TheElementsOfSufism HaeriTrust ZP Sample

Publisher: Zahra Publications
ISBN-10 (Printed Version): 1-919897-06-2
ISBN-13 (Printed Version): 978-1-919897-06-6
ISBN (E-Book Version): 978-1-919826-47-9
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents............................................................................................................................. i
Book Description ........................................................................................................................... iv
About the Author ............................................................................................................................ v
Acknowledgements........................................................................................................................ vi
Introduction..................................................................................................................................... 1
Chapter 1: Definitions of Sufism .................................................................................................... 5
Chapter 2: The Early Development of Sufism ............................................................................... 8
Chapter 3: Sufi Orders (Brotherhoods)......................................................................................... 22
The Qadiri Order ...................................................................................................................... 23
The Rifaì Order ....................................................................................................................... 24
The Shadhili Order ................................................................................................................... 24
The Mevlavi Order ................................................................................................................... 24
The Naqshbandi Order.............................................................................................................. 24
The Bektashi Order................................................................................................................... 25
The Niàmatullah Order............................................................................................................ 25
The Tijani Order ....................................................................................................................... 25
The Jarrahi Order ...................................................................................................................... 25
The Chishti Order ..................................................................................................................... 25
Chapter 4: Basic Sufi Concepts .................................................................................................... 27
Chapter 5: The Way of the Sufi .................................................................................................... 34
Chapter 6: Pseudo-Sufism ............................................................................................................ 43
i
Chapter 7: Sufi Practices .............................................................................................................. 46
The Meaning of the Outer Law and the Inner Reality (Shariàh and Haqiqah) ...................... 49
The Meaning of Innate Nature (Fitra)...................................................................................... 54
The Purpose of Sufi Practices................................................................................................... 57
The Meaning of the Remembrance of God (Dhikru’llah)........................................................ 60
The Meaning of Watchfulness (Muraqabah) ........................................................................... 62
The Meaning of Retreat (Khalwa) ............................................................................................ 62
Other Sufi Practices .................................................................................................................. 64
The Importance of Time and Place........................................................................................... 66
Chapter 8: Sufi States ................................................................................................................... 68
Stages of Awakening ................................................................................................................ 68
Chapter 9: Sufism and Orthodox Islam ........................................................................................ 76
Chapter 10: The Role of the Sufi .................................................................................................. 81
Chapter 11: Sufism and Society ................................................................................................... 85
Chapter 12: Sufism in Modern Times .......................................................................................... 89
Chapter 13: Sufi Biographies........................................................................................................ 92
Rabià Al-Adawiya ................................................................................................................... 92
Sayyida Nafisah ........................................................................................................................ 93
Imam Junayd al-Baghdadi ........................................................................................................ 94
Mansur al-Hallaj ....................................................................................................................... 95
Imam Abu Hamid Al-Ghazzali................................................................................................. 96
Shaykh Muhiy’ud-Din Ibn Àrabi ............................................................................................ 97
Mawlana Jalal’ud-Din Rumi .................................................................................................... 98
ii
Mulla Sadra............................................................................................................................... 99
Khwaja Muìn’ud-Din Chishti................................................................................................ 100
Shaykh Nizam’ud-Din Awliya ............................................................................................... 102
Shah Wali’ullah ...................................................................................................................... 103
Shaykh Abu’l-Hasan Ash-Shadhili ........................................................................................ 105
Shaykh Taj-ud-Din Ahmad Ibn Ata’llah ................................................................................ 106
Shaykh Moulay Al-Àrabi Ad-Darqawi ................................................................................. 108
Shaykh Sayyid Muhammad As-Sanusi .................................................................................. 111
Shaykh Muzaffer .................................................................................................................... 112
eBooks By Zahra Publications.................................................................................................... 114
General eBooks on Islam ........................................................................................................ 114
The Qur’an & Its Teachings ................................................................................................... 114
Sufism & Islamic Psychology and Philosophy....................................................................... 116
Practices & Teachings of Islam .............................................................................................. 117
Talks & Courses ..................................................................................................................... 118
Poetry, Aphorisms & Inspirational ......................................................................................... 119
Autobiography ........................................................................................................................ 120
Health Sciences and Islamic History ...................................................................................... 120
iii
The Elements of Sufism by Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri
Book Description
Book Description
NOTE: This book has also been published under the title, “The Thoughtful Guide to Sufism”.
Sufism is the heart of Islam. This introduction to Sufism describes its origins and practices, its
historical background and its spread throughout the world.
The Elements of Sufism explains:
– Where Sufism originated
– The relationship between Islam and Sufism
– What it means to be a Sufi
– The relevance of Sufism in modern life
iv
About the Author
About the Author
Acknowledged as a master of self-knowledge and a spiritual philosopher, Shaykh Fadhlalla

