THE
ELEMENTS
OF SUFISM
(Excerpts Only)
By:
Shaykh
Fadhlalla Haeri
Chapter
4
Basic Sufi
Concepts
Like
most aspects of the religion of Islam which became recorded and took
on a formal aspect after the deaths of the Prophet Muhammad (peace
be upon him) and the first four Muslim rulers, the different
sciences related to the way of Islam also began to develop and grow
in sophistication, such as the science of the Qur`an, the science of
the recorded actions and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be
upon him), the science of Islamic jurisprudence and all the other
sciences concerned with theological studies. None of these sciences
existed in any formal or structured manner in the early years of
Islam, although the knowledge and wisdom on which they were based
did exist.
The same trend of growth and complexification seems to have been
repeated in the science of Sufism. From about a hundred years after
Muhammad's death onwards, when people began to discriminate more and
more between original Islam and pseudo-Islam, between spiritual
Muslims and Muslims who supported dynastic monarchy, the various
concepts of Sufism dealing with the purification of the self and the
'heart' began to manifest more prominently. This does not mean that
these concepts and the practices which accompanied them did not
exist in the first century of Islam. They were there, but they were
far less structured, formulated or discussed. The early Muslims knew
the meaning and reality of inner purity, reliance upon God, yearning
and the actions based on that reliance and yearning which resulted
in that purity, as well as the other basic Sufi concepts, but it was
only later on that these concepts were discussed and recorded in a
more structured way, in order to help the seeker on the path of
knowledge, until he reached the point where he experienced
subjectively what he had at first only learned about and accepted
intellectually.
...
Sufism is none other than reliving the Muhammadan way of life. The
early Shi'as had an advantage in having for 250 years qualified and
recognized spiritual leaders from among the descendants of the
Prophet to guide them in the Muhammadan way of life, in spite of
their being persecuted by the Ummayad and Abbasid caliphs. However,
most Shi'as concentrated more on learning the formal and ritualistic
aspects of this lifestyle from these spiritual leaders, rather than
its higher spiritual elements. Accordingly emphasis was placed on
the jurisprudence, and a relative neglect of philosophy and the
science of the self is evident in any study of Muslim social
history. However the way in which these spiritual leaders lived and
the flexibility that they had as awakened Muslims are enough for us
to see how real spiritual masters live. One such spiritual leader
was brought near to the ruling caliph of the day. He was Imam Musa
Rida. Another, who was imprisoned by the caliph, was Imam Musa ibn
Ja'far. Another spiritual leader Imam Zayn al-Abidin, was given the
opportunity to invite people to the way of Islam by means of his
prayers and supplications. Yet another, Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq was
surrounded by people who wanted to learn from him, so he began to
give structure to the sciences of jurisprudence and theology. These
spiritual leaders were like different lamps giving off the same
light, different representatives of the One God.
The Sufi is an enlightened being following the outer Islamic Law
while his heart is encompassed by the inner Reality. However one
cannot say much about God's ways for they are so numerous and some
of them are strange (to us). We find that some Sufis lean towards
being recluses. Now God says through the Prophet Muhammad that those
who are loved most by God are those who serve the creatures of God.
We also observe that not every person who is enlightened can teach,
just as not every person who is a scholar can be a great orator.
Sometimes we find the reverse of the situation to be true in that a
great religious orator has little real knowledge. Such people make a
far greater impact on society than great scholars who do not have
the gift of eloquence or the charisma. So a lack of communication
from a quiet dervish or a Sufi does not reflect the extent of his
knowledge or his true station.
...
Sufism is primarily concerned with the 'heart' that reflects the
truth which exists within it, beyond time and in time. The Sufi is
the whole human being. He recognizes that his reality is beyond time
and space, and yet he understands that he himself is caught in his
body in order to experience the duality of time and space in this
world. The Sufi is the one who realizes the courtesy due to the
prison of his body which has been given to him on loan for a few
years. He is aware of the fact that he is returning to the abode of
infinite bliss from which he originally emerged. Sufism is an art of
beingness through the attainment of divine knowledge. It is not an
intellectual exercise for scholarly investigations and postgraduate
studies.
As far as original Sufi works are concerned, they were not written
in order to establish yet another school of Islamic law, like the
Maliki, the Shafi'i and the Jafari schools of Islamic law for
example, but they were written in order to help those who were
already following the Sufi path. Studying the map and staying put is
not the same as making the journey and using the map as you go
along. The Sufi writings are helpful to the practitioners of the
Sufi path, but the written word is a secondary experience compared
to the direct benefits and transmission of knowledge which occur
when the seeker keeps the actual company of a spiritual master.
Writing is only useful as an aid, a memoir or a reminder for the
practitioner. When such writings are discovered and taken and
studied out of context, then confusion arises.
...
