Editing Sufism (section)

==Aims and objectives==
[[File:Tomb of Shah Rukn-e-Alam 2014-07-31.jpg|thumb|The [[Tomb of Shah Rukn-e-Alam]] (built 1324 A.D) is located in [[Multan]], Pakistan. Known for its multitude of Sufi shrines, Multan is nicknamed as ''The City of Saints''.]]

While all Muslims believe that they are on the pathway to Allah and hope to become close to God in [[Paradise]]—after death and after the [[Last Judgment]]—Sufis also believe that it is possible to draw closer to God and to more fully embrace the [[divine presence]] in this life.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}} The chief aim of all Sufis is to seek the pleasure of God by working to restore within themselves the primordial state of ''[[fitra]]''.<ref name="AH Shadhili">{{cite book|author=Abul Hasan ash-Shadhili|author-link=Abul Hasan ash-Shadhili|title=The School of the Shadhdhuliyyah|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=res8GwAACAAJ|year=1993|publisher=Islamic Texts Society|isbn=978-0-946621-57-6}}</ref>

To Sufis, the outer law consists of rules pertaining to worship, transactions, marriage, judicial rulings, and criminal law—what is often referred to, broadly, as "[[qanun (law)|qanun]]". The inner law of Sufism consists of rules about repentance from sin, the purging of contemptible qualities and evil traits of character, and adornment with virtues and good character.<ref>Muhammad Emin Er, ''Laws of the Heart: A Practical Introduction to the Sufi Path'', Shifâ Publishers, 2008, {{ISBN|978-0-9815196-1-6}}</ref>

===Teachings===
[[File:Man holding the hem of his beloved, Islamic art 16th century.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.8|Man holding the hem of his beloved, an expression of a Sufi's agony of longing for the divine union]]

To the Sufi, it is the transmission of divine light from the teacher's heart to the heart of the student, rather than worldly knowledge, that allows the adept to progress. They further believe that the teacher should attempt inerrantly to follow the [[Divine law|Divine Law]].<ref>Abdullah Nur ad-Din Durkee, ''The School of the Shadhdhuliyyah, Volume One: Orisons''; see also Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani, ''Classical Islam and the Naqshbandi Sufi Tradition'', {{ISBN|978-1-930409-23-1}}, which reproduces the spiritual lineage (''silsila'') of a living Sufi master.</ref>

According to [[Moojan Momen]] "one of the most important doctrines of Sufism is the concept of ''al-Insan al-Kamil'' ("the Perfect Man"). This doctrine states that there will always exist upon the earth a "''[[qutb]]''" (pole or axis of the Universe)—a man who is the perfect channel of grace from God to man and in a state of [[wilayah]] (sanctity, being under the protection of Allah). The concept of the Sufi ''qutb'' is similar to that of the [[Imamah (Shia doctrine)|Shi'i imam]].<ref name= qutb/><ref>{{cite book |author=Mohammad Najib-ur-Rehman Madzillah-ul-Aqdus|title=Sultan Bahoo: The Life and Teachings |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hlyMAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA277|year=2015 |publisher=Sultan ul Faqr Publications|isbn=978-969-9795-18-3}}</ref> However, this belief puts Sufism in "direct conflict" with Shia Islam, since both the ''qutb'' (who for most Sufi orders is the head of the order) and the imam fulfill the role of "the purveyor of spiritual guidance and of [[Allah]]'s grace to mankind". The vow of obedience to the shaykh or ''qutb'' which is taken by Sufis is considered incompatible with devotion to the imam.<ref name= qutb>{{cite book|last=Momen|first=Moojan|author-link=Moojan Momen|year=1985|title=An Introduction to Shiʻi Islam: The History and Doctrines of Twelver Shiʻism|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-03531-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/introductiontosh0000unse_d5k7 |url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/introductiontosh0000unse_d5k7/page/n272 209]}}</ref>