Haeri’s role as a teacher grew naturally out of his own quest for self-fulfillment.
He travelled extensively on a spiritual quest which led to his eventual rediscovery of the pure
and original Islamic heritage of his birth, and the discovery of the truth that reconciles the past
with the present, the East with the West, the worldly with the spiritual – a link between the
ancient wisdom teachings and our present time.
A descendant of five generations of well-known and revered spiritual leaders, Shaykh Fadhlalla
Haeri has taught students throughout the world for over 30 years.
He is a gifted exponent of how the self relates to the soul, humankind’s link with the Divine, and
how consciousness can be groomed to reflect our higher nature.
The unifying scope of his perspective emphasizes practical, actionable knowledge that leads to
self-transformation, and provides a natural bridge between seemingly different Eastern and
Western approaches to spirituality, as well as offering a common ground of higher knowledge
for various religions, sects and secular outlooks.
He is a prolific author of more than thirty books relating to the universal principles of Islam, the
Qur’an, and its core purpose of enlightenment.
v
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements
This book has come about as a result of a direct question and request from Michael Mann as to
the reality of Sufism. He knows that I am not an academic, nor am I interested in debate or
controversy. He also knows that whatever I say will come from my heart and is based on my
experience. I thank him for his trust, persistence and patience.
Dr. Latimah Peerwani nursed this book all along, and verified and researched many of the
historical facts. Without her discipline, loyalty and hard work, this book would not have been
produced.
The excellent copy-editing was the work of Ahmad Thomson.
vi
Introduction
Introduction
Sufism and Islam cannot be separated, in the same way that higher consciousness or awakening
cannot be separated from Islam. Islam is not a historical phenomenon that began 1,400 years ago.
It is the timeless art of awakening by means of submission. Sufism is the heart of Islam. It is as
ancient as the rise of human consciousness.
In this work, we attempt to present an overview of the meaning of Sufism. We describe its
origins and practices, and the historical background out of which Sufism, as it is known today,
arose in the East and then spread throughout the rest of the world. We also attempt to show that
the Sufis are the upholders of the real message of Islam. Sufism only arises when abuse of Islam
is rampant. Otherwise, Sufism and real Islam are one and the same.
The rise of Sufism began after the first century of Islam as a struggle against the increasing
distortions and misrepresentations of its teachings, especially as perpetrated by the leadership of
the day. Rulers or kings could often be seen to be using the name of Islam to justify their own
ends, or to be discarding those aspects of its teachings which did not suit their purposes or
extravagant lifestyle. It is from this time onwards that history records the growing revival,
renewal and militancy among many groups of sincere Muslims throughout the expanding
Muslim world who were eager to restore the pure and original message brought by the Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him). This was a spontaneous awakening of individuals discovering
the true prophetic way who were inspired by the inner light of awakening and fulfillment. Sufism
spread across the land without its being a centrally organized movement. The Sufi brotherhood
was a reality without much of an outer co-ordination or organization. Its reality was the
awakening of the original ascetic and joyful qualities within people’s hearts and the acceptance
1
Introduction
of the outer prophetic law. Sufism bore similarities to ascetic mysticism, yet it also allowed for
spiritual militancy in many instances. The brotherhood which was experienced by the Sufis was
due mostly to their inner conditioning and state of their hearts, rather than to adherence to any
particular theological doctrine or other ethnic or traditional bondages.
The Sufi movement in Islam echoed similar movements in other major religions, such as
Cabbalism in Judaism, Gnosticism or Unitarianism in Christianity and, in a way, the advent of
Buddhism where Hinduism is concerned. Also, as with other spiritual movements and revivals,
we find instances of some Sufis taking things to extremes, and even distorting the multi-
dimensions of Islam. Excess esotericism, or the rejection of the bounds of outer behavior or the
balanced prophetic way, are examples of this phenomenon, although they are the exception
rather than the rule.
What is relevant to us today about Sufism is that it has maintained a clear thread and line of
direct transmission of wisdom back to original Islam. The key to Sufism is that of inner
awakening, freedom and joy through recognition of outer restriction by choice and
discrimination. The numerous studies which are currently being published in an attempt to
understand and predict the direction of Islamic revival, such as the studies on the Sufis of Russia
or on the Sufi brotherhoods in certain Middle Eastern countries, and so on, are all based on the
fears of the various governments concerned of a revival which will place the leadership of the
Muslims in the hands of those who are closest to emulating and living the way of life of the
Prophet Muhammad. And this, of course, is a great threat to the existing authorities in most of
the so-called Muslim countries today.
The reason that the majority of current studies on Sufism are of little use in a practical sense is
because of the nature of inner awakening itself, which is the core of Sufism. Writing books about
inner awakening is only really possible if one has experienced it, just as understanding of such
books is only really possible if one genuinely desires, or has already attained, such awakening.
The Sufi is the locus of connecting the outer, physical reality with a timeless, spaceless
dimension which is experienced within the self. The Sufi lives like the tip of the iceberg which is
apparent in the seen world, while experiencing aspects of the hidden and veiled world which is
2
Introduction
the foundation of what is visible, and which forms the rest of its reality. He does his best to
understand the causal, physical outer life while awakening to an immense inner Reality, which
encompasses both the known and the unknown worlds, the unitive Reality of the seen and the
unseen, of time and space and non-time-space.
It is for this reason that the inner life of the Sufi has no bounds, and yet he acknowledges and
accepts the outer bounds with courtesy towards nature and the natural creation. The Sufi is
totally content with the immeasurable bliss within. Yet he struggles outwardly towards a better
quality of life on earth and does his best without being overly concerned about the ultimate
results. Outer struggle and work are necessary companions to inner purification and contentment.
Genuine Sufis are essentially similar wherever they come from, in that they share an inner light
and awakening, and an outer courtesy and service to humanity. Apparent differences between
Sufis tend to relate to matters concerning spiritual practices or prescriptions for the purification
of hearts. The sweet fruit of Sufism is the same. It is only the trees which may look different and
which may flower in different seasons.
In this work, we have tried to show that those who claim that it is possible to have Sufism
without Islam are only looking at one side of the story. Inner purity is generally attainable, but
without its being contained outwardly, it will not result in any real flourishing of a spiritual
culture or an enlightened environment. Inner light and joy may be sufficient for an individual
living in a cave, but once we start interacting with others, we need to know where and what the
bounds are for that social interaction to be able to take place, and this is where we find that the
laws of Islam are necessary and inseparable from Sufism.
So the relevance of Sufism today is greater than it has been in any other age, for nowadays we
can across cultural and political boundaries much more easily, because of ease of access through
communications, travel and closeness of the world. The message of Sufism is more urgent now,
especially due to the fact that the world is increasingly becoming bound by materialism and
consumerism. The awakening to the inner life of man is a necessary condition of his fulfillment
as a human being. It comes as the pinnacle of his struggle with the elements and the fulfillment
3
Introduction
of his basic needs. Once our outer needs are met, then the inner must also be fulfilled. The two
are so interlinked that those who are awakened to both the outer and inner realities see them as
inseparable and continuous in the one creational, unific universe, and such a being is described
by the Sufi master, Ibn Àrabi, in these words:
My heart has become capable of every form:

