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What
is Sufism?
The Spiritual Psychological Teaching
of Islam
Sufism is the esoteric,
heart teaching of Islam. We are living in the 21st Century, the
age of 'modernisation', mass communications, the internet and the
'global village' concept, so would hope by now that Sufism (Tasawwuf)
does not require much explanation. This teaching has been made
more accessible around the world by means of thousands of websites
and talks on internet television programs and You Tube. Sufi Books,
Sufi music (qawwali), and Sufi poetry are some of the ways
that Tasawwuf is introduced to humanity at large. We are
not surprised when we discover that some of the best-selling books
are written by great saintly people who are deeply rooted in the
traditions of the final Prophet and Messenger to all of creations,
The Holy Prophet Muhammad, may the salutations of Allah be upon
him, and peace. For the sake of clarification and explanation, and
as an introduction to our web site, we will give the authentic teaching
and explanation with regard to this beautiful and illuminating way.
The methodology and practices go back to the Practices (Sunnah)
of the Holy Prophet÷
and the Science of Prophethood.
It has been said that Tasawwuf has taken its name from many different
sources. In some Traditions the Sufis are connected with the Companions
of the Holy Prophet÷
. There was a group of very highly devoted and sincere seekers of
Allah known as the Ahl as-Suffa, the People of the Bench. They spent
their lives in a state of remembrance of Allah and complete detachment
from this world with great love and devotion to the company of their
Beloved Prophet÷..
It has also been said, that Sufism is related to the root of the
word "safa" – to purify – here meaning to purify the heart
of other-than-Allah. There are many names attached to this particular
teaching. The Sufis nonetheless say: "If one says he is a Sufi,
he is not a Sufi". To be a Sufi is to be in a state of complete
awareness of the self and complete awareness of the Divinity and
you must have sufficient knowledge of both the exoteric and the
esoteric teachings of Islam. If you try to separate Tasawwuf
from its root, which is Islam, you are opening a very dangerous
door and could cause yourself and others great harm. To do this
is also to try to build a castle without foundations. There are
many legends regarding this name, but by whatever name we call it,
it is the heart of Islam and we could say that every good Muslim
is a Sufi and every good Sufi is a Muslim.
Now, we go back to our subject - the
aim, the method, the practice and the travel on this great Path
of Allah.
"The goal of self-transformation
is to remove all the veils between us and Allah. The final
veil is the "I", the sense of separateness we each carry.
To remove this is far from easy. Ask yourself, "How can
I take the "I" out of me?"
The Sufis take as their starting point
the Unity of Allah– 'La ilaha ill Allah' – There is no god
but One God; There is no reality but One Reality. It is not that
we have to acknowledge the Unity of Allah. He does not need our
confirmation of His Oneness. This acknowledgement is for our own
benefit. When one starts with Unity it is easy to integrate all
the different "I’s" which have no function except to confuse
and mislead us. For this reason the practices of the Sufis include
the remembrance of Allah (Dhikr) and His Names, in various
forms, to awaken the consciousness and activate the subtle centres
of the heart.
In Sufism there are seven stages of consciousness. (Stages
of the Self) When we progress through them we will reach the
Ultimate Truth and the Ultimate Unity of Realization in Allah. It
is hard; and at the same time it is easy. If we are sincere and
if we have great determination (himma) and really wish to
be with Allah then, as Allah says in the Holy Qur’an, He is closer
to us than our jugular vein. It has been said that there are 70,000
veils between the seeker and Allah, but there are no veils between
Allah and the seeker. The complications are from our side. We have
to put our lives in order and bring peace and knowledge and proper
behaviour to our existence so that we may be able, gradually, to
remove the veils of personality, conditioning and lower desires
(and after that, the higher desires).
"The Sufis are people who prefer
Allah to everything and Allah prefers them to everything else."
So the first step, as we mentioned,
is the acknowledgment of the supremacy of Allah, and the acknowledgement
which includes the acceptance of 124,000 Prophets and Messengers
of Allah who have been sent to humanity and to all the creations
in the universe, (those creations that we know of and those that
have not been discovered yet).
The last Prophet and Messenger of Allah is the Holy Prophet Muhammad÷
. If we acknowledge this then the second step is to worship, because
there is no point in acknowledging Allah if we do not fulfill His
commands. As a Sufi poet said: "You disobey Allah and yet you
claim His Love. That is indeed a very strange kind of love!"
If you truly love Allah you will obey Him because the lover is in
a state of total surrender to his Beloved. So – worship you must!
What does is mean to worship? Worship is not just the movements
of the body. (Movement of the Prayer).
It is the orientation of the heart so that the object of your love
is the Supreme Being. It is a state of knowledge, because in the
true sense you cannot worship something that you do not know. So,
the Sufis say: "Worship!" Worship in the Arabic traditions
is called ibadat. Ibadat should take us to 'ubudiyya
meaning slavehood. You are slave to none but the One. If worship
does not produce this result then it has not been done properly.