As a further example, the prospective adherent of the Mevlevi Order would have been ordered to serve in the kitchens of a hospice for the poor for 1001 days prior to being accepted for spiritual instruction, and a further 1,001 days in solitary retreat as a precondition of completing that instruction.<ref>See Muhammad Emin Er, ''Laws of the Heart: A Practical Introduction to the Sufi Path'', Shifâ Publishers, 2008, {{ISBN|978-0-9815196-1-6}}, for a detailed description of the practices and preconditions of this sort of spiritual retreat.</ref>

Some teachers, especially when addressing more general audiences, or mixed groups of Muslims and non-Muslims, make extensive use of [[parable]], [[allegory]], and [[metaphor]].<ref>See examples provided by Muzaffar Ozak in ''Irshad: Wisdom of a Sufi Master'', addressed to a general audience rather than specifically to his own students.</ref> Although approaches to teaching vary among different Sufi orders, Sufism as a whole is primarily concerned with direct personal experience, and as such has sometimes been compared to other, non-Islamic forms of [[mysticism]] (e.g., as in the books of [[Seyyed Hossein Nasr]]).

Many Sufi believe that to reach the highest levels of success in Sufism typically requires that the disciple live with and serve the teacher for a long period of time.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Islamic cultures and societies to the end of the eighteenth century|last=Knysh|first=Alexander|others=Irwin, Robert, 1946–|isbn=9781139056144|location=Cambridge|chapter=Sufism|oclc=742957142}}</ref> An example is the folk story about [[Baha-ud-Din Naqshband Bukhari]], who gave his name to the Naqshbandi Order. He is believed to have served his first teacher, [[Mohammad Baba As-Samasi|Sayyid Muhammad Baba As-Samasi]], for 20 years, until as-Samasi died. He is said to then have served several other teachers for lengthy periods of time. He is said to have helped the poorer members of the community for many years, and after this concluded his teacher directed him to care for animals cleaning their wounds, and assisting them.<ref>Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani, ''Classical Islam and the Naqshbandi Sufi Tradition'', {{ISBN|978-1-930409-23-1}}</ref>

===Muhammad===
{{rquote|right|His [Muhammad's] aspiration preceded all other aspirations, his existence preceded nothingness, and his name preceded the Pen, because he existed before all peoples. There is not in the horizons, beyond the horizons or below the horizons, anyone more elegant, more noble, more knowing, more just, more fearsome, or more compassionate, than the subject of this tale. He is the leader of created beings, the one "whose name is glorious Ahmad".
—[[Mansur Al-Hallaj]]{{sfn|Ernst|2010|p=125}} }}
[[File:Muhammad2.svg|thumb|upright=0.8|The name of Muhammad in [[Islamic calligraphy]]. Sufis believe the name of Muhammad is holy and sacred.]]

Devotion to Muhammad is the strongest practice within Sufism.{{sfn|Ernst|2010|p=130}} Sufis have historically revered Muhammad as the prime personality of spiritual greatness. The Sufi poet [[Saadi Shirazi]] stated, "He who chooses a path contrary to that of the prophet shall never reach the destination. O Saadi, do not think that one can treat that way of purity except in the wake of the chosen one."<ref>{{citation|first=Gholamreza|last=Aavani|title=Glorification of the Prophet Muhammad in the Poems of Sa'adi|page=4}}</ref> Rumi attributes his self-control and abstinence from worldly desires as qualities attained by him through the guidance of Muhammad. Rumi states, "I 'sewed' my two eyes shut from [desires for] this world and the next – this I learned from Muhammad."{{sfn|Gamard|2004|p=169}} [[Ibn Arabi]] regards Muhammad as the greatest man and states, "Muhammad's wisdom is uniqueness (''fardiya'') because he is the most perfect existent creature of this human species. For this reason, the command began with him and was sealed with him. He was a Prophet while Adam was between water and clay, and his elemental structure is the Seal of the Prophets."<ref>{{citation|title=The Seals of Wisdom (Fusus al-Hikam)|first=Ibn|last=Arabi|url=https://bewley.virtualave.net/fusus27.html|others=Aisha Bewley}}</ref> [[Attar of Nishapur]] claimed that he praised Muhammad in such a manner that was not done before by any poet, in his book the ''Ilahi-nama''.<ref>{{citation|first=Fariduddin|last=Attar|title=Ilahi-nama – The Book of God|others=John Andrew Boyle (translator)|quote=Thou knowest that none of the poets have sung such praise save only I.}}</ref> Fariduddin Attar stated, "Muhammad is the exemplar to both worlds, the guide of the descendants of Adam. He is the sun of creation, the moon of the celestial spheres, the all-seeing eye...The seven heavens and the eight gardens of paradise were created for him; he is both the eye and the light in the light of our eyes."<ref>{{citation|first=Fariduddin|last=Attar|title=Ilahi-nama – The Book of God|others=John Andrew Boyle (translator)}}</ref> Sufis have historically stressed the importance of Muhammad's perfection and his ability to intercede. The persona of Muhammad has historically been and remains an integral and critical aspect of Sufi belief and practice.{{sfn|Ernst|2010|p=130}} Bayazid Bastami is recorded to have been so devoted to the ''[[sunnah]]'' of Muhammad that he refused to eat a watermelon because he could not establish that Muhammad ever ate one.<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.tasawwuf.co/writings/love_allah/love_chapter9.pdf|title=The Signs of a Sincere Lover|page=91}}</ref>