It is a pasture for gazelles,
And a monastery for Christian monks,
And a temple for idols,
And the pilgrim to Ka`bah,
And the tablets of the Torah,
And the Book of the Qur’an.
I follow the religion of Love:
Whatever way Love’s camel takes,
That is my religion and my faith.
Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri

London, England, 1990
4
Chapter 1: Definitions of Sufism
The term Sufism, which has become over the ages very popularly used, and often with a wide
range of meanings, originates from three Arabic letters sa, wa and fa. There have been many
opinions on the reason for its origin from sa wa fa. According to some the word is derived from
safa which means purity. According to another opinion it is derived from the Arabic verb safwe
which means those who are selected. This meaning is quoted frequently in Sufi literature. Some
think that the word is derived from the word saf which means line or row, implying those early
Muslims who stood in the first row in prayer or supplication or holy war. Yet others believe that
it is derived from suffa which was a low verandah made of clay and slightly elevated off the
ground outside the Prophet Muhammad’s mosque in Medina, where the poor and good-hearted
people who followed him often sat. Some assume that the origin of the word Sufism is from suf
which means wool, which implies that the people who were interested in inner knowledges cared
less about their outer appearances and often took to wearing one simple garment all the year
round which was made of wool.
Whatever its origin, the term Sufism has come to mean those who are interested in inner
knowledge, those who are interested in finding a way or practice towards inner awakening and
enlightenment.
It is important to note that this term was hardly ever used in the first two centuries of Islam.
Many critics of the Sufis, or the enemies, remind us that this term was never heard of during the
lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad, or of the people who came after him, or of the people who
came after them.
5
However, during the second and third centuries following the advent of Islam in 622 some
people began to call themselves Sufis, or to use other similar terms related to Sufism which
meant that they were following the path of self-purification, the purification of the ‘heart’, and
the improvement of the quality of their character and behavior in order to reach the station of
those who worship God as if they see Him, knowing that although they do not see Him, He sees
them. This is what the term Sufism came to mean throughout the ages within the Islamic context.
I quote below a few great Sufi masters’ definitions:
Imam Junayd of Baghdad (d. 910) defines Sufism as ‘adopting every higher quality and leaving
every low quality’. Shaykh Abu’l Hasan ash-Shadhili (d. 1258), the great North African spiritual
master, defines Sufism as ‘the practice and the training of the self through adoration and worship
to return the self to the path of Lordship’. Shaykh Ahmad Zorruq (d. 1494) of Morocco defines
Sufism as
the science by means of which you can put right the ‘heart’ and make
it exclusive to God, using your knowledge of the way of Islam,
particularly jurisprudence and its related knowledges, to improve your
actions and keep within the bounds of the Islamic Law in order for
wisdom to become apparent.
He also adds: ‘Its foundation is the knowledge of Unity, and you need thereafter the sweetness of
trust and certainty, otherwise you will not be able to bring about the necessary healing of the
"heart".’ According to Shaykh Ibn Àjiba (d. 1809),
Sufism is a science by means of which you learn how to behave in order

