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Re: Sufism
The substance and meaning of Sufism
The substance of Sufism is the Truth and the meaning of Sufism is the selfless experiencing and actualization of the Truth.
The practice of Sufism
The practice of Sufism is the intention to go towards the Truth, by means of love and devotion. This is called the tariqat, the spiritual path or way towards God.
The definition of the Sufi
The sufi is one who is a lover of Truth, who by means of love and devotion moves towards the Truth, towards the perfection which all are truly seeking. As necessitated by love's jealousy, the sufi is taken away from all except the Truth.
Sufism
General Information
The word Sufism, which is probably derived from the Arabic suf ("wool"; hence sufi, "a person wearing an ascetic's woolen garment"), denotes Islamic mysticism. Although outside movements have had some influence on Sufi terminology, Sufism is definitely rooted in Islam itself. Its development began in the late 7th and 8th centuries when worldliness and loose morals in ruling Umayyad circles evoked a strong reaction among certain pious persons. Individuals such as Hasan of Basra (d. 728) urged the Muslim community to heed the Koranic call to fear God, its warnings for Judgment Day, and its reminders of the transitoriness of life in this world. A new emphasis on the love of God brought the transition from asceticism to mysticism. The woman saint Rabia of Basra (d. 801) called for love of God "for his own sake," not out of fear of hell or hope for heaven. Sufism was early criticized by those who feared that the Sufis' concern for personal experiential knowledge of God could lead to neglect of established religious observances and that the Sufis' ideal of unity with God was a denial of the Islamic principle of the "otherness" of God. The execution (922) of al - Hallaj, who claimed mystical communion with God, is related to this second issue, and in later centuries some Sufis did indeed move to a theosophical monism (for example, Ibn Arabi, d. 1240; and Jili, d. c. 1428). By combining a traditional theological position with a moderate form of Sufism, al - Ghazali made mysticism widely acceptable in the Muslim world.
Sufism holds a doctrine of God which is extremely lofty. Here is an excerpt taken from one of their descriptions of God:
zikr. During a zikr,
The substance and meaning of Sufism
The substance of Sufism is the Truth and the meaning of Sufism is the selfless experiencing and actualization of the Truth.
The practice of Sufism
The practice of Sufism is the intention to go towards the Truth, by means of love and devotion. This is called the tariqat, the spiritual path or way towards God.
The definition of the Sufi
The sufi is one who is a lover of Truth, who by means of love and devotion moves towards the Truth, towards the perfection which all are truly seeking. As necessitated by love's jealousy, the sufi is taken away from all except the Truth.
Sufism
General Information
The word Sufism, which is probably derived from the Arabic suf ("wool"; hence sufi, "a person wearing an ascetic's woolen garment"), denotes Islamic mysticism. Although outside movements have had some influence on Sufi terminology, Sufism is definitely rooted in Islam itself. Its development began in the late 7th and 8th centuries when worldliness and loose morals in ruling Umayyad circles evoked a strong reaction among certain pious persons. Individuals such as Hasan of Basra (d. 728) urged the Muslim community to heed the Koranic call to fear God, its warnings for Judgment Day, and its reminders of the transitoriness of life in this world. A new emphasis on the love of God brought the transition from asceticism to mysticism. The woman saint Rabia of Basra (d. 801) called for love of God "for his own sake," not out of fear of hell or hope for heaven. Sufism was early criticized by those who feared that the Sufis' concern for personal experiential knowledge of God could lead to neglect of established religious observances and that the Sufis' ideal of unity with God was a denial of the Islamic principle of the "otherness" of God. The execution (922) of al - Hallaj, who claimed mystical communion with God, is related to this second issue, and in later centuries some Sufis did indeed move to a theosophical monism (for example, Ibn Arabi, d. 1240; and Jili, d. c. 1428). By combining a traditional theological position with a moderate form of Sufism, al - Ghazali made mysticism widely acceptable in the Muslim world.
Sufism holds a doctrine of God which is extremely lofty. Here is an excerpt taken from one of their descriptions of God:
zikr. During a zikr,
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