In the 13th century, a Sufi poet from [[Egypt]], [[Al-Busiri]], wrote the ''al-Kawākib ad-Durrīya fī Madḥ Khayr al-Barīya'' ('The Celestial Lights in Praise of the Best of Creation'), commonly referred to as ''[[Al-Burda|Qaṣīdat al-Burda]]'' ('Poem of the Mantle'), in which he extensively praised Muhammad.<ref name="celestial">{{citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F-nY3_DXo-gC|author=Suzanne Pinckney Stetkevych|title=The Mantle Odes: Arabic Praise Poems to the Prophet Muhammad|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=978-0253354877|year=2010}}</ref> This poem is still widely recited and sung amongst Sufi groups and lay Muslims alike all over the world.<ref name="celestial"/>

====Sufi beliefs about Muhammad====
According to Ibn Arabi, Islam is the best religion because of Muhammad.{{sfn|Fitzpatrick|Walker|2014|p=446}} [[Ibn Arabi]] regards that the first entity that was brought into existence is the reality or essence of Muhammad (''al-ḥaqīqa al-Muhammadiyya''). Ibn Arabi regards Muhammad as the supreme human being and master of all creatures. Muhammad is therefore the primary [[role model]] for human beings to aspire to emulate.{{sfn|Fitzpatrick|Walker|2014|p=446}} Ibn Arabi believes that God's attributes and names are manifested in this world and that the most complete and perfect display of these divine attributes and names are seen in Muhammad.{{sfn|Fitzpatrick|Walker|2014|p=446}} Ibn Arabi believes that one may see God in the mirror of Muhammad, meaning that the divine attributes of God are manifested through Muhammad.{{sfn|Fitzpatrick|Walker|2014|p=446}} Ibn Arabi maintains that Muhammad is the best proof of God, and by knowing Muhammad one knows God.{{sfn|Fitzpatrick|Walker|2014|p=446}} Ibn Arabi also maintains that Muhammad is the master of all of humanity in both this world and the afterlife. In this view, Islam is the best religion because Muhammad is Islam.{{sfn|Fitzpatrick|Walker|2014|p=446}}

===Sufism and Islamic law===
[[File:Fatehpur Sikri near Agra 2016-03 img03.jpg|thumb|Tomb of [[Salim Chishti]], [[Fatehpur Sikri]], [[Agra]], [[Uttar Pradesh]], India]]