to be in the presence of the ever-present Lord through purifying your
inner being and sweetening it with good actions. The path of Sufism
begins as a science, its middle is actions and its end is divine
gifts.
6
Shaykh as-Suyuti said, ‘The Sufi is the one who persists in purity with God, and good character
with creation.’
From many of the recorded sayings and writings on Sufism such as these, it can be concluded
that the basis of Sufism is the purification of the ‘heart’ and safeguarding it from any affliction,
and that its end product is the correct and harmonious relationship between man and his Creator.
So the Sufi is the one whom God has enabled to purify his ‘heart’ and to establish his
relationship with Him and His creation through treading upon the correct path, as best
exemplified by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Within its traditional Islamic context, Sufism is based on courtesy which ultimately leads to
universal courtesy and awareness. Courtesy starts with the outer, and the true Sufi practices the
outer cleansing and keeping within the bounds of what is permitted by God. It starts with
following the Islamic Law, that is, by upholding the appropriate laws and requirements of Islam,
which means the path of submission to God. So Sufism begins with acquiring the knowledge of
the outer practices in order to develop, evolve and enliven the inner awakened state.
It is erroneous to imagine that a Sufi can end up with the fruits of Sufism, which are inner light,
certainty and knowledge of Allah, without having maintained an outer protective shell which is
based upon adherence to the requirements of the outer laws. This correct outer behavior --
physical behavior – is based on making supplications and doing the prayers and all the other
ritual acts of worship established by the Prophet Muhammad in order to achieve watchfulness of
the ‘heart’, with its accompanying moods and states. Then one can progress on the purification
ladder from one’s base intentions towards higher aspirations, from the awareness of greed and
pride towards humility and noble contentment. This inner work needs to be continued in a well-
contained and maintained outer situation.
7
Chapter 2: The Early Development of Sufism
Al-Kindi (d. tenth century) refers to the appearance of a small community in Alexandria in Egypt
in the ninth century which enjoined good and spoke out against evil. They were call Sufis.
According to Muruj adh-Dhahab al-Mas1udi, Sufis first appeared during the time of the Abbasid
caliph al-Ma1mun. According to Abu’l-Qasim Qushayri, the Sufis appeared in the ninth century,
about two hundred years after the death of the Prophet Muhammad. The question arises, why did
it apparently take so many years for people to take serious interest in the inner sciences? A brief
retrospective glance at the early history of Islam may shed some light on this matter.
Let us transpose ourselves to Arabia at the beginning of seventh century AD. What we find is a
society of disunited Arab tribes who for centuries had been involved in an established tradition
of warfare, idol-worship and other tribal values. Although the Arabs of that time engaged in
commerce outside Arabia, they were little influenced by other cultures. The Byzantine Empire
and the forays of Nebuchadnezzar into Arabia really had little impact upon them. So we find a
people who had been carrying on their traditional nomadic way of life for centuries with little
change. Suddenly an incredible ‘Prophetic Light’ manifests before them. This light begins to
clearly identify and destroy the inhumanities and injustices in their society.
The incredible being who brought this new light of knowledge was the Prophet Muhammad. For
23 years Muhammad sang the eternal truth that man is born into this world in order to learn the
ways of creation while journeying back to his source, the One Creator, for although man is free
in his essence he is constrained and restricted by the outer laws that govern existence.
Muhammad spoke the same eternal truth which was spoken by thousands of divine messengers
before him, and he spoke it in the contemporary language of his land, a language which was the
8
highest cultural achievement of and a gift to those people. The Arabs had no other artistic
heritage other than their language. The Prophet expounded the eternal truth to a people who had
immersed in the darkness of brutal ignorance for centuries. After years of effort, he had gathered
a handful of supporters, most of whom had been persecuted and forced to flee to Ethiopia to seek
protection under a benign Christian ruler called the Negus. Having withdrawn from Mecca to
Medina in AD 622 – the point from which Muslim dating begins, and the event which is known
as the Hijra – Muhammad established a new community of people from different parts of Arabia,
but chiefly from Mecca and Medina. This community’s outward orientation during worship of
God Alone was the Ka`bah, a cube-shaped building made of stone which was originally erected
by the Prophet Abraham in Mecca, but its day-today orientation was the blessed Prophet himself.
They followed this being, his teachings and his explanations of the Qur’anic injunctions which
were revealed to him, inwardly oriented to their Creator. They worshipped God Alone and
followed the Prophet who lived by knowledge and love of God.
In the last ten years of the Prophet’s life, and especially during the last three years, events began
to move quickly. During this period, thousands of Bedouins whose tendency was to go where
power and victory prevailed, saw Islam dominating their land more and more, and accordingly
they all embraced Islam in their thousands. When Muhammad died, the nascent Muslim
community suffered a great shock which resulted in a hasty and tense election of Abu Bakr as
the first leader of the community.
The Prophet Muhammad had indicated on numerous occasions to whom the Muslims should
refer about matters concerning the way of Islam after his death, like a responsible doctor who,
when about to go on leave or retire, tells his patients to whom they should refer in his absence. A
doctor knows his patients’ condition better than anyone else. It was quite natural for a spiritual
master like Muhammad to point out who was best suited to run the affairs of the community after
his death, in accordance with the divine laws which had been revealed to him. However, a
disagreement arose as to whether the Prophet had specifically appointed Ali as his successor, or
whether he had simply mentioned him as the greatest among them in knowledge and virtue. The
outcome was that before the Prophet was buried, the Arabs started lobbying for power. Those
9
who were from Medina wanted to elect one from among themselves as their leader. At the last
moment, two of the closest companions of the Prophet, Abu Bakr and Ùmar, managed to join
the circle and, with the support of Ùmar, Abu Bakr was elected as leader of the community,
being the respected elder and acknowledged sincere companion of the Prophet.
Abu Bakr’s leadership lasted for two years, a period which was full of internal strife. The Arab
psyche does not like to be subjugated in any way, for theirs is a free-spirited mentality. One
common method of subjugation is the compulsory paying of tax money to another. The paying of
the Islamic alms tax, which Abu Bakr enforced in the case of those who refused to pay it, was
interpreted by some as being a form of subjugation to which they did not wish to submit. Thus
most of the tribes who had recently joined the Islamic movement suddenly found that they had to
pay up and actually give something away, rather than simply benefiting them for the booty. This
was a cause of dissension within the rapidly expanding Muslim community. Besides this, there
were false claimants to prophethood and Abu Bakr’s period of leadership was mostly spent in
suppressing internal strife.
After the death of Abu Bakr in 634, Ùmar, who had already been appointed by Abu Bakr as his
vice-regent, became the next leader of the Muslim community. During the 10 years of his
leadership there was a vast expansion of Islam. Egypt and the Persian and Byzantine Empires
were conquered, including Jerusalem, the keys of which were given to Ùmar in person by the
Christians. Ùmar was exemplary in his simplicity and lived most frugally. He was fatally
stabbed by a Persian slave whilst praying in the mosque in 644.
The next leader, Ùthman, was appointed by a group of people who had been selected by Ùmar
to choose his successor. He came from the Ùmmayad clan, some of whose members had been
arch-enemies of the Prophet. Many of the Ùmmayads had only embraced Islam after the
