SOFI

SOFI

Sofi is a term used to name the followers of tasawwuf (particularly by those speaking Persian and Turkish). According to some, it is Sufi. I think the difference arises from the different views of the origin of the word. Those who are of the opinion that it derives from ‘sof’ (wool) or ‘safa’ (spiritual delight, exhiliration) or ‘safwat’ (purity) or sophos, a Greek word meaning wisdom, or that it implies devotion, prefer the word Sufi. Others who hold that it derives from ‘suffa’ (chamber) and stress that it should not be confused with ‘sofu’ (religious zealot), use the word Sufi.

The term sofi has been defined in different ways, some of which are as follows:
A sofi is a traveler to God who has been able to purify his self and acquired inner light or spiritual enlightenment.

A sofi is a humble soldier of God whom the Almighty has chosen for Himself and freed from the influence of his carnal, evil-commanding self.

A sofi is a traveler to the Muhammadan Truth who wears a coarse, woolen cloak not for show but as a sign of humility and nothingness and renounces the world as the source of vices and animal desires.

Sofis wear a coarse cloak made of wool and therefore are called ‘Mutasawwif’ in order to emphasize their states and their belief, conduct and life-styles. For it has been the characteristic of the Prophets and their followers and men of sincere devotion to wear a coarse, woolen cloak.
A sofi is a traveler to the peak of true humanity who has been freed from carnal turbidity and all kinds of human dirt to realize his essential, heavenly nature and identity.

A sofi is a man of spirit who deserves to be called a sofi because he tries to resemble the people of the Suffa—the poor, scholarly Companions of the Prophet who lived in the chamber adjacent to the Mosque of the Prophet—by dedicating his life to deserving that name.

Some are of the opinion that the word sofi is derived from ‘saf’ (pure). However, although their praiseworthy efforts to please God and continuous services of God with their hearts set on Him are enough for them to be called pure ones, it is grammatically wrong that sofi is derived from saf. Some have argued that sofi is derived from sophia or sophos, a Greek word meaning wisdom. I think this is a fabrication of foreign researchers who seek to find a foreign origin for tasawwuf.

The first to be called a sofi in Islamic history is Abu Hashim al-Kufi, a great ascetic of his time. Abu Hashim died in 150 after hijra, which means that the word sofi was in use in the second century of hijra after the generation of the Companions and their blessed successors.

Sufism which we encountered for the first time in Islamic history with Abu Hashim al-Kufi appeared as a way of the people of spirituality following the footsteps of our Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, and his Companions in their life-styles. This is why sufism has always been known and remembered as the spiritual dimension of the Islamic way of life. With respect to its original purpose, sufism has sought to educate people to set their hearts on God and burn with love of Him. It has concentrated on good morals and mannerliness in conduct in the footsteps of the Prophets. It may well be claimed that some slight deviations have appeared in it over time, but these deviations should not be exploited as an excuse to condemn that way of spiritual purity.

While describing the sufis who lead a purely spiritual life, Imam Qushayri writes:The greatest title in Islam is Companionship of the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings. This honor or blessing is so great that it cannot be acquired by any one other than the Companions. The second rank in greatness belongs to Tabi‘un, the title of the fortunate ones who came after the Companions and saw them. This is followed by Taba-i Tabi‘in, those came after the Tabi‘un and saw them. Just after the closing years of this third generation, and coinciding with the outbreak of some internal conflicts and deviations in belief, together with the Traditionists, jurisprudents and theologians who rendered great services to Islam each in their own field, the sufis realized significant accomplishments in reviving the spiritual aspect of Islam.

Especially the early sufis were distinguished, saintly persons. They led an upright, honest, austere and simple life, free from all kinds of blemish, far from seeking bodily happiness and gratification of carnal desires, and followed the example of the Prophet, our Master, upon him be peace and blessings. They were so balanced in their belief and thinking that it is not possible to regard them as followers of either ancient philosophers or Christian mystics or Hindu fakirs. For, first of all, tasawwuf was considered by its early followers and representatives as the science of the inner world of man, the reality of things and the mysteries of existence. A sofi was a student of this science, determined to reach the final rank of universal or perfect man.