Sufis believe the ''sharia'' (exoteric "canon"), ''[[tariqa]]'' ("order") and ''[[haqiqa]]'' ("truth") are mutually interdependent.<ref>Muhammad Emin Er, ''The Soul of Islam: Essential Doctrines and Beliefs'', Shifâ Publishers, 2008, {{ISBN|978-0-9815196-0-9}}.</ref> Sufism leads the adept, called ''[[salik]]'' or "wayfarer", in his ''sulûk'' or "road" through different stations (''[[Maqam (Sufism)|maqāmāt]]'') until he reaches his goal, the perfect ''[[tawhid]]'', the existential confession that God is One.{{sfn|Schimmel|2013|p=99}} Ibn Arabi says, "When we see someone in this Community who claims to be able to guide others to God, but is remiss in but one rule of the Sacred Law—even if he manifests miracles that stagger the mind—asserting that his shortcoming is a special dispensation for him, we do not even turn to look at him, for such a person is not a sheikh, nor is he speaking the truth, for no one is entrusted with the secrets of God Most High save one in whom the ordinances of the Sacred Law are preserved. (''Jamiʿ karamat al-awliyaʾ'')".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.catheyallison.com/Reliance_of_the_Traveller.pdf |title=Reliance of the Traveller |author=[[Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri]] |author2=[[Nuh Ha Mim Keller]] |date =1368|pages=778–795|work=Amana Publications |access-date=14 May 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://dailyrollcall.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/the-reliance-of-the-traveller.pdf |title=A Classic Manual of Islamic Scared Law |author=[[Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri]] |author2=[[Nuh Ha Mim Keller]] |date=1368| work=Shafiifiqh.com|access-date=14 May 2020}}</ref>

It is related, moreover, that Malik, one of the founders of the four schools of Sunni law, was a strong proponent of combining the "inward science" ('''ilm al-bātin'') of mystical knowledge with the "outward science" of [[Fiqh|jurisprudence]].<ref name="Gibril F. Haddad 2007 p. 179">Gibril F. Haddad, ''The Four Imams and Their Schools'' (London: Muslim Academic Trust, 2007), p. 179

'''[[Malik ibn Anas#cite ref-35|^]]'''</ref> For example, the famous twelfth-century [[Maliki]] [[Qadi|jurist and judge]] [[Qadi Iyad]], later venerated as a [[Wali|saint]] throughout the [[Iberian Peninsula]], narrated a tradition in which a man asked Malik "about something in the inward science", to which Malik replied: "Truly none knows the inward science except those who know the outward science! When he knows the outward science and puts it into practice, God shall open for him the inward science&nbsp;– and that will not take place except by the opening of his heart and its enlightenment." In other similar traditions, it is related that Malik said: "He who practices Sufism (''tasawwuf'') without learning Sacred Law corrupts his faith (''tazandaqa''), while he who learns Sacred Law without practicing Sufism corrupts himself (''tafassaqa''). Only he who combines the two proves true (''tahaqqaqa'')".<ref name="Gibril F. Haddad 2007 p. 179"/>

The [[Amman Message]], a detailed statement issued by 200 leading Islamic scholars in 2005 in [[Amman]], specifically recognized the validity of Sufism as a part of Islam. This was adopted by the Islamic world's political and temporal leaderships at the [[Organisation of Islamic Cooperation|Organisation of the Islamic Conference]] summit at Mecca in December 2005, and by six other international Islamic scholarly assemblies including the International Islamic Fiqh Academy of Jeddah, in July 2006. The definition of Sufism can vary drastically between different traditions (what may be intended is simple [[tazkiah]] as opposed to the various manifestations of Sufism around the Islamic world).<ref>[http://ammanmessage.com/ The Amman Message Summary]. Retrieved on Feb 2, 2010.</ref>

===Traditional Islamic thought and Sufism===
[[File:Tomb of said-ul-Auliya sayyid Ali hamadani.jpg|thumb|Tomb of [[Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani|Sayyid Ali Hamadani]], [[Kulob]], [[Tajikistan]] ]]
[[Image:Shrine Of Allo Mahar sharif.jpg|thumb|right|218px|Urs of [[Islamic Naqshbandi saints of Allo Mahar]] is celebrated on 23 March every year.]]

The literature of Sufism emphasizes highly subjective matters that resist outside observation, such as the subtle states of the heart. Often these resist direct reference or description, with the consequence that the authors of various Sufi treatises took recourse to allegorical language. For instance, much Sufi poetry refers to intoxication, which Islam expressly forbids. This usage of indirect language and the existence of interpretations by people who had no training in Islam or Sufism led to doubts being cast over the validity of Sufism as a part of Islam. Also, some groups emerged that considered themselves above the ''sharia'' and discussed Sufism as a method of bypassing the rules of Islam in order to attain salvation directly. This was disapproved of by traditional scholars.