conquest of Mecca by the Prophet and his followers, when they felt that there was no other
option left for them. They accepted Islam reluctantly, and largely continued to live in the manner
to which they had been accustomed in the past. Ùthman himself did not care much for worldly
matters, but allowed many members of his clan to live as they wished. He appointed many
members of his clan to live as they wished. He appointed many members of the Ùmmayad clan
10
to key positions in the governance of the newly acquired Muslim territories, and accordingly
there are those who have accused him of nepotism. In the first 6 years of his leadership there was
continued territorial expansion by the Muslims, as well as consolidation of the lands which had
already been conquered. In reality, however, it was the start of a reversal to rulership by men of
greed rather than a continuation of Islamic governance by men of spiritual knowledge and piety.
During the rule of Ùthman, which lasted for 12 years, many of the Muslims fell back
considerably into the pre-Islamic way of ignorance, superstitions and tribalism. The booty from
the Persian, Byzantine and Egyptian Empires poured into Mecca and Medina, resulting in an era
of opulent decay and frivolity. Large houses and palaces began to be constructed during this
period. One architect at this time was Abu Lu’lu, the Persian slave who had murdered Ùmar
because Ùmar had imposed a substantial tax on him. In Ùmar’s time, a house had usually
consisted of a small square plot of land on which two or three rooms were built. On one side of
these rooms was a courtyard, in the middle of which was a well, and in the corner a container for
storing grain. It was all built on one level. However, during the time of Ùthman, many palaces
were built, and people began to vie with each other in constructing grander buildings.
After Ùthman’s murder in 656, which occurred while he was reciting the Qur’an, Ali was
popularly elected as the next leader of the Muslims. His rule lasted for nearly 6 years and was
full of internal strife and warfare. By that time many people called themselves Muslims but did
not totally know or imbibe the Muhammadan way of life. We find Muslims swearing by the
Qur’an, but going against its real meaning. In the year 656 the first mass swearing to a lie took
place. The Prophet had warned his wife, Ayesha, that one day she would find herself fighting on
the wrong side, and would thereby commit the worst grievance, in a place called Hawab, and that
the dogs of Hawab would bark at her. Many years later, while passing by this place on her way
to the battle of Jamal to fight against Ali, she heard the barking of dogs and remembered the
prophetic warning. She asked what the place was called and was told that it was Hawab.
However some of her companions brought 40 so-called Muslims to swear falsely on the Qur’an
that it was not Hawab. Again, during the battle of Siffin in 657, another incident falsely swearing
on the Qur’an took place.
11
After Imam Àli’s martyrdom in 661, in which he was fatally stabbed while in prostration during
the prayer, his son Imam Hasan was in a natural and deserved position to be the next leader of
the Muslims. However Muàwiya, the Ùmmayad governor of Syria who was trying to secure the
position of ruler for himself and his clan, began to incite people against Imam Hasan. Imam
Hasan had a large army at his disposal. He knew the weaknesses of his people and did not want
dissension within his army. He also realized the cleverness and treachery of Muàwiya. He did
not wish to see the blood of Muslims futilely shed. So he accepted a truce offered by Muàwiya
whereby he gave up any claim to the leadership of the Muslims without relinquishing his exalted
spiritual station. Just like Imam Àli, who had not simply sat aside when he was not elected as
the first Muslim leader, but had done his best to put right what was going wrong during the years
of his predecessors’ rule, so Imam Hasan had no other option than to accept the fact that
although he was the best of people at that time, yet he could not lead the Muslims. His
acceptance of the truce was not a relinquishment of his true spiritual station, but rather an
indication of it. Since it was not possible to translate his inner greatness into an outer
statesmanship without having Muslim kill Muslim, the only alternative was to accept the
conditions of the truce, which also stipulated that after him his brother Imam Husayn would be
the next leader of the Muslims. However, Muàwiya very cleverly reneged on all the terms of the
truce after the murder of Imam Hasan in 661, and appointed his decadent son Yazid to be his
successor. Accordingly Imam Husayn revolted against Muàwiya and Yazid.
Imam Husayn was invited by the people of Kufa in Iraq to join them and was promised great
support against Muàwiya. The Kufans were a new community with fewer vested interests than
the people of Mecca and Medina. By this time, Mecca had become an important center for
producing wine and music, and dancing girls were the order of the day. In pre-Islamic times,
Arabs had honored prostitutes who often sat on the same chair as an Arab ruler and gave him
advice. This tradition had been revived in the time of Muàwiya, and even though Kufa was a
new city with a new Muslim community, some of its inhabitants had also reverted back to the old
ways of the pre-Islamic period, although they did not have the traditions of the desert and the
backwardness of the nomadic bedouins. Despite this situation, several thousand physically strong
12
Kufans voiced their support for Imam Husayn and wanted him to lead them. Accordingly Imam
Husayn marched towards Kufa to continue his secular and spiritual leadership.
When he was half way to Kufa, Imam Husayn received the news that his emissary had been
killed by the soldiers of Yazid. He had no alternative but to continue his journey. Yazid’s troops
intercepted him and insisted that he acknowledge the leadership of Yazid, who was known to be
a drunkard who openly flouted the laws of Islam. Imam Husayn had no option but to fight
against such a betrayal and corruption of Islam. In the ensuing battle of Karbala, about 72
members of his family were martyred, including babies and children who either died of thirst or
from their enemies’ arrows. In the end, Imam Husayn was martyred and beheaded. The surviving
women and members of his family were dragged in chains and made to walk across the burning
desert to Damascus, where they were brought to the court of Yazid.
The battle of Karbala in 661 marked an important turning point in the history of Islam. It served
as a pointed reminder to those Muslims who had abandoned the unitive path of Islam to return to
it. The way of Islam was revived by the death of Imam Husayn since it reminded many people of
the need to follow spiritual leadership, and not merely the worldly rule of greedy kings, and to
honor the sovereignty of God on this earth by following the footsteps of the Prophet Muhammad
(peace be upon him). It also reminded the people that whoever was chosen as a temporal ruler
should also be the most qualified person spiritually: he should be the most evolved person in
consciousness, pious, humble and accessible to people, in order to uplift them, and not a ruler
over them who, while living in affluence and luxury, terrorized them.
It was during that many of the present-day Muslim customs and habits originated. Within
seventy years of Muhammad’s death, most of the basic Islamic tenets and teachings were being
ignored by many so-called Muslims, although of course there were also those who embodied and
understood this noble teaching. Thus many of the so-called cultural and ethnic habits that we see
in Muslims today are not derived from the original teachings of Islam, but trace their origins
back to that period of the corrupt Ùmmayad dynasty. Indeed dynastic rule itself was forbidden
by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). The separation of men and women within the same
house began in Damascus. There were men who wanted to have dancing girls in their palaces
13
and so they created for the women of the household ladies’ quarters in order to separate them
from the men’s quarters, which had not existed in houses before. The mosque, which had been
the center of the community where the general public met, and which was the center of
economic, social and political exchange as well as a place of worship, ceased to be so. The
mosque became a place of ritualistic worship and lost its pivotal position in the life of the
community. The caliph grew fat, often drank and did not want to leave his palace. Accordingly
the palace became the center of power and government activities. In order not to have his
