Sufism

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Sufism is a Connection Practice that emerges from Islam and the Koran.


Related and Syncretic Terms

Connection Practice >


Notes

Sufism is "the mystical tradition of Islam." [1]

"Writings on Islamic spirituality and mysticism began to appear in Arabic over a thousand years ago." [2]

"...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." [3]

"In treading the Path, the Sufi ascends until perfection is reached, and in the perfect sain, God and [individual ego] become one again. Abd Al-Kaim Jili [4]

"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 [5]

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..." [6]

Like early Christianity,[7] 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 culturalcapital of the Islamic tradition." [8]


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. Ernst. Teachings of Sufism. Boston: Shambhala, 1999. p. ix.
  2. Ernst. Teachings of Sufism. Boston: Shambhala, 1999. p. x.
  3. Sir William Jones, quoted in Ernst, Carl W. The Shambhala Guide to Sufism. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 1997. https://amzn.to/2SoFmun. p. 9-10.
  4. Margaret Smith, Readings from the Mystics of Islam (Westport, CT: PIR Publications, 1994), https://amzn.to/2MdrfqB
  5. Margaret Smith, Readings from the Mystics of Islam (Westport, CT: PIR Publications, 1994), https://amzn.to/2MdrfqB
  6. Ernst, Carl W. The Shambhala Guide to Sufism. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 1997. https://amzn.to/2SoFmun. p. xiv
  7. Sosteric. “Rethinking the Origins and Purpose of Religion: Jesus, Constantine, and the Containment of Global Revolution,” Unpublished. https://www.academia.edu/34970150/.
  8. Ernst, Carl W. The Shambhala Guide to Sufism. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 1997. https://amzn.to/2SoFmun. p. 38.