Tasawwuf is a long journey leading to the Infinite One and demands unending efforts. It is a marathon to be run without stopping with an unyielding resolution and without anticipating anything worldly. It has nothing to do with Western or Eastern types of mysticism or yogism or philosophies. And a sofi, who is the hero determined to run this marathon and reach the Infinite One, is neither a mystic nor a yogi nor a philosopher.It is, however, a fact that prior to Islam some Hindu and Greek philosophers followed a way leading to self-purification and struggled against their carnal desires and the attractions of the world. But the way they followed and tasawwuf are essentially different from each other. For, first of all, while the sofis seek to purify their selves through invocation, regular worship, utmost obedience to God, self-control, and humility, and continue to follow their way until death, the ancient philosophers did not observe any of these rules or acts. Their self-purification—if it really deserves to be considered as such—usually caused conceit and arrogance in many of them rather than humility and self-criticism.
The sofis can be divided into two categories with respect to the path they follows:

The first category comprises those who give priority to knowledge and seek to reach their destination through knowledge of God (ma’rifa).
The second category consists of those following the path of yearning, spiritual ecstasies and spiritual discoveries.
The former spend their lives by continuously traveling toward God, progressing ‘in’ God and progressing from God on the wings of knowledge and knowledge of God, and try to realize the meaning of There is no power and strength save with God. Every change, alteration, transformation and formation they observe in existence and every event they witness or themselves experience, is like a comprehensible message from the Holy Power and Will experienced in different tongues.

As for the second category, although they are serious in their journeying and asceticism, they may sometimes, since they are in pursuit of discovering hidden realities or truths, miracle-working, spiritual pleasure and ecstasies, suffer deviations from the main destination and fail to reach God Almighty. Although it is grounded on the Qur’an and Sunna, this second path may yet lead some initiates to cherish certain desires and expectations such as having a spiritual rank, being able to work miracles, being known as a saint, etc. That is why the former path, which is the path leading to the greatest sainthood under the guidance of the Qur’an, is safer.
The sofis divide people into three groups:

The first group comprises those they call the perfect ones who have reached the destination. This group is divided into two sub-groups, namely the Prophets and the perfected ones who have reached the Truth by strictly following them. It is possible that some among those perfected ones are not guides; rather than guiding people to the Truth, they remain annihilated or drowned in the waves of the ‘ocean of union and bewilderment.’ Their relations with the visible, material world are completely severed and therefore they live unable to guide others.
Those belonging to the second group are called initiates. They are also divided into two sub-groups. The first sub-group are those who completely renounce the world and, without considering the Hereafter, seek only God Almighty. The second group consists of the initiates who aim to enter Paradise and do not completely give up tasting some lawful pleasures of the world. They are called by different titles such as ascetics, worshipping ones, the poor or the helpless.

As for the third group, since their aim is only to live an easy, comfortable life in the world, the sofis call them the settling or clinging ones - those who cling heavily to the earth. They are evil, unfortunate ones belonging, according to what the Qur’an calls them, to ‘the group on the left’, who are ‘blind’ and ‘deaf’ and do not understand.

Some have also referred to the three groups mentioned as the Foremost or those brought near to God, the people on the right, and the people on the left.