debauchery openly exposed, the caliph separated the women and the children from himself, and
thus the home was divided and fragmented.
During this period of corrupt Ùmmayad rule, more conquests were taking place and more and
more people were embracing Islam. On the whole, however, the rulers were mostly oppressive
and worldly, and although there were many sincere and wise Muslims who understood and
embodied the teachings of Islam, they were prevented from actually governing their
communities by those who were hungry for power and wealth. Occasionally, a decent ruler
would emerge, such as an 8th-century ruler called Ùmar ibn Àbd al-Aziz (d. 717) who ruled for
only two years. During this period he revived the original teaching of the blessed Prophet and
stopped people from cursing Imam Àli and the family of the Prophet from the pulpit in the
mosques. However rulers such as he were the exception rather than the general rule.
Sincere and pious Muslims could not tolerate injustice and oppression indefinitely, and there
emerged a movement led by Abu Muslim Khurasani committed to re-establishing justice and the
true way of Islam. To begin with, it was a popular revolutionary movement against the
Ùmmayads in favor of the Hashimites and the immediate family of the Prophet. However, when
the cause was won, and the Ùmmayad dynasty was brought to an end in 749, the rulership of
Muslim society was usurped by the Abbasids on the pretext of their being related to the family of
Muhammad, although the connection was remote.
So by the year 750 another dynastic rulership had been established. In the years that followed, it
was not unusual for a king to order some members of his family to be killed in order to end a
power struggle or to remove any possible contender for his position. For example, Ma’mum
14
killed his brother Amin, his rival to the Abbasid throne. Some women were engaged in trickery
behind the scenes, and kings aspired to become emperors and live in luxury and opulence. This
was the prevailing situation in Muslim society only 200 years after the advent of Islam. There is
no doubt that there also existed people of great wisdom and virtue and seekers after truth, as well
as well-meaning scholars and men of knowledge and light, in the Muslim community, but on the
other hand we find tyrannical and decadent Abbasid kings who called themselves rulers and yet
distorted the Muhammadan model. There were many attempts by Muslims to bring the unjust
caliphate to an end, but most of these were unsuccessful. Zayd ibn Ali and many others revolted
against their unjust rulers, but they were put to the sword.
It was these circumstances of blatant political and social contradictions that gave rise to the
emergence of the Sufis, pious and thoughtful Muslims under the general umbrella of Islam,
wanting to distinguish themselves from the ruling party and their worldly supporters. So we find
the Sufi movement beginning as a natural consequence of Muslim society accepting and
following corrupt dynasty rulership rather than following the King of kings, God the Almighty,
through following its true representatives on this earth.
Muslims who were aware of the real prophetic teachings, but unable to change the existing
situation, started devoting their life to prayers and the discipline of inner purification. Imam Àli
Zayn al-Àbidin, the son of Imam Husayn, is just one of many prominent examples. These
Muslims could not turn their energy outwardly against the evil regimes, so they were compelled
to turn it inwardly against the evil within the human self. These are the people who later came to
be called the Sufis.
Another group who gathered round the spiritual leaders who were descended from the Prophet
Muhammad, in order to receive the true teachings of Islam, also rejected the caliphs and kings
who prolonged corrupt dynastic rule. They were called Shià, which means the followers, the
party, the group or the partisans.
The title of Imam was not only used by both of these groups to denote a qualified and recognized
spiritual leader, but also, in the Shià Islamic tradition, the term took on an added meaning, being
15
used to designate 12 particular spiritual masters who are descended from the Prophet
Muhammad. Each master, in his lifetime, confirmed the qualifications of and named his
successor, the next Imam. The Sufi orders, a similar designation was accorded to the head of the
order. The title of Shaykh, or spiritual master, could only be conferred by a recognized Shaykh
upon another.
Whereas the Shiàs simply refused to follow the kingly caliphs and generally isolated
themselves, the Sufis tolerated these rulers, saying that they could not deny their actual existence
and therefore they had to abide by the laws of society and its ruler. However they sought inner
enlightenment and adopted the Sufi path. From the Sufi point of view, it is said that if you cannot
change the kings, then change yourself. If you cannot change the government, then change your
lower self that is governing you individually from within.
What the first Sufis did can be done by anyone who is seeking the higher meaning in life. Hence
it is superficial to say that Sufism came into existence 200 years after the Prophet Muhammad’s
death, or that it originated from the poor and good-hearted simple people who were among the
earliest followers of the Prophet. Both these views are true as well as false. Sufism is a
movement that began to take form, identity and size when Islamic leadership or rulership
deviated from the original teachings of Islam. It was at this stage that the Sufi circles began to
grow. These circles became a sign of protection as well as a sign of identity which differentiated
between a real Muslim (that is, a Sufi) and the one who deviated from the original Muhammadan
code.
The Shiàs, as already noted earlier, did not accept the generally held opinion of most Muslims
that, as regards a corrupt regime, to have a tyrant ruler is better than having anarchy. So
whenever it was possible, the Shiàs tried to do away with unjust rulers and in turn they were
often massacred. The Sufis, as we have already seen, addressed themselves to man’s inner
problems and, therefore, developed the science of the self. When Imam Jujayd was asked, ‘When
did the name Sufi originate?’ he said, ‘Sufism was a reality without a name, but now in our time,
it is a name without a reality.’
16
Throughout the history of Islamic civilization, we occasionally find a Sufi master rising to
denounce openly a regime which has deviated from the original Muhammadi path to an
unacceptable degree. A true Sufi does not accept the esoteric path only, because he is a man of
Unity. He does not separate the inner from the outer. He distinguishes between them and
recognizes where one stops and the other begins. He does not say that he is solely a person of
inner and become a recluse. The Sufi spiritual masters were not recluses. They had the vision of
totality. From the Sufi point of view, if you start at one end you end up at the other end. If you
start with outer purity, you end up at the other end by purifying your inner self. If you start by
purifying your inner self, you end up being concerned with the outer and with society.
If you want to know why a tree is so big and robust and can withstand the onslaught of
hurricanes, you have to dig deep in order to discover the depth of its roots. One reflects the other
and traces the story of the other. If you want to have a strong outer situation, then you need a
strong inner situation. For example, a galleon or sailing ship carrying a full cargo will only cross
the tumultuous seas if it has a strong mast and a very large sail. In the same way, the Sufis were
saying, the more involved a person is in a worldly situation, the more concerned and involved he
ought to be in a spiritual situation. Then there is a balance. You cannot have the one without the
other. This is the meaning behind the observation that he who is seeking the world is in reality
seeking a spiritual one, but he is unaware of it. The greedy person is in need of security.
However the ultimate real security is inner contentment and certainty. If he seeks it outwardly, it
is because the outer quest is easier. It is gross and physical and therefore more tangible and
workable. The inner is more subtle and difficult to work. He who is arrogant outwardly is
actually insecure inwardly, which is why he puts a show of arrogance. He who is inwardly
insecure protects himself outwardly elevating himself.
These are the laws of the self which were discussed, taught and practiced in the Sufi circles. This
does not mean that they were not known before this time and that they emerged only 200 years
