Sufism generally means reaching the greatest level of believing in truth. A Sufi or a person dedicated in seeking the truth is in the process of moving towards God, which is called the tariqat. Sufism teaches Islam to exercise divine ethics and doing the will of God. Members are expected to clean the inner self through sharing what they go through in process of seeking the will of God and some cleansing rituals called enlightening. Sufis believe that it is not possible to explain all that is entailed in truth. Those who have make efforts give a fraction of the meaning. They give a story to demonstrate this by quoting a group of blind people who felt the elephant and described the animal, all the blind people gave true information on the parts they felt. They however described parts but not the animal as a whole. All Muslims agree that to succeed in Sufism, it do require a Muslim to have internal discipline in addition to reading books. Practicing Sufism is one way of mysticism or the direct communication with God by understanding reality (Haque 2004, 360). To understand mysticism, Islam base their practices by comparing views from Al Ghazali’s Sufism in and Classical Sufism. The practices although they have one ultimate goal, they vary in various aspects. In this essay, the main attention will be Al Ghazali’s transformation and adaptation of Sufism can be viewed to be vastly different from Classical Sufism, mainly due to the signs to the Signifier, the enlightening process, and the “Jadhba” (Rahimi 2007, 419-421).
This essay will critically look at Sufism as well stipulated as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam by its adherents. Muslims trust they are headed where utter closeness shall be obtained in Paradise after death and final judgment, Sufism goes further to believe in more closeness and God’s revelation through His Divine Presence. This is achieved by restoration of oneself to a primordial state of ‘fitra’ whereby all actions are not in defiance to God and are done in the love of God (Emilie 1995, 103-109).
Sufism is divided into two branches namely the classical Sufism and Al-Gahazali’s Sufism. Al-Gahazali’s Sufism, a Sufi starts from himself to the higher authority or the signifier. A Sufi is expected to clean his lower self or all the filth that create a gap between them and God through theophany (God’s active manifestation) (Rahimi 2007, 414).
In Classical Sufism, the masters learn of God’s signs and communicate to the rest of the people who are supposed to practice them (Signifier to God’s signs). In this category, the seeker finds “jadhba” experienced as divine attraction and starts the journey with the focus on the destiny of the Divine Presence whereby all efforts is directed (Er 2008, 235). Masters of the orders such as Naqshbandi and Shadhili primarily follow this. Classical Sufism is characterized by its adherence to dhikr’ whereby God’s name is repeated severally and asceticism and was mainly due to a revolt against worldliness in 6771-750 CE in the early Umayyad Caliphate (Haque 2004, 371). The classical principle is universal, and can be traced in the arising of Islam. Furthermore, Ghazali will be briefly compared to major Classical Sufi Scholars such as Rumi, Shams, and Rabia.
Al Ghazali’s Sufism branch acquired the name from Muhammad Ghazali who lived in 1058-1111 and hailed from Persia. Islam considers him the most influential right after Prophet Muhammad. In his years, he served as a theologian and a jurist. He had philosophical as well as psychological teachings through which he inspired Islamic thought. Still in his teaching, he created a methodic doubt, which is especially widespread in the western countries. Methodic doubt is a situation whereby a person questions ones beliefs and wants to prove which of the briefs are true (Er 2008, 236). It is through his teachings that he managed to change the perception of Islamic metaphysics or the desire to know how life after death is like and how it feels like to be there. He introduced a philosophy, which is generally called the Cause and Effect in which an event is determined by the previous one. God or the heavenly beings determined the resultants of a cause, which are further explained in Occasionalism theory.
