The Islamic Contemplative Tradition
Although (as in any religion) direct and intuitive spiritual experience can happen within the traditional structures of Islam, the contemplative or experiential strand of the Islamic faith is often identified separately as Sufism.
The relationship of Sufism to Islam at large is a debated matter, with some within Islam viewing Sufism as “true Islam” while others view it as an abberation of the faith. This debate is complicated by the facts that, in the early years of Islam, there was no distinction between the two, and also that modern Sufism is itself diverse, consisting of many orders – each sharing commonalities, but developed semi-independently of each other.
Sufi orders typically have explicit “founders,” but orders almost universally trace their lineage back to the prophet Muhammad (often through a prominent contemporary of Muhammad – Ali) and the revelation of the Quran. The vast majority of Sufis consider themselves orthodox Muslims, and observe the Five Pillars of Islam – Confession of Faith, Daily Ritual Prayer, Fasting During Ramadan, Almsgiving, and Pilgrimage to Mecca – although a minority view Sufism as independent of Islam proper, and are non-observant of traditional Islamic structures. Even if observant of Islam, many sufis view Sufism as “universal,” and in some sense as predating the rise of Islam. In contrast to contemplative orders from other traditions, Sufi orders are not monastic, and consist of lay individuals living in ordinary communities and family structures.
The term sufi has several meanings in Arabic, including “pure” and “wool,” possibly referring to the fact that early sufis wore wool garments and sought inner purity. Those who practice Sufism are also sometimes referred to as dervishes (the root dar meaning “door” – either referring to “one who goes door to door” or to “one who stands at the door or threshold of the Divine”), faqir (“one who is poor” – either materially or spiritually poor), wayfarers or travelers on the path to God, people of the heart, or simply as lovers of God.
Broadly, Sufism can be thought of as a collection of contemplative, lineage-based orders, whose participants seek spiritual development and the direct experience of God, while interpreting their experience through the matrix of the Quran and Hadith (sayings of the Prophet).
Sufi Practices and Culture
Sufi orders, while distinct, typically share a recognizable family resemblance with one another. The following are features characteristic of most sufi lineages (silsilas).
Master/Disciple/Initiation: When one seeks to walk a sufi path, a sufi master (referred to as a sheikh) is found and initiation into the order is sought. The sheikh is typically seen as carrying the power of the entire line-silsila and as possessing the authority to teach a particular sufi way (tariqa) with its own unique practices and methods. It is the task of the disciple to seek a particular sheikh and line to which they will commit. An authentic sheikh serves the role of spiritual director to his or her disciples, and is sometimes thought of as a physician specializing in “the cure of souls.” A typical sheikh lives in the community, and has a normal occupation and family life.
Community/Brotherhood/Sohbet: Once initiated into a particular order, one joins a brotherhood (some orders are of mixed gender, some are not) of fellow wayfarers. This community shares in the spiritual journey, often gathering for group practices – communal dhikr, music, teaching of the sheikh, sharing of personal learnings, poetry, etc. What is shared at communal gatherings is sometimes referred to as sohbet – “spiritual conversation.” In general, there is a strong communal element in most sufi orders.
Esoteric Interpretations of the Quran: Sufi interpretations of Quranic passages tend toward esotericism, emphasizing the inner meaning which is seen as relevant to the spiritual journey, in contrast to more literal interpretations. For instance, a passage regarding a physical battle in which “God supported him (Muhammad) with the legions (angels) you did not see” (Q 9:40) may be interpreted as Muhammad being protected by the “legions” of his acquired spiritual virtues on his path to God. “Literal” stories become transformed into allegorical lessons about the soul’s journey to God. This exegetical method is common in Sufism as well as in other contemplative traditions.
Emphasis on Imitation of the Prophet Muhammad: Sufi orders often emphasize imitation of the prophet Muhammad, who is commonly seen as an idealized spiritual figure. When cultivating virtue, episodes from the prophet’s life as reflected in the Quran or Hadith are used as models for spiritual development.