after the Prophet’s lifetime. These types of knowledge were known both before and during the
time of Muhammad and practiced without being formalized or labeled. It is like someone
cooking a meal and eating it without having any name for the dish or a recipe book. So Sufism
17
existed at the time of the Prophet without that label actually being given to it. That is the
meaning of Imam Junayd’s saying, ‘Sufism was a reality without a name.’ It was not an
objective science to be studied by orientalists and analyzed and disseminated by linguists. There
is a big difference between merely collecting recipes and actually cooking and eating. Nowadays
there are hardly any real cooks anywhere, but there are many people who collect and exchange
recipes, such as ‘There was an emergence of Sufism in the 9th century’, which does not mean
anything if one contemplates deeply. Statements that Sufism emerged two centuries after Prophet
Muhammad’s lifetime are superficial unless one considers the backdrop of the political history of
Islam. For a reflective mind, it becomes quite clear that the emergence of Sufism out into the
open was a reaction to the oppressive and unjust external situation caused by the ruling party
which had deviated from the original Islamic way.
To highlight our previous comments, we see that within fifty years after Prophet Muhammad’s
death, not only do we have a reversal of the Muslim situation back to racism, feudalism and a
class system of the haves and have-nots, together with the earlier pre-Islamic Arab family and
tribal social structures, but also we see that the situation was now worse than in pre-Islamic times
because of the confidence which the new religion had given the Arabs. Now that these people
were the rulers, they used the frontal protection of the name of Islam to hide behind and justify
their actions.
Within a 100 years of Prophet Muhammad’s death, even more changes had taken place within
the new Islamic society. Religious teaching in the mosques began to take on a conventional
form. In the time of the Prophet, the mosque was simple in its architecture. There were no
minarets. The idea of the minaret was introduced at a later stage, since this was a good way of
transmitting the sound of the call to prayer over a long distance. Gradually, the mosque grew
more sophisticated in design. Alongside these developments, the teaching of the religion of Islam
began to take place in an increasingly formalized way. People began teaching the Qur’an and the
recorded actions and sayings of the Prophet and jurisprudence in a more formal, standardized
manner. The emergence of the Sufis after the death of Prophet Muhammad was not to bring any
new teaching, but simply to keep the spirit and original form of Islam, its full meaning and inner
18
transmission, alive, rather than solely adhering to the formal aspects of the state religion which
by then had begun to take shape. At the time of Muhammad’s death, there were people who
knew and understood the Qur’an and the recorded actions and sayings of the Prophet, and who
were applying them in their lives. The sciences of religion which appeared later, such as
theology and Qur’anic exegesis, hardly existed in these early days. Alongside the emergence of
these theological sciences, the search for inner revival also began to take place. Previously they
were not separated, and the real Muslims lived more simply and spontaneously.
Within a few hundred years of Prophet Muhammad’s death, the political power of the Muslims
started waning. Muslim Spain, which had been conquered in 756, was at this time beset with
strife, largely because it too had settled for dynastic rule. There were power struggles and turmoil
in Cordoba, rulers of small kingdoms throughout Andalusia were fighting against each other and
Muslims were shedding the blood of Muslims. In the East, there was Abbasid decadence and
internal division. The Fatimids, who were the rulers of Egypt, had also become politically weak.
Most of the scholars of Sufism regard the pinnacle of the Sufi movement as having occurred
around the 10th century. Mansur al-Hallaj, who was martyred in 923, is often referred to in this
context.
It was during this period of social, political, spiritual and moral decadence and decline that the
Sufi movement grew in strength to revive the true way of Islam, as has already been discussed
earlier. In this sense, I regard the Sufi movement as a parallel to the prophethood of Jesus, whose
message was not to destroy the Law of Moses, but to revive the spirit of the Law in order to
rebalance it. As a result, we do not find Jesus changing the already existing Mosaic Law, but
confirming it, while showing its true application and meaning. It was a later convert, Paul, and
others, who brought about what is called Christianity. In the same way, it was during this period,
in which many of the Muslims had lost sight of the true application and meaning of Islam, that
major Sufi writings on spiritual and moral disciplines appeared in order to guide the people who
desired balance, purity, self-knowledge and inner illumination.
One of the earliest documents on Sufism is that of Àbdar-Rahman as-Sulami who was born in
938 in Nishapur, in present-day Iran. Nishapur at that time was a great center of learning. As-
19
Sulami, in accordance with the tradition of his day, memorized the Qur’an by heart, learned
Arabic grammar and studied the recorded actions and sayings of the Prophet and the other
theological sciences. Like any other person whose soul is not sufficiently nourished by
conventional religious teaching, and who has the capability and means to nourish it further, he
began to travel extensively, especially between Balkh and Bukhara. Those areas were at that time
very much alive with spiritual teachers and awakened souls. As-Sulami traveled westwards and
spent a considerable length of time in Baghdad, Cairo and Mecca. He collected the wisdom of as
many Sufi saints as possible and compiled it in his work Tabaqat as-Sufiyya. This is the earliest
collection of biographies of Sufis. It contains the biographies of more than 1000 Sufis whom he
encountered during his travels. Many of the written works of the Sufi masters which he
mentioned in his book are no longer traceable. Accordingly this document of as-Sulami is an
important historical account of what was happening in the Sufi world up to his day. In it, one
finds out the situation regarding the search for truth and the revival of the inner meaning of the
way of Islam, and the continuation of the transformative element of this way of life, during the
9th and 10th centuries.
As well as as-Sulami’s work, there are other major works on Sufism, such as Qut al-Qulub by
Abu Talib al-Makki (d. 996), Risalah al-Qushayriyya by Abu’l-Qasim al-Qushayri (d. 1072),
Ihya Ulum ad-Din by Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazzali (d. 1111), and the treatises of Àbd al-Qadir
al-Gilani (d. 116), to name but a few. These works later became the basis of Sufi studies and the
further development of the science of Sufism. In all these major Sufi works, there is a balanced
teaching of both the outer code of conduct, or Islamic Law, and the inner reality of existence.
These works, especially the Ihya Ùlum ad-Din, were considered to be basic Sufi reference
works for a long period of time, for they were the result of the transformative experience of those
men and were used by them and their successors as a foundation course for teaching the science
of Sufism. These men aimed at bringing about an awakening of human consciousness that
resonated with or was close to the inward state of the Prophet Muhammad. The aim and the
ultimate goal of Sufism in its formative as well as in its later years was none other than to strive
to resonate with, or become like a tuning fork vibrating with, the same frequency as Muhammad.
20
The science of Sufism has always been directed towards emulating and embodying the Prophetic
model, so as to be illuminated and transformed by its light, in a form which is clearly
understandable experientially in a programmable way by a sincere follower. This may be
achieved, for example, by starting with certainty through knowledge, which is obtaining
information about the purpose of man’s life on this earth and his ultimate destiny through
theoretical knowledge, then progressing to certainty through vision, which is when knowledge
begins to grow within oneself through one’s personal experience, and then finally arriving at
certainty through experiencing reality, which is knowledge through your own being, through
your primal being, which is now activated.
21
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Publisher: Zahra Publications