Ghazali is recognized for his work to incorporate Sufism into Sharia law also the Islamic law. While other groups of Sufis may treat Islamic laws as different concepts from Sufism, Al- Ghazali Sufis look at it as one entity. He taught that to succeed in practicing the Sharia law, one needed to be a Sufi. He took the practices taught in Sufism and combined them with the law. He incorporated the teachings of Sufism in all his doings and writings. In his period, Muslim grew strong and expanded significantly in Persia. He was against the assassination of Nizam al-Mulk by the Ismailism also called the Batnite and further wrote various books criticizing the act, which de-popularized them. Having studied philosophy and taking long time to watch and reason why things were done as he found them, he was able to criticize and come up with new methods and concepts which flourish in the Islam religion even to this day. Various projects that were started by him are put to use to this day such as the introduction of Madrasah curriculum, a program in which Muslims are taught to be incorporate logical thinking in the religion.
Classic Sufis view Sufism as the deliberate effort to heal the heart by centralization all the human effort towards the will of God. Ahmad ibn Ajiba defines Sufism as a process through which Muslims purify their hearts by doing all what is praiseworthy in the eyes of God. One major difference between the classic Sufis and the Al Ghazali’s Sufis is that the classic Sufis have a tendency to repeat all the names that are give to god, a practice that is referred to as dhikr. The names are usually taken from hadith writings or the Holy Book called the Qur’an and that carry different meanings in relation to God. There is however some Dhikr that are supposed to be used by all the Muslims as they are aimed at seeking the will of God and are good, they do not require permission from the leaders and teachers of Sufi. They trace the roots of their principles to the Prophet Muhammad. Naqshband however, did not trace his from the prophet but rather from Caliph, Abu Bakr. There other schools that do not explain their originality although they argue the completely practice all the teaching of Sufism.
Classic Sufism does not deviate from the other branches but rather acts as a link. It brings the interconnectedness between the modern Islam and the traditional views of Islam. Unlike Ghazali who wrote philosophical and psychological literature to communicate and criticize Islamic Views, most classic scholars such as Rumi uses poetry. The main message however is reunion with God by doing what is desirable in the eyes of God. This is called tawhid, and requires individuals to cleanse their souls that they may be acceptable. Other than poetry, he too believes that use of music and dances are useful in the process of enlightening or cleansing of souls.
Sama or the use of music and dancing would make a person fully devoted to divine will in such a way that they became revived. Through Sama, a person’s body and soul are engrossed in the divine power that they fully surrender God. They realize their mistakes and weaknesses and at such times, they are willing to seek forgiveness and restoration (Emilie 1995, 90). Sama is a symbolic mystical journey through which a person matures spiritually by desiring to learn the truth and practice it, abandons the bodily pride, and develops greater love of perfection. Once a person matures, they are able to humble and serve the rest of the people regardless of their differences to him. Although he uses philosophical approaches, he communicates through poetry and music. The whole message is based on love and desiring to seek the truth.
Rumi unlike Al-Gahazali, feels that Islamic religion should not be bound to logical interpretations but should be driven by love to seek the divine will. Most classical Sufis believe in universality, this is however not the case of Rumi. To him, religion is personal and should be observed at a personal level. Nevertheless, there is need to maintain the outward signs that portray the religion of a person. The ultimate purpose of religion is to dignity of human beings and getting closer to the will of God.
The classic Sufis were found in various parts of the world especially in the African countries unlike Al-Gahazali who are mostly found in Persia where the founder was born and grew. However, his teachings have now been adapted in almost all those who proclaim Muslim faith. Most of the classic Sufis teachings were short lived, and ended once the pioneers died. For example, Darqawa that expanded significantly as tariqah in most parts of North Africa, did not last after the death of Muhammad al-arabi al-Darqawi.
Most of the classic Sufis paid attention even to those dhikir that the Sufi masters chose not to talk about in public. They were mostly in form of letters especially written by Al-Darqawi and, which were translated in other languages afterwards, they paid attention to issues that affected the outer self as well as the inner self (Zarruq, Istrabadi, and Hamza 2008, 113). The contents of the letters emphasized answering of the calls and living happily even in times of sickness and having a clean heart at all times. The letters had the commands that were got from shari’at of Muhammad writings and that required all to take care of their character.
