, Jainism, Karma Yoga, LP Connection Framework, League For Spiritual Discovery, Monastic Christianity, Neo-Hinduism, Sanatana Dharma, Shattari, Sufism, Taoism, The Lightning Path, Theosophy, Transpersonal Psychology, Wicca, Yoga, Zen

Islamic Terms

Islam > Absolute Essence, Al-Insan al-Kamil, Ascension, Dhat, Drug, Fana, Hadith, Ibn al-'Arabi, Infidelity, Infran, Jadhb, Last Days, Laylat al-Qadr, Mahabbah, Majdhub, Muhammad, Peace be upon them, Quran, Rapture, Right Path, Rtavan, Shariah, Subtle Centers, Sufism, Sulūk-i Ṭarīqa, Tahdhīb al-akhlāq, Taubah, Wajd, Yawm ad-Din

Related LP Terms

Sufism >

Non-LP Related Terms

Sufism > Rumi

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...."[2] Sufi teachings can be divided into three categories, "knowledge," "works" and finally "spiritual realization."[3]

"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." [4]

The name "probably" comes from the word safa or purity,[5] 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."[6]

"Writings on Islamic spirituality and mysticism began to appear in Arabic over a thousand years ago." [7]

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."[8]

"...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." [9]

"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 [10]

"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 [11]

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..." [12]

Like early Christianity,[13] 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." [14]

Form Versus Meaning

"Form is a thing's outward appearance, meaning its inward and unseen reality."[15]

"Form is shadow, meaning the Sun." (M VI 4747) [16]

"Know that the outward form passes away, but the World of Meaning remains forever."[17]

"The earth has the external shape of dust, but inside are the luminous Attributes of God." [18]


Primary Sources

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

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Rumi. The Masnavi: Book One. Translated by Jawid Mojaddedi. Oxford University Press, 2004.
  2. ↑ Rumi. The Masnavi: Book One. Translated by Jawid Mojaddedi. Oxford University Press, 2004.
  3. ↑ 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.
  4. ↑ Ernst. Teachings of Sufism. Boston: Shambhala, 1999. p. ix.
  5. ↑ Ikbal, Ali Shah. Islamic Sufism. Tractus Books, 2000.
  6. ↑ Ikbal, Ali Shah. Islamic Sufism. Tractus Books, 2000. p. 23.
  7. ↑ Ernst. Teachings of Sufism. Boston: Shambhala, 1999. p. x.
  8. ↑ Ikbal, Ali Shah. Islamic Sufism. Tractus Books, 2000. p. 244.
  9. ↑ Sir William Jones, quoted in Ernst, Carl W. The Shambhala Guide to Sufism. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 1997. https://amzn.to/2SoFmun. p. 9-10.
  10. ↑ Margaret Smith, Readings from the Mystics of Islam (Westport, CT: PIR Publications, 1994), https://amzn.to/2MdrfqB
  11. ↑ Margaret Smith, Readings from the Mystics of Islam (Westport, CT: PIR Publications, 1994), https://amzn.to/2MdrfqB
  12. ↑ Ernst, Carl W. The Shambhala Guide to Sufism. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 1997. https://amzn.to/2SoFmun. p. xiv
  13. ↑ Sosteric. “Rethinking the Origins and Purpose of Religion: Jesus, Constantine, and the Containment of Global Revolution,” Unpublished. https://www.academia.edu/34970150/.
  14. ↑ Ernst, Carl W. The Shambhala Guide to Sufism. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 1997. https://amzn.to/2SoFmun. p. 38.
  15. ↑ 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.
  16. ↑ 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.
  17. ↑ 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.
  18. ↑ 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.


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