ISBN-10 (Printed Version): 1-919897-06-2

ISBN-13 (Printed Version): 978-1-919897-06-6

ISBN (E-Book Version): 978-1-919826-47-9

First Published in 1990

Copying and redistribution of this eBook is strictly prohibited.

Book Description ........................................................................................................................... iv

About the Author ............................................................................................................................ v

Chapter 1: Definitions of Sufism .................................................................................................... 5

Chapter 2: The Early Development of Sufism ............................................................................... 8

Chapter 3: Sufi Orders (Brotherhoods)......................................................................................... 22

The Qadiri Order ...................................................................................................................... 23

The Rifa`i Order ....................................................................................................................... 24

The Shadhili Order ................................................................................................................... 24

The Mevlavi Order ................................................................................................................... 24

The Naqshbandi Order.............................................................................................................. 24

The Bektashi Order................................................................................................................... 25

The Ni`amatullah Order............................................................................................................ 25

The Tijani Order ....................................................................................................................... 25

The Jarrahi Order ...................................................................................................................... 25

The Chishti Order ..................................................................................................................... 25

Chapter 4: Basic Sufi Concepts .................................................................................................... 27

Chapter 5: The Way of the Sufi .................................................................................................... 34

Chapter 6: Pseudo-Sufism ............................................................................................................ 43

The Meaning of Innate Nature (Fitra)...................................................................................... 54

The Purpose of Sufi Practices................................................................................................... 57

The Meaning of the Remembrance of God (Dhikru’llah)........................................................ 60

The Meaning of Watchfulness (Muraqabah) ........................................................................... 62

The Meaning of Retreat (Khalwa) ............................................................................................ 62

Other Sufi Practices .................................................................................................................. 64

The Importance of Time and Place........................................................................................... 66

Chapter 8: Sufi States ................................................................................................................... 68

Stages of Awakening ................................................................................................................ 68

Chapter 9: Sufism and Orthodox Islam ........................................................................................ 76

Chapter 10: The Role of the Sufi .................................................................................................. 81

Chapter 11: Sufism and Society ................................................................................................... 85

Chapter 12: Sufism in Modern Times .......................................................................................... 89

Chapter 13: Sufi Biographies........................................................................................................ 92

Rabi`a Al-Adawiya ................................................................................................................... 92

Sayyida Nafisah ........................................................................................................................ 93

Imam Junayd al-Baghdadi ........................................................................................................ 94

Mansur al-Hallaj ....................................................................................................................... 95

Imam Abu Hamid Al-Ghazzali................................................................................................. 96

Shaykh Muhiy’ud-Din Ibn `Arabi ............................................................................................ 97

Mawlana Jalal’ud-Din Rumi .................................................................................................... 98

Khwaja Mu`in’ud-Din Chishti................................................................................................ 100

Shaykh Nizam’ud-Din Awliya ............................................................................................... 102

Shah Wali’ullah ...................................................................................................................... 103

Shaykh Abu’l-Hasan Ash-Shadhili ........................................................................................ 105

Shaykh Taj-ud-Din Ahmad Ibn Ata’llah ................................................................................ 106

Shaykh Moulay Al-`Arabi Ad-Darqawi ................................................................................. 108

Shaykh Sayyid Muhammad As-Sanusi .................................................................................. 111

Shaykh Muzaffer .................................................................................................................... 112

eBooks By Zahra Publications.................................................................................................... 114

General eBooks on Islam ........................................................................................................ 114

The Qur’an & Its Teachings ................................................................................................... 114

Sufism & Islamic Psychology and Philosophy....................................................................... 116

Practices & Teachings of Islam .............................................................................................. 117

Talks & Courses ..................................................................................................................... 118