THE ORIGIN OF TASAWWUF

THE ORIGIN OF TASAWWUF
As the history of Islamic religious sciences tells us, the religious commandments were not recorded in the earliest times of Islam. The practice and oral circulation of the commandments pertaining to belief, worship, and daily life enabled people to memorize them. This is why it was not difficult to compile them in books. What had been memorized and practiced was recorded and arranged on paper. In addition, since the religious commandments mentioned above comprise the vital issues in a Muslim’s individual and collective life, scholars gave priority to them and compiled books on them. Jurisprudents collected and codified in the form of books the Islamic Law and its rules and principles pertaining to all fields of life. Traditionists established the Prophetic Traditions and way of life and preserved them in books; theologians dealt with the issues concerning Muslim belief, and the interpreters of the Qur’an dedicated themselves to studying the meaning of the Qur’an, including the issues which would later be called the Qur’anic sciences such as Naskh (Abrogation of a law), Inzal (God’s sending down the whole of the Qur’an at one time), Tanzil (God’s sending down the Qur’an in parts on different occasions), Qiraat (recitation of the Qur’an), and Ta’wil (Exegesis), etc. Thanks to these universally appreciated efforts, the truths of Islam and all its principles were established in a way not to leave any doubt concerning their authenticity.
While all this work was being done in the fields of religious sciences, essentially based on jurisprudence, Tradition (Hadith), theology and Qur’anic interpretation, the Sufi masters who concentrated mostly on the pure spiritual dimension of the Muhammadan Truth tried to draw attention to the essence of man’s being, the real nature of existence and the inner dynamics of man and the cosmos, directing attention to the reality of things lying beneath and beyond their outer dimension. Adding to the commentaries on the Qur’an, the narrations of the Traditionists and the deductions of the jurisprudents, their asceticism, spirituality and self-purification, in short, their practice and experience of religion, the Sufi masters developed their ways. Thus, the Islamic spiritual life based on the actions of the spirit such as asceticism, regular worship, abstention from all major and minor sins, sincerity and purity of intention, love and yearning and man’s admission of his essential impotence and destitution, became the subject-matter of a new science called tasawwuf having its own method, principles, rules and terms. Even if there emerged over time some differences among the orders that were later established, it can be said that the basic subject-matter of this science has always been the essence of the Muhammadan Truth.
Unfortunately, it has sometimes occurred that, although they are the two aspects of the same truth, the commandments of Shari‘a and tasawwuf - which is in reality the spirit of Shari‘a, comprising austerity, self-control and criticism and continuous struggle to resist the temptations of satan and the carnal, evil-commanding self, and fulfill religious obligations, and so on - have been presented as contradictory to each other. While adherence to the former has been regarded as exotericism (self-restriction to the outward dimension of religion), following the latter has been seen as pure esotericism. Although this discrimination partly arises from the assertions that the commandments of Shari‘a are represented by jurisprudents or muftis, and the other by the sufis, it should be viewed as (the result of) a natural, human tendency, which is that everyone gives priority to the way more compatible with his temperament and for which he has aptitude.
As jurisprudents, Traditionists and interpreters of the Qur’an produced significant books based on the Qur’an and the Sunna and following the methods dating back to the time of the Prophet and the Companions, so also the sufis compiled books on austerity, spiritual struggle against carnal desires and temptations, states of the spirit and stations depending also on the same sources, with the addition of their own spiritual experiences, love, ardor and rapture. By doing so, they tried to attract the attention of those whom they regarded as restricted to practicing the outward dimension of religion and reflecting only on it, to their way and the spiritual aspect of religious life.
Both the sufis and the scholars, criticized for being restricted to the outward aspect of religion, aimed to reach God by observing the Divine obligations and prohibitions. Nevertheless, some extremist attitudes occasionally observed on both sides caused some disagreements between them. Actually, there was no substantial disagreement, nor should it have been viewed as a disagreement, that the different aspects and elements of religion were dealt with and presented under different titles. It is by no means a disagreement that while jurisprudence concerns itself with the rules of worship and daily life, with how to regulate and discipline man’s individual and social life, tasawwuf aims to enable man to live his life at a high level of spirituality through self-purification and spiritual training. In fact, tasawwuf and jurisprudence are like the two schools of a university which has undertaken to teach man the two faces or dimensions of Shari‘a and educate him to be able to practice it in his life. These two schools cannot be one without the other. One teaches how to perform the prescribed prayers, how to realize the canonical purity required for worship, how to fast, how to give the obligatory alms, and how to regulate his daily life from shopping to marriage, etc. The other concentrates on the meaning of these and other acts of, how to make worshipping an inseparable dimension of man’s existence and how to elevate man to the rank of a universal, perfect being, which is the true humanity. That is why neither of these disciplines can be neglected.