For these and other reasons, the relationship between traditional Islamic scholars and Sufism is complex, and a range of scholarly opinion on Sufism in Islam has been the norm. Some scholars, such as Al-Ghazali, helped its propagation while other scholars opposed it. [[William Chittick]] explains the position of Sufism and Sufis this way:
{{blockquote|In short, Muslim scholars who focused their energies on understanding the normative guidelines for the body came to be known as jurists, and those who held that the most important task was to train the mind in achieving correct understanding came to be divided into three main schools of thought: theology, philosophy, and Sufism. This leaves us with the third domain of human existence, the spirit. Most Muslims who devoted their major efforts to developing the spiritual dimensions of the human person came to be known as Sufis.{{sfn|Chittick|2007}}}}

===Persian influence on Sufism===
Persians played a huge role in developing and systematising Islamic mysticism. One of the first to formalise Sufi principles was [[Junayd of Baghdad]] – a Persian from Baghdad.<ref>Silvers, Laury (2013-09-01). "al-Fatḥ al-Mawṣilī". ''Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE''. <q>(...) uncle of the famous early Persian Ṣūfī Junayd al-Baghdādī (d. 298/911).</q></ref> Other great Persian Sufi poets include [[Rudaki]], [[Rumi]], [[Attar of Nishapur|Attar]], [[Nizami Ganjavi|Nizami]], [[Hafez]], [[Sanai]], [[Shams Tabrizi|Shamz Tabrizi]] and [[Jami]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nemanja |date=2022-10-25 |title=5 Greatest Persian Poets and Why They Remain Relevant |url=https://symbolsage.com/greatest-persian-poets/ |access-date=2022-12-03 |website=Symbol Sage |language=en-US}}</ref> Famous poems that still resonate across the Muslim world include [[Masnavi|''The Masnavi of Rumi'']]'', [[Bustan (book)|The Bustan by Saadi]], [[The Conference of the Birds|The Conference of the Birds by Attar]] and [[The Divān of Hafez]].''

=== Neo-Sufism ===
[[File:5861-Linxia-Yu-Baba-Gongbei-main-building-roof.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.8|The mausoleum (''[[gongbei (Islamic architecture)|gongbei]]'') of [[Ma Laichi]] in [[Linxia City]], China]]

The term ''neo-Sufism'' was originally coined by [[Fazlur Rahman Malik|Fazlur Rahman]] and used by other scholars to describe reformist currents among 18th century Sufi orders, whose goal was to remove some of the more ecstatic and pantheistic elements of the Sufi tradition and reassert the importance of Islamic law as the basis for inner spirituality and social activism.<ref name=voll-OEIW>{{cite encyclopedia|first=John O.|last=Voll|title=Sufism. ṢūfĪ Orders.|encyclopedia=The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World|editor-first=John L.|editor-last=Esposito|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|year=2009|url=http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/print/opr/t236/e0759|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121124035305/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/print/opr/t236/e0759|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 24, 2012}}</ref><ref name=howell>{{cite web|title=Sufism in the Modern World|first=Julia|last=Howell|website=Oxford Islamic Studies Online|url=http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/Public/focus/essay1010_surfism_modern_world.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130219000847/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/Public/focus/essay1010_surfism_modern_world.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 19, 2013}}</ref> In recent times, it has been increasingly used by scholars like Mark Sedgwick in the opposite sense, to describe various forms of Sufi-influenced spirituality in the West, in particular the deconfessionalized spiritual movements which emphasize universal elements of the Sufi tradition and de-emphasize its Islamic context.<ref name=howell/><ref name=sedgwick2012>{{cite book|chapter=Neo-Sufism|first=Mark|last=Sedgwick|title=The Cambridge Companion to New Religious Movements |editor-first=Olav |editor-last=Hammer |editor-first2=Mikael|editor-last2=Rothstein|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2012}}</ref>