Editing Sufism (section)

===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}}