Although some impertinent ones among those claiming to be sufis have gone so far as to label religious scholars as ‘scholars of ceremonies’ and ‘exoterists’, the real, perfected sufis have always depended on the basic principles of Shari’a and based their thoughts on the Book-Qur’an-and the Sunna, deriving their methods from these basic sources of Islam. The Wasaya (‘Advices’) and Ri’aya (‘Observation of Rules’) by al- Muhasibi, al-Ta’arruf li-Madhhabi Ahl al-Tasawwuf (‘A Description of the Way of the People of Tasawwuf’) by Kalabazi, al-Luma‘ (‘The Gleams’) by al-Tusi, Qut al-Qulub (‘The Food of Hearts’) by Abu Talib al-Makki and al-Risala (‘The Treatise’) by al-Qushayri are among the precious sources where tasawwuf is dealt with according to the Book and Sunna. Among these sources some concentrate on self-control, the purification of the self, while others elaborate various topics concerned with tasawwuf.
After these great compilers mentioned came Hujjat al-Islam Imam al-Ghazali , the author of Ihya’ al-Ulum al-Din (‘Reviving the Religious Sciences’), his most celebrated work. He reviewed all the terms, principles and rules of the way of tasawwuf and, establishing those agreed on by all the Sufi masters and criticizing others, united once more these two disciplines, namely the outer and inner dimensions of Islam or jurisprudence and tasawwuf. The Sufi masters coming after him presented tasawwuf as one of the religious sciences or a dimension thereof, promoting the unity or agreement between themselves and those once called the scholars of ceremonies. In addition, they were able to make some subjects of sufism like the states of the spirit, certainty or conviction, sincerity and morality, which are dealt with by tasawwuf more profoundly, a part of the curriculum of madrasas-the institutions where religious sciences are taught.
Although tasawwuf mostly concentrates on the inner world of man and deals with the religious commandments with respect to their meaning and effects on man’s spirit and heart and is therefore abstract, it is not contradictory with any of the Islamic ways based on the Book and the Sunna. Far from being contradictory, it has its source, just like other religious sciences, in the Book and the Sunna and the conclusions the purified scholars of the early period of Islam drew from the Qur’an and the Sunna-ijtihad. It dwells on knowledge, knowledge of God, certainty, sincerity, perfect goodness and other similar, fundamental virtues.
Defining tasawwuf with different titles such as the science of esoteric truths or of mysteries or the science of man’s spiritual states and stations or the science of initiation, does not mean that it is completely different from other religious sciences. Such definitions are the results of experiencing Shari‘a throughout centuries by men of different temperaments and dispositions. It is a distortion to present the viewpoints of the sufis and the thoughts and conclusions of the scholars of Shari‘a as essentially different from each other. Although it is an undeniable fact that there have been some sufis fanatically adherent to their own ways, as well as some religious scholars-jurisprudents, Traditionists, and interpreters of the Qur’an-restricted to the outward dimension of religion, those who follow and represent the middle, straight path have always formed the majority. Therefore, starting from some unbecoming thoughts cherished and words uttered by some jurisprudents and sufis against each other, it is wrong to conclude that there is a serious disagreement between them. As compared with those always on the side of tolerance and consensus, the numbers of the others who have started or participated in conflict have been very few. This is what is natural, for like the jurisprudents who have depended on the Book and the Sunna in their ways, the sufis have also depended on these two main sources of Islam.
In addition, the priorities of tasawwuf have never been different from those of jurisprudence. Both of these ways or disciplines have stressed the importance of belief, doing good deeds and good conduct. The only difference is that, more than the jurisprudents, the sufis have also focused on purification of the self, deepening in the meaning of good deeds and multiplying them, and attainment of higher standards of good morals, by which man’s conscience awakens to knowledge of God and man can enter a way leading to the required sincerity in practising the religion and obtaining God’s good pleasure. Since man can, by means of these virtues, acquire another nature-another heart-spiritual intellect-within the heart, a deeper knowledge of God, and another ‘tongue’ to mention God-he can perform all the commandments of Shari‘a in a deeper consciousness of, and with a disposition for, servanthood to God, and in greater exhilaration.
It is by means of tasawwuf that man deepens in spirituality. Through the struggle with the selfhood, through solitude or retreat, invocation, self-control and self-criticism, the veils over the inner dimension of existence are torn apart and, as a result, man gains a strong conviction of the truth of all the major and minor principles of faith.

