Sufism is a process of purifying one's heart from immoral behaviors and character by full dedication to worship of God (Anṣārī and Hishâm 166). It is also disregarding the worldly pleasures such as wealth and prestige. Sufism entails seeking the pleasure of God, self-love, peace, and harmony with God's creation. Sufism also demands one to wear attires that are attributable to the beauty of prophets and saints. There are different ways that people use to attain the Sufism spiritual progress. They include adhering to the guidance, advice, and instructions of Sheikh or his representative, performing and attending the Dhikr, praying, and praising God altogether. It is pertinent to note that a Sheikh is a person who inherits the teachings and secrets of the prophets and teaches them to other people. In addition, Sufism has Islamic mysticism that causes confusion to non-Muslims, since they think it is a sect of Islam. Rumi and Abdullah Ansari of Herat are among the Sufis who have contributed immensely on Islamic knowledge throughout history and in the world. The paper shall discuss the five major teachings of Rumi and Abdullah Ansari of Heart, discuss the nature of Sufism, and analyze if Sufism is primary mysticism.
According to Schimmel and Annemarie, the word Sufi has numerous meanings but is often understood to mean a person with religious knowledge close to God and they are aware of their purpose in life (77). The Sufis belong to Tariqas; the Tariqas were established after the death of prophets, and they perpetuate the Islamic mysticism. According to Rumi, the world pleasures have distracted Muslims, and that is why the Sufis came to be; since, they remain dedicated and loyal to Allah (Schimmel and Annemarie 77). Sufism teachings are open to everyone from all religions. The Sufi teaches about the great truths of the basis of worship that helps people keep morality of existence of divine and invisible worlds. Sufism has two objectives, which are to have personal development and be aware of self and the hidden world (Schimmel and Annemarie 80).
The first teaching of Sufism is love. According to Rumi, love cannot be measured and compares it to the capital, where people should continuously invest in it. Love enables God to give the daily bread to every individual and a mother to breastfeed their child. God loves His creation, and that is why He favored Abu-Bakr. The second teaching is that God gives divine favor, and it does not consider the fasting and praying. In essence, People kneel and prostrate to receive God's divine favor during prayers. However, God brings suffering to the infidelity as a divine favor to help them remember He is the one who created them (Schimmel and Annemarie 225). God created the good, evil, universe, heavens, earth amongst all the other things so that people can remember and glorify Him. For instance, he created pain to enable the non-believers to remember him when they are crying out (Schimmel and Annemarie 226).
According to Anṣārī and Hishâm, Abdullah described Sufism as a character that one develops from what they hear and practice through science, generosity, and patience (116). One must be firm and bound to learn within their capacity and decree about the facts of God existence. The wisdom they acquire gives them the confidence to love every creation that God has created. People are also encouraged to develop a real character that allows gratitude and faithfulness to Allah that is met by the righteousness through training. Sufism also teaches altruism, which gives people the ability to choose what they want to do. People are taught to be selfless. Sufism urges people to prefer others to themselves since it never closes any doors for the blessing nor spiritual growth (Anṣārī and Hishâm 116).
According to Anṣārī and Hishâm people can achieve this through honoring others rights, detesting avarice and aspiring to have high moral status. In essence, everyone should be grateful to the God for everything including the misfortunes that we come across in life. People are encouraged to fight for strong characters, uprightness in Islam and endurance. In altruism, people should also ensure they prefer God Almighty before any other earthly object since it enables them to reduce the claims of ownership (Anṣārī and Hishâm 114). Finally, Sufism teaches that people should be honest. Honesty is used to describe something kind in reality when occurring and existing. The virtue of intent is letting an individual to start practicing honesty without negligence any plan to ruin it. An honest person does not agree or tolerate any idea that would destroy under any circumstances. People are expected to live for the True God and observing the teaching and avoiding any distraction from other things. We are also supposed to reorganize honesty to satisfy God because they are His servants (Anṣārī and Hishâm 112).
Nature of Sufism
It is pertinent to note that Sufism originated from the Islamic religion, as the Sufis are Islamic leaders. However, Sufism is not limited to any particular religion, society, or culture. Sufism exists in all religions; it focuses on purifying an individual and making them more devoted and faithful to their Creator. The Sufis are religious leaders who bring people together by use of art that makes people see the beauty of the universe. In essence, Sufism focuses on reducing poverty, deception, and soul deprival through singing and dancing, which are based on a mixture of many religions and philosophies such as Hinduism. The Islamic mysticism associated with Sufism is used to show that Islam is also a dogmatic religion (Schimmel and Annemarie 110).
Sufism opposes some beliefs of Islam, for instance, although Muslims are required to obey Allah and His messenger as the Quran instructs. Muslims are prohibited from blindly following their religious leaders without thinking and rationale. Schimmel and Annemarie assert that Sufism puts people at the mercy of Sheikh, as one must follow the sheikh as a dead body obeys the person washing it (112). Although Muslims are content being identified as Muslims, others insist on being referred to as Sufi. Muslims believe in the uniqueness of Allah, and no one or nothing is like him, unlike the Sufi, who relates God to Al-Hulool, Al-It'tihaad, and Wahdatul-Wujood. In addition, Sufi contradicts with Muslim on the belief of Prophet Muhammad, and Muslims believe he was the final God's prophet, and he is not to be worshiped because he is not divine. However, the Sufis such Rumi, believe that he received divine favor. Muslims also believe in the existence of heaven and hell, while the Sufi teaches that people should focus on loving God and forget about immaterial things such as heaven (Schimmel and Annemarie 225).
In conclusion, Sufism is distinct from the true Islam. However, Sufism has adopted some Islam religious practices such as praying five times a day, fasting, and offering charities. Conversely, it has evolved to formulate its spiritual principles. For instance, Islam is very simple, as it requires Muslims to submit and surrender to Allah without any intermediaries or saints. Sufism, on the hand, has sheikhs that people are expected to listen to and act according to their teachings. Sufi use to love to describe the character but also incorporate the Muslim Sharia. Thus, Sufism is neither a religion nor a Muslim sect; it is a character formed to cause peaceful coexistence.
Works Cited
Anṣārī Al-Harawī, ʻAbd Allāh Ibn Muḥammad, and Hishâm Rifâ'î. Stations of the Wayfarers. Paris: Albouraq, 2011. Print.
Schimmel, Annemarie, and Annemarie Schimmel. Rumi's World: The Life and Work of the Great Sufi Poet. Boston: Shambhala, 2001. Print.