Music: Sufism has a strong tradition of using the experience of music and dance during communal gatherings. Sama is a spiritual concert of sacred music and dance performed in many sufi orders. One well-known form of sama is reflected in the dance associated with the “whirling dervishes” of the Mawlawi Order.
Ecstasy: Sometimes associated with these musical gatherings (as well as in other contexts) is the experience of ecstatic states. The language of being “intoxicated” or a “holy fool of God” is commonly used for those who experience these states of hyper-arousal or ecstasy. Whether these states are self-induced or are of any consequence to spiritual transformation or purification of the self is a matter of debate within the orders and in each individual case.
Poetry: Sufis have produced volumes of poetry, the most well-known of which are the poems of Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi. Many of Sufism’s most influential thinkers have also been poets, and poetry is commonly shared at sufi communal gatherings.
Stations of Spiritual Development: Sufis typically talk about the soul’s transformative journey toward God in terms of “stations” of spiritual development. The number of stations a soul must pass through on the journey is variable, with some progressions containing 3, 4, 7, 40, or even more stations depending on the view of the particular order or specific text. One seven-station progression includes: (1) The Commanding Self – purely egocentric, concerned only with fulfilling its own wants, sometimes seeking to control others; (2) The Regretful Self – regrets old way of life, becomes repentant and desires to change, but is still dominated by personal desires; (3) The Inspired Self – begins the spiritual path, takes pleasure in prayer, meditation, and spiritual exercises, begins to grow in gentleness, compassion, and virtue; (4) The Contented Self – at peace, the claims of the ego begin to dissipate; (5) The Pleased Self – becomes pleased even with difficult circumstances of life, sees trials as gifts from God for the development of the soul; (6) The Self Pleasing to God – seeker is whole and unified in himself, no longer fears or asks for anything in life for the self; and (7) The Pure Self – sees God in all things, no sense of separation remains, soul has become “pure” and has achieved transforming Union with God. As in other traditions, “Union” and “Purity,” are common ways to speak of the fully transformed self in many sufi progressions. Drawing from Hadith, the concept of “dying before one dies” – in the sense of losing one’s personal will and living simply as an instrument of God in the world – is also a common way of understanding spiritual transformation within Sufism.
Sainthood: Hagiography (lives/biographies of the saints) is commonplace in the history of Sufism and the burial sites of various saints have become popular objects of veneration. A saint is considered a special “friend of God” and, as in many traditions, miraculous deeds have come to be associated with saints of the past.
Dhikr: A specialty and perhaps hallmark trait of sufis is the performance of communal and solitary dhikr, which is designed to both facilitate personal spiritual experience and cultivate remembrance of God at all times of life.
Sufi Metaphysics
The authoritative text for the vast majority of sufis is the Quran. Popular sufi metaphysics draws from concepts in the Quran – most explicitly the “Oneness of God” – but also creatively extrapolates beyond Quranic texts. There is no “official sufi metaphysics;” nevertheless, certain ideas have become extremely widespread among sufi orders and are popular intellectual frameworks for interpreting spiritual experience. The work of one sufi writer in particular, Ibn Arabi, has become associated with “philosophical Sufism” and many modern orders take their starting point from his writings. The following are common concepts in philosophical Sufism.
Oneness of God: In philosophical Sufism, God, in His most Fundamental Nature, is seen as being beyond the reach of language and conceptual form. God cannot be “known” in the way one knows about things in the material universe. As one modern sufi writer puts it:
“...the Divine Reality is Infinite and cannot be encompassed by anything. The only way to know It is to plunge into the Sea of Divinity, to swim in the Ocean of the Godhead… The truth of the oneness of Being can be fully known only by being experienced spiritually.”