Al-Gahazali and most of the scholars of his time felt that to practice Sufi, the person had to be a Muslim follower. They also felt that to be a Muslim, the person had to practice Sufism, the Islamic law and the Hadith also called the Sunnah or teachings derived from the Qur’an. Sufi masters during that time were those Muslims who had been acknowledged by others have wide knowledge of Sharia law and who were strict followers of the laws. Most of those held positions in the Muslim courts as qadis also called the Islamic Law Judges (Maneri 2010, 196).
In the recent, movements against the Sufi traditional system have developed especially in the West. They have come up with new policies such that they accept that one do not have to be a strict Muslim observer to practice Sufi (Colby 2006, 123). They have adopted Rumi’s teachings from his poems and hence his poems have become popular references among the groups, have been translated to many languages, and published by some various authors. Those groups include Universal Sufism, International association of Sufism and many others in United States.
Most of the classic Sufis say that to get closer to God, a person needs to adopt religious practices and engross other things outside the religion that would help them to grow spiritually. Spiritual messages from God have deeper inspiration thus with some influence from a Sufi master, a Sufi observer will experience inner transformation. They believe that the rituals practiced by Islam are intended to cleanse the soul and thus get closer to God (Godlas 2000, 319). A Sufi must pray, offer services to the community, fast and enjoy the pilgrimage in addition to believing that there is God who possess the divine powers over human beings.
The Al-Gahazali’s groups do not accept the teaching by the classic Sufis. They feel the writers did not have the right grounds for writing religious texts. They consider them false religion, which tries to true Islamic religion. To them the only person who can write a religious text must be a strict observer of the Sharia law and a Sufi (Colby 2006, 124). They are people who observe dhikr hence putting a balance to both body and soul. There some groups of Sufis that have come to accept other Muslim Sufis and the non Muslim Sufis.
In conclusion, although there are different perceptions between Al-Gahazali’s Sufis and classic Sufis, the ultimate goal is one, to get closer to God through purification of body and soul. The differences are seen to result in the interpretation of the laws and the philosophy regarding religion. They all agree that to be a practicing Sufi, there are rituals that one has to undertake such as fasting and service to the society. The two groups emphasize holiness, love, and the importance of seeking the will of God to enjoy happiness after death. Various literatures have been written by various masters of Sufi, which are in form of music, poems, and novels. Reading of Qur’an forms a base for all the Sufis. Most Sufis have learnt to accept that there is need to recognize other Sufis because all that is required is fulfilling the duties of the heart to experience divine power.
Reference List
Colby, Frederick. 2006. The Subtleties of the Ascension: Lata’if Al-Miraj: Early Mystical Sayings on Muhammad’s Heavenly Journey. Kentucky: Fons Vitae.
Emilie, Savage-Smith. 1995. “Attitudes toward dissection in medieval Islam.” Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences 50 (1): 67–110.
Er, Muhammad Emin. 2008. Laws of the Heart: A Practical Introduction to the Sufi Path, Kentucky: Shifâ Publishers.
Godlas, Alan. 2000. Sufism’s Many Paths. Georgia: University of Georgia.
Haque, Amber. 2004. “Psychology from Islamic perspective: contributions of early Muslim scholars and challenges to contemporary Muslim psychologists.” Journal of Religion & Health 43 (4): 357–377.
Maneri, Shaikh Sharfuddin. 2010. Letters from a Sufi Teacher. Mountain View, CA: Golden Elixir Press.
Rahimi, Sadeq. 2007. “Intimate Exteriority: Sufi Space as Sanctuary for Injured Subjectivities in Turkey.” Journal of Religion and Health 46 (3): 409–422.
Zarruq, Ahmed., Istrabadi, Zaineb., and Hamza Yusuf Hanson. 2008. The Principles of Sufism. Medina: Amal Press.