Book Description:The name of Mubarak-i Wakhani (1839-1903), a Persian (Tajik) mystic poet, musician, astronomer, and Ismaili religious scholar from Badakhshan, is hardly known in modern academic circles related to Persian and Ismaili studies. Despite his importance to Ismaili esoteric thought in general and the Ismaili tradition of the peoples of the Pamir Mountains in particular, Mubarak has received only scant attention from modern scholars. One of the major reasons for Mubarak’s relative obscurity is probably the geographic location of his homeland and its socio-economic, political, and intellectual environment. There has been no serious scholarly research conducted on Mubarak’s life and works. This book is the first introductory study on the subject, and provides the first systematic presentation of the seminal Islamic figure. In the desire to establish an accurate biography of Mubarak and to render his often confused Ismaili-Sufi ideas as lucidly and coherently as possible, this book, by Dr. Abdulmamad Iloliev (PhD, Cambridge University) of the Institute of Ismaili Studies, concentrates on assessing his life and thoughts in their historical and religious context. It explores how far Mubarak’s works represent the indigenous Pamiri perception of Ismailism and where he stands in relation to general Ismaili thought. Likewise, through the study of the works of Mubarak, it seeks to explore the distinctive elements of Pamiri Ismailism, which itself is an interesting, but relatively neglected area in religio-cultural studies of the minor nations within the diverse civilization of Islam in general and the former Soviet Union in particular. This is a must-have resource for all scholars in Islamic Studies.

