The word “Sufism” conjures up a wide range of reactions, depending on your exposure of the subject. To some, it is a respectable, much admired aspiration. For others, it denotes insanity and extremism in religious deviation. I don’t claim to know “the” answer of what it is exactly, but I can share with you some of my experiences in learning about this subject.

In my youth, I was raised in Tablighi Jamaa’aat (Jamaa’aatut Tableegh), which was a way for the masses of Muslims (most notably in the South Asian subcontinent) to learn, practice, and spread Islam. Although we did not practice Sufism, we did hear scant references to “saints” or those who experienced “relgious ecstasy”, etc. and for sure they were a mysterious people who were respected and above us.

After that, as I grew up and started thinking about Islam on my own, it seemed natural to me to read the Quran, ponder its meanings, and worship Allah in whatever way I knew as well as whatever way I felt was proper. So as a youth, I struggled to ponder death, to practice controlling my “nafs” (desire, self), pray with my eyes closed in deep concentration, etc. I would even do things such as fast without speaking because I had read about Zachariyyah and Mariam in the Quran. I had no concept of “innovation”, etc.

When I entered college, I became exposed to the Salafi da’wah, where I learned that innovations in religion were cause for deviation, for losing the original Islam, for following the ways of men over the ways of God. To be fair, I still see the point made here, for no doubt, people should know the roots of what they practice. And even if those who call themselves “Traditionalists” feel this is an erroneous and ill-formed understanding of the religion, no one can doubt that the fault of people who rely only on “transmission” or “following” had led to such a decline that indeed when Salafis would come quoting Quran and Sunnah, one had to bow to the knowledge.

However, if one is to exert themselves a bit, one can see that indeed many of the practices often dismissed as “innovation”, etc. can be seen upheld by many of the greatest scholars in our history - scholars accepted by all. I will not go into detail about this issue (the treatment of “innovation” by various methodologies) as I have discussed it in other places on this blog, but suffice to say there is a lot of confusion on the increasingly polarizing views of the Salafi doctrine (individualist literalism) and those of the Traditionalist doctrine (hierarchical, inherited knowledge). (But I cannot resist adding that the two camps are not exclusive in their treatment of Sufism, for there were Traditionalists who have condemned some aspects while some Literalists allowed things now considered “innovation”, etc.)

So to begin with, you should realize “Sufism” (although often aligned with “Traditionalism”) is simply a separate sphere of study in Islam. Many great scholars of the past were either Sufis themselves, or merely learned from, studied with, or accompanied them. It is the “spiritual path”, to put it simply. A Sufi is one who strives to be near to Allah and is a disciple of spiritual exercises (many scholars have written on this topic, and some even consider “tasawwuf” the only fardh knowledge - in the sense that it is tazkiyyatun nafs, etc.). Yes, it does soften the heart and unlock emotions, and that is why you hear some crazy things from this realm as well.

To clarify, I don’t think you HAVE to be a “Sufi”. In fact, I know of several people who are AMAZING (Allah knows best), people who never joined a tariqah, made bai’ah to a Shaikh, etc. - probably don’t even know what “Sufism” IS, but who try with every fiber of their beings to be close to Allah and are in loving devotion to Him. So what’s the point? The point is that just as much of the knowledge of Islam has been codified and taught, so has some of the spiritual training found within Islam. So for example, if you study “Tajweed”, it is clear you are studying something “new”, not taught by the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam. Yet, the science of Tajweed developed over time, as we got further and further away from the natural proficiency that people at the time of the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam had. The Sahaabiyaat, radhi’allaahu ‘anhum, were Arabs from that time period, who heard and learnt the recitation of the Quran from the Prophet, etc. Yet, as we moved away from that time period, naturally, we needed more and more knowledge to record exactly how the Quran was originally recited.

Now, you might say, yes, well, that is to recite the Quran in the SAME way (the goal being the same) whereas Sufis do weird things NOT done by the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam or only done in a rudimentary form which the Sufis exaggerate in. Yet, you should understand that the GOAL is to come near to the SPIRITUAL state of the most righteous people, and this is done through training passed down by the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, his Companions, radhi’allaahu ‘anhum, and on down through righteous scholars, etc. So just as Tajweed is more complicated, so is all the information and study of how we can get to a spiritual state close to those of our original predecessors (As-Salaf As-Saalih).

Take for example, respect. You might say the Prophet Muhammad sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam sat with his Companions, so close that you could cover all of them with a single sheet. Yet, we know that their level of respect for the Prophet was very high. They would not utter words in his presence, they would hesitate to answer in order to hear his answer first, they would give up all comforts to serve him. Nowadays, we have come so far from the time of the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, that often a Shaikh who is “relaxed” and comfortable with his students, who sits near them and with them, finds that they do not in fact have much respect for him. Instead, they seem him as almost a buddy or pal, someone they can interrupt, disturb, etc.

The “Salafi” in me says that if you have a very high level of respect for your teachers and Shuyookh without the practices of standing, kissing the hand, etc. then all the better - you are there. Yet, many of our youth could use a little training in respect - respect for elders, for teachers, for the knowledgable and authoritative amongst us. Obviously, this should not exceed bounds but one must admit we have come a long way and could use a bit of training.

Thus, Sufism is a study. The Tariqahs trace their chains back to the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam (I know that the Shadhili Tariqah, through which Shaikh Nuh trains people, goes through ‘Ali radhi’allaahu ‘anhu). I am thinking of joining this Tariqah, not actually because I think I need it (I do not say this out of arrogance, that I think I’m already great or anything, but meaning in general I don’t believe, just as everyone doesn’t have to study Tajweed, but should know the basics of recitation necessary for daily worship, that anyone HAS to join a Tariqah), but simply because Shaikh Nuh is a 10 minute walk from my house. What a shame it would be to miss learning from such a knowledgeable and devoted (and Allah knows best) scholar. I simply want to learn what I can.
As I mentioned, my knowledge is not great on this topic, but I did feel I wanted to share some of my experiences for the “uninitiated” and maybe inshallah it will bring some insight or benefit, bi ithnillaah.

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 30th, 2008 at 4:04 pm and is filed under Seeking Islam. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.