God cannot be captured by the mind, but can be experientially known through unitive spiritual experience. Common sufi “language pointers” toward the Reality of God include Al-Haqq (“The Real”), Unconditioned Absolute Reality, Supreme Reality, Transcendent Oneness, Unity of Being, etc. These pointers are seen by some as corresponding to concepts such as the Godhead, Brahman, Void, etc. from other traditions.
Above all, the language pointer most used to describe God, the Ultimate Reality, as well as the manifested order, is that of Oneness. God is One, and Reality is One in Him. This concept is understood in various ways by different sufi thinkers.
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“Some Sufis and Islamic philosophers have interpreted the doctrine of the oneness of Being to mean that all levels of being come from the one Being, that all the rays of light emanate from the sun, while many Sufis claim that on the highest level of understanding there is in fact only the one and absolute Being. Viewed from within the sun, there is nothing but the sun… Everything in the universe is a mirror in which is reflected determinations of the One Essence, the Absolute Being and Reality, which alone is, the alpha and omega of all existence and also the single Reality and Being here and now of all things that appear to us as independent objects and realities. To realize this truth fully is to be able to see God everywhere.”
God, Allah, Al-Haqq, in Its most fundamental nature, is viewed as unmanifested and beyond attributes, but nevertheless is made known in a relative way through manifestation and attributes. “Being transcends and precedes the existence of its own manifestations.” God is Transcendent (Beyond All), and at the same time Immanent (In All) in the manifested order. The concept of “Gradations in Being” is sometimes used to understand the relationship between the complete Transcendence and Immanence of God. The concept of the “oneness of God,” however it is understood, is core to philosophical Sufism.
Names of God: Although God, in His most fundamental nature, is seen as being beyond concept and form, He has been made known in a relative way through the manifested order, most explicitly, for philosophical Sufism, in the Divine Names.
Traditional lists of the Names of God focus on 99 of the ways in which God is described in the Quran (i.e. “The 99 Beautiful Names of God”). Common “Names of God” which are reflected on by Islamic and sufi theologians include Huwa Allah alladhi la ilaha illa hu (“He is God, there is no God but He”), al-Rahman (“the Merciful”), al-Rahim (“the Compassionate”), al-Malik (“the King”), etc. These names form a matrix for understanding the character of God and are a large part of the basis for theological reflection in Islam. The Divine Names are also incorporated into various forms of spiritual practice.
Arc of Descent Arc of Ascent: The path of Sufism is sometimes spoken of as wayfaring. In philosophical Sufism, the spiritual journey is frequently conceptualized as the soul’s traveling from original Oneness in God, to its current place in the world of manifestation (“Arc of Descent”), and back toward Oneness in God (“Arc of Ascent”). This is the shape of the journey, not only for humans, but for all things.
Universal Man: The concept of The Universal Man can be thought of as akin to a Platonic Form of an idealized or perfected human. The Universal Man (seen as androgynous – neither male nor female) not only has independent existence as a “form,” but is also viewed as a reality to be potentially realized by the spiritual wayfarer. One who realizes this archetype is a “Mirror for God,” reflecting back the pure qualities of God to Himself. This archetype is also sometimes seen as a microcosm of the world at large.
Unveiling and Gnosis: Gnosis – spiritually attained knowledge – and unveiling are also important concepts in philosophical Sufism. Gnosis and unveiling are often thought of as knowledge directly revealed by God to those of advanced spiritual states. The prophets recognized by Islam (and sometimes other Sufi figures) are therefore seen as gnostics – those who were given direct knowledge by God, often in the form of visionary experience. How one understands unveiling and gnosis is likely dependent on how one understands similar cross-cultural phenomena related to contemplative practice such as visions, dreams, locutions, siddhis, etc.
The philosophical categories and concepts through which Sufis understand their spiritual experience continue to develop, sometimes uniquely by order, with influence from both classical Sufi writers and the Quran itself.
Communal and solitary meditative Dhikr remains the most common form of spiritual practice within Sufism today.