Islam Sufism Imamt and Noor

The Ismāʿīlī (Urdu: إسماعیلی Ismāʿīlī, Arabic: الإسماعيليون al-Ismāʿīliyyūn; Persian: إسماعیلیان Esmāʿīliyān) branch of Islam is the second largest part of the Shī'a community, after the Twelvers (Ithnāʿashariyya). The Ismaili get their name from their acceptance of Ismail bin Jafar as the divinely appointed spiritual successor (Imam) to Jafar al-Sadiq, wherein they differ from the Twelvers, who accept Musa al-Kazim, younger brother of Ismail, as the true Imam. The Ismaili and the Twelvers both accept the same initial Imams from the descendants of Muhammad through his daughter Fatima Zahra and therefore share much of their early history.As Muslims, the Ismailis affirm the fundamental Islamic testimony of truth, the Shahada, that there is no God but God (Allah in Arabic) and that Muhammad is His Messenger. They believe that Muhammad was the last and final Prophet of Allah, and that the Holy Quran, Allah's final message to mankind, was revealed through him. Muslims hold this revelation to be the culmination of the message that had been revealed through other Prophets of the Abrahamic tradition before Muhammad, including Abraham, Moses and Jesus, all of whom Muslims revere as Prophets of Allah.In common with other Shia Muslims, the Ismailis affirm that after the Prophet's death, Hazrat Ali, the Prophet's cousin and son-in-law, became the first Imam – the spiritual leader – of the Muslim community and that this spiritual leadership (known as Imamat) continues thereafter by hereditary succession through Ali and his wife Fatima, the Prophet's daughter. Succession to Imamat, according to Shia doctrine and tradition, is by way of Nass (Designation), it being the absolute prerogative of the Imam of the Time to appoint his successor from amongst any of his male descendants.After the passing away -- or occultation (according to Sevener Ismailis) - of Imam Muhammad ibn Ismail in the 8th century CE, the teachings of Ismailism further transformed into the belief system as it is known today, with an explicit concentration on the deeper, esoteric meaning (batin) of the Islamic religion. With the eventual development of Twelverism into the more literalistic (zahir) oriented Akhbari and later Usooli schools of thought, Shi'ism developed into two separate directions: the metaphorical Ismaili group focusing on the mystical path and nature of Allah, and the manifestation of himself in the personage of the "Imam of the Time" as the "Face of Allah", while the more literalistic Twelver group focusing on divine law (sharia) and the deeds and sayings (sunnah) of Muhammad and his successors (Ahl al-Bayt) who as Imams were guides and a light to Allah.Though there are several sub-groupings within the Ismailis, the term in today's vernacular generally refers to the Nizari community, who are followers of the Aga Khan and the largest group among the Ismailis. While many of the branches have extremely differing exterior practices, much of the spiritual theology has remained the same since the days of the faith's early Imams. In recent centuries Ismailis have largely been an Indo-Iranian community,[2] but Ismaili are found in India, Pakistan, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Saudi Arabia[3], Yemen, China[4], Jordan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, East Africa and South Africa, but have in recent years emigrated to Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and North America

Sufism in Islam

Sufism in Islam1.

Briefly put, "sufi" is a second-century name applied to a type of Muslim earlier known as "zahid." The lexical root of sufi is variously traced to:
suf = wool

safa' = purity
and while the former is more likely, the latter is given preference. The two were nicely combined by Abu `Ali al-Rudhabari (d. 322) who said:

al-sufi man labisa al-sufa `ala al-safaThe Sufi is the one who wears wool on top of purity.
Imam al-Suyuti cited it in his book on tasawwuf entitled Ta'yid al-Haqiqa al-`Aliyya wa-Tashyid al-Tariqa al-Shadhiliyya. At any rate these are the likelier etymologies mentioned by al-Qushayri, al-Huwjiri, Ibn Taymiyya, al-Shatibi, and many others. Not that etymological purity mattered at all to the Sufis. They couldn't care less.

In his major work entitled al-I`tisam on the definition of bid`a (innovation), al-Shatibi (d. 790) rejected the categorization of sufis and tasawwuf as an innovation in Islam according to his criteria.Sources: - Suyuti, Ta'yid al-Haqiqat al-`Aliyya (Cairo: al-matba`a al-islamiyya, 1352/1934) p. 15.- Qushayri, al-Risala, introduction and chapter on tasawwuf and their commentary by Shaykh al-Islam Zakariyya al-Ansari, also al-Qushayri's short treatise, Tartib al-Suluk fi Tariq Allah.- Huwjiri, Kashf al-Mahjub, Introduction.- Ibn Taymiyya, see reference below.- Al-Shatibi, al-I`tisam (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-`Ilmiyya, 1415/1995) p. 150-159.
2. As for the term "zahid" Imam Ahmad (d. 241) established that it applies first and foremost to the Prophet and his eminent Companions, upon him blessings and peace and may Allah be well-pleased with them, and it applies as well to all the Prophets of Allah, peace upon them.
`Abd al-Qadir al-Baghdadi (d. 429) mentioned the two terms zahid and sufi interchangeably in his classifications of the groups that belong to Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jama`a in his al-Farq bayn al-Firaq:
Know that Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jama`a are divided in eight groups of people... the sixth group being the Sufi Ascetics (al-zuhhad al-sufiyya), who have seen things for what they are and therefore have abstained, who have known by experience and therefore have taken heed truly, who have accepted Allah's allotment and contented themselves with what is within reach.
Sources: - Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd, 2nd. ed. (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-`Ilmiyya, 1414/1994).- `Abd al-Qahir al-Baghdadi, al-Farq Bayn al-Firaq (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-`Ilmiyya, n.d.) 242-243.
3. The term "sufi" has been used in contrast with "faqih" (jurist) by the great Imams of Fiqh and Usul. It is enough that Imam al-Shafi`i [1] said:
faqihan wa sufiyyan fa kun laysa wahidanfa inni wa haqqillahi iyyaka ansahuBe both a faqih and a sufi: do not be only one of them!Verily, by Allah's truth, I am advising you sincerely.
while Imam Malik [2] said:
man tasawwafa wa lam yatafaqqa fa qad tazandaqawa man tafaqqaha wa lam yatasawwaf fa qad tafassaqawa man jama`a bayn al-ithnayn fa qad tahaqqaqaHe who practices tasawwuf without learning Sacred Lawcorrupts his faith, while he who learns Sacred Law withoutpracticing tasawwuf corrupts himself. Only he who combines the two proves true.
See also Sufyan al-Thawri's saying on the best of people being the Sufi who is versed in fiqh, cited below.
Sources: - Al-Shafi`i, Diwan, (Beirut and Damascus: Dar al-fikr) p. 47.- Imam Malik: see `Ali al-Qari, Sharh `Ayn al-`Ilm wa- Zayn al-Hilm (Cairo: Maktabat al-Thaqafa al-Diniyya, 1989) 1:33; Ahmad Zarruq, Qawa`id al-tasawwuf (Cairo, 1310); `Ali al-`Adawi, Hashiyat al-`Adawi `ala Sharh Abi al-Hasan li-Risalat Ibn Abi Zayd al-Musammat Kifayat al- Talib al-Rabbani li-Risalat Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani fi Madhhab Malik (Beirut?: Dar Ihya' al-Kutub al-`Arabiyah, (n.d.) 2:195; Ibn `Ajiba, Iqaz al-Himam fi Sharh al- Hikam (Cairo: Halabi, 1392/1972) p. 5-6.
4. Ibn al-Jawzi wrote a 100-page book on al-Hasan al- Basri's life and manners entitled Adab al-Shaykh al- Hasan ibn Abi al-Hasan al-Basri. In his chapter on al- Hasan in his compendium of the saints entitled Sifat al-Safwa -- based on Abu Nu`aym's Hilyat al-Awliya' -- Ibn al-Jawzi mentions a report that al-Hasan left behind a white cloak (jubba) made of wool (suf) which he had worn exclusively of any other for the past twenty years, winter and summer, and that when he died it was in a state of immaculate beauty, cleanness, and quality.
As to when Sufis formally appeared, then a "terminus ante quem" seems established with Hasan al-Basri (d. 110) and his student `Abd al-Wahid ibn Zayd (d. 177) who was the first person to build a Sufi khaniqa or guest-house and school at Abadan on the present-day border of Iran with Iraq. This is related by the hafiz Abu Nu`aym (d. 430) and confirmed by Ahmad Ibn Taymiyya. Al-Harawi al-Ansari (d. 481) says in his Biographical Layers of the Sufi Masters that the first person to be actually named "al-Sufi" was Abu Hashim al-Sufi (d. 150?), a contemporary of Imam Sufyan al-Thawri (d. 165) who said: If it were not for Abu Hashim al-Sufi I would have never perceived the presence of the subtlest forms of hypocrisy in the self... Among the best of people is the Sufi learned in jurisprudence. [3]
Abu Nu`aym narrated it in Hilyat al-Awliya' and al-Harawi al-Ansari in his Tabaqat al-Sufiyya while Ibn al-Jawzi, who was violently allergic to the word "Sufi," names him Abu Hashim al-Zahid in his Sifat al-Safwa.
Sources: - Ibn al-Jawzi, Sifat al-Safwa 2(4):10 (#570) and 1(2):203 (#254).- Abu Nu`aym, Hilyat al-Awliya' 6:155 and s.v. "Abu Hashim."- Ibn Taymiyya, al-Sufiyya wal-Fuqara', beginning of volume 11 of his Majmu`at al-Fatawa al-Kubra entitled "al-tasawwuf."- Al-Harawi al-Ansari, Tabaqat al-Sufiyya, Mawlayi ed. (1983) 1:159.
5. Shaykh al-`Arusi said in his marginalia titled Nataâij al-Afkar al-Qudsiyya (Bulaq, 1920/1873):
"Religion (al-dîn) is an orchard of which the fence is the Law (al-sharî`a), the inner grove is the Path (al-tarîqa), and the fruit is the Reality (al-haqîqa). Whoever has no Law has no Religion; whoever has no Path has no Law; and whoever has no Reality has no Path."The way of the Sufis consists in ten items:
(1) The reality of tasawwuf which is defined by truthful self-orientation (sidq al-tawajjuh) to Allah Most High.(2) The pivot of truthful tawajjuh is to single out the heart and the body for [obedience of] Allah Alone.(3) tasawwuf in relation to Dîn is like the soul in relation to the body.(4) The Sufi examines the factors of perfection and deficiency.(5) The Jurist examines whatever discharges liability (mâ yusqitu al-haraj) while the scholar of juridical/ doctrinal Principles (al-usûlî) examines whatever makes one's faith valid and firmly established. Therefore the Sufi's perspective is more specific than both of theirs, consequently their criticism of him is valid, while his criticism of either of them is invalid. Hence 'the Sufi among Jurists is better than the Jurist among Sufis.'(6) To display the nobility of tasawwuf, its evidence being both by demonstration and by textual precedent (burhânan wa nassan).(7) fiqh [jurisprudence] is the precondition for the validity of tasawwuf and that is why it has precedence over it.(8) Terminology and its specific applicability to each discipline exclusively of others.(9) The keys of spiritual opening concerning which there are four rulings: first principles; truthful aspiration towards attainment; longing for spiritual realities; and quitting the guideline of what is transmitted (al-manqûl) once one obtains self-realization (al-tahqîq).(10) It is a wonderful and strange path built on the permanent following of what is better and best: in doctrines it consists in following the Salaf; in rulings, fiqh; in meritorious deeds (al-fadaâil), the scholars of hadith; and in high manners (al-âdâb), all that is conducive to the wholeness of hearts."
6. Some definitions of sufism: tasawwuf: Purification of the self from all that is other than the remembrance and obedience of Allah; the realization of ihsân (excellence); zuhd (asceticism) combined with ma`rifa (knowledge of Allah); the attribute of the Sufi. Ceasing objection (al-Su`luki); Abandoning the world and its people (Ibn Sam`un). tasawwuf is neither knowledge nor deeds but an attribute with which the essence of the Sufi adorns itself, possessing knowledge and deeds, and consisting in the balance in which these two are weighed. (Ibn Khafif)
Some definitions of the Sufi:
Sûfî, pl. Sûfiyya: One who follows the path of tasawwuf, He who gazes at the Real in proportion to the state in which He maintains him (Bundar). They wore wool (sûf): “I found the redress of my heart between Makka and Madina with a group of strangers - people of wool and cloaks - (ashâb sûf wa `abâ).” Sufyan al-Thawri as cited from Khalaf ibn Tamim by al-Dhahabi, Siyar A`lam al-Nubala' (Dar al-Fikr ed. 7:203).
7. As for the following misguided citations:
Imaam Ash-Shaa'fee on Sufism: "If a person exercised Sufism (Tasawafa) at the beginning of the day, he does not come to Dhuhur except an idiot." [Talbees Iblees].Abu Nu`aym narrated with his chain in Hilyat al-Awliya' that al-Shafi`i said: "If a person did NOT exercise Sufism at the beginning of the day, he would not reach Zuhr except an idiot." And this is true, as shown by the detractors of Sufism till our time. Some are dangerous idiots, some are harmless idiots, but they are all, without exception, idiots as the Imam said.
"Nobody accompanied the Sufis forty days and had his brain return (ever)." [Talbees Iblees].Except that the above statement is a forgery. In fact, Talbis Iblis is filled with forgeries but some people rely on it because they have no fear of Allah.
Concerning the famous Sufi leader, Al-Harith Al-Muhasbi, Imaam Ahmad ibn Hanbaal (R) said:"Warn (people) from Al-Harith (a Sufi leader) the strongest warning!... He is the shelter of the Ahl Kalaam (people of rhetoric)." [Talbees Iblis].Al-Dhahabi narrated with a chain he declared sahih, that Imam Ahmad praised al-Harith al-Muhasibi with the strongest praise. Al-Dhahabi also said of Ibn al-Jawzi, the author of Talbis Iblis, that he does not consider him a Hafiz because he finds him sloppy.
Sufism is a blend of various thoughts and philosophies. By intermingling a few traces of Islamic teachings with it, the Sufi thinkers attempted to sanctify their doctrines and demonstrate its