|
What
is Sufism?
The Spiritual Psychological Teaching
of Islam
Sufism is the esoteric
teaching of Islam. We are living in the 21st Century, the age of
mass communications and the internet and so would hope by now that
Sufism does not require too much explanation. This teaching has
been made more accessible around the world by means of Sufi Books,
Sufi music (qawwali), and Sufi poetry. We are not surprised when
we discover that the best-selling books on poetry in the USA are
by the great Sufi mystical poet, Jalaluddin Rumi. For the sake of
clarification and explanation, and as an introduction to our web
site, we will give details of this teaching.
It has been said that Sufism or Tasawwuf has taken its name from
many different sources. One is "suf" wool. It has been
said in the Traditions of the Holy Prophet that the Prophet Musa
(Moses) was wearing wool when he went to speak with God on Mount
Sinai . In the early days wool was a very cheap commodity, worn
by ascetics as a sign of humility and detachment. Wool is the opposite
of silk. 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
God named Ahl as-Suffa, the People of the Bench. They spent their
lives in a state of remembrance of God and complete detachment from
this world.
"The goal of self-transformation
is to remove all the veils between us and God. 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?"
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-God. 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.
The Sufis take as their starting point the Unity of God 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
God. God does not need our confirmation of His Oneness. It is for
our own benefit. When one starts with Unity it is easy to integrate
all the different "Is" which have no function except
to confuse and mislead us. For this reason the Sufis use the remembrance
of Allah (Dhikr) and His Names, in various forms, to awaken the
subtle centres of the self.
In Sufism there are seven states of consciousness. When we progress
through them we will reach the Ultimate Truth and the Ultimate Unity
of Realization of God. It is hard; and at the same time it is easy.
If we are sincere and if we desire and really wish to be with God
then, as Allah says in the Holy Quran, He is closer to us than
our jugular vein.
"The Sufis are people who prefer
God to everything and God prefers them to everything else."
So the first step, as we mentioned,
is the acknowledgment of God, which includes the acceptance of 124,000
prophets and messengers of God who have been sent to humanity and
to the entire creation at large.
The last Prophet and Messenger of God is the Holy Prophet Muhammad÷
. If we acknowledge this then the second step is to worship, because
there is no point in acknowledging God if we do not obey Him. As
a Sufi poet said: "You disobey Allah and you claim His Love.
That is indeed a very strange kind of love!" If you are truly
a lover of God you will obey Him because the lover is in a state
of total surrender to his Beloved. So worship you must! However,
worship is not just the movements of the body. 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. 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 our Beloved,
Allah.
There are four stages of practice and
understanding in Sufism -
Shariah (The Law),
Tariqah (The mystical Path),
Haqiqah (Truth),
and Ma'rifah (Gnosis).
Each is built upon the stages that go before.
There are other steps. It is highly
recommended to observe the one month of fasting every year (the
Holy month of Ramadhan) in order to experience something of hunger
and to tame the animal self. 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, which deals with material wealth. When we practise
zakat, which requires 2.5% of our wealth to be given to the needy,
then, according to the esoteric Teaching, we are learning detachment
and 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 God.
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 surrender to Allah".
One must strive to perform pilgrimage to the House of Allah once
in a lifetime. However, the real pilgrimage is to travel to ones
heart because it is the Real House of Allah.
Die before you die.
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 day one 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. The Sufi is no exception.
In Tasawwuf there is something called Spiritual Genealogy. In some
parts of the world it is called Mukafaf People 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 the Archangel
Gabriel, who links us to God Himself. It is like a magnetic circle.
The one who attaches himself becomes like a magnet, receiving the
barakah, spiritual blessings , and participating in the Universal
Remembrance of God, because this Teaching is for all humanity. It
is Universal. It is fresh and unadulterated and it gives you access
to everything that your heart desires.
The Almiraj Sufi & Islamic Study Centre was established
about fifteen 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 God remains.
Written by Murshid F.A. Ali ElSenossi-
Almiraj Sufi & Islamic Study Centre
Go to: Almiraj
Sufi Books
Murshid F. A. Ali ElSenossi
Almiraj Sufi and Islamic
Study Centre Inc.
Incorporated in the State of Tasmania, Australia
Page last updated
27-Feb-2008
|