The highest state of consciousness is to be completely and totally
submitted to your Beloved, Allah, the Supreme Being and the Creator
of all things and the sustainer of all things, because we all remember
when we arrived to planet Earth, we arrived without any luggage,
Ipods, computers, or any of the other gadgets that we depend on
in our daily lives. We think that if we don't have them, our lives
will be disastrous.
The Holy Prophet÷
has said, "What I say is the Law, what I do is the Way and
my inner state is Reality". There are three stages of practice
and understanding in Sufism:
Islam (submission)
Iman (belief)
Ihsan (perfection) or, you could say:
Shariah (The Law)
Tariqah (The mystical Path)
Haqiqah (Reality)
Each is built upon the stages that go before.When we combine this
knowledge based on the Holy Qur'an, we will come face to face with
each of the seven stages of consciousness.
Islam (submission)
Iman (belief)
Ihsan (perfection)
'Ilm al Yaqin (knowledge of certainty)
'Ain al Yaqin (the eye of certainty)
Haqq al Yaqin (the Reality of Certainty)
The seventh stage is the Complete Self,
known also as Hayat as-Sha'ur, the Life of the Senses.
To start this process, you must take
the necessary steps. It is highly recommended to observe the month
of fasting every year (the Holy month of Ramadhan) in order to experience
something of hunger,to tame the animal self and to become conscsious
of the suffering of the human being who has nothing to sustain them.
The Murshid, or Teacher of a Sufi order or school to whom one attaches
oneself, may recommend other fasts if they are required.
There is also zakat, or charity, which deals with material
wealth. The Holy Prophet÷
never kept anything more than what he needed for the day and he
is our example to follow. When we practise zakat, which requires
a percentage of wealth to be given to the needy, then, according
to the esoteric Teaching, we are learning detachment, generosity
and many other qualities. We must know that the best gift one can
give to others is a heart full of love and respect for all the creations
of Allah.
Additionally there is the Hajj or pilgrimage. The Holy Prophet÷
said: "Whoever dies without the intention to go on the Pilgrimage,
may die on a different faith than that of the religion that I brought".
One must strive to perform pilgrimage to the House of Allah once
in a lifetime. However, the real pilgrimage is to travel to one’s
heart because it is the Real House of Allah. Allah says in a Hadith
Qudsi (Holy saying) "Neither My heavens nor My earth contain
Me, but the heart of My true believer contains Me". This 'containment'
is of knowledge and realisation and illumination.
The Holy Prophet÷
has said "die before you die" and he also said "whosoever
knows himself, knows his Lord". So the Sufis use all of these
methods and more to transform the self. It is common knowledge that
the ego-self cannot surrender to itself. From the very beginning
of our lives we are learning from our parents, our peers, schoolteachers,
our university lecturers, and the masters of whatever trade we undertake.
There is always someone at the beginning who must show us how to
learn and Tasawwuf is no exception. However, there is something
unique to Islam and to Tasawwuf in particular, called bay'at,
which was performed by the Holy Prophet÷
and this practice still continues right to our time. In some parts
of the world it is called mukaffaf – taking of the hand.
That is, you must take the hand of the one nearest to you to link
you to the chain which goes back to the First Teacher who brought
this Teaching to us, the Holy Prophet Muhammad÷,
who links us to Allah Himself. It is like a very powerful magnetic
circle. The one who attaches himself becomes like a magnet, receiving
the barakah, spiritual blessings , and participating in the Universal
Remembrance of Allah, because this Teaching is for all of humanity.
It is Universal. It is fresh and unadulterated and it gives you
access to everything that your heart desires and unlocks the mysteries
of everything you want to know, but were afraid to ask. I beseech
my Beloved Allah to fill the hearts of those who seek the Truth
and nothing but the Truth, with the Truth, so that they may become
free, inward and outward. The 21st Century, the end of the cycle
is a wonderful time if the eye of the heart is open, but it is a
dangerous time for those who are in a comatose state of forgetfulness.
Their only worries and concerns deal iwth the material world, the
enslavement to their work and their bodily needs and desires and
the weekly rituals of pushing the tripod trolley through the supermarket,
which has become our 'home away from Home'.
Almiraj Sufi & Islamic Study Centre was established many
years ago in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. It provides all those
who want to know – and who really want to know – with a large range
of books on Sufi traditions and their original sources and other
traditions as well. So, I hope this introduction helps to give you
some idea, but if you want more than the menu - the kitchen and
the Cook are here on the Web. May your search bring you success
in this life and the next.
And may Allah fill our hearts and yours with Peace, Love and Knowledge
and Guide us all to Him, by Him. Ameen.
Sufism is but a name; when it is
finished, only Allah remains.
Written by Murshid F.A. Ali ElSenossi-
Almiraj Sufi & Islamic Study Centre
Go to: Almiraj Sufi
Books
Almiraj Sufi and Islamic
Study Centre Inc.
Incorporated in the State of Tasmania, Australia
Page last updated
20-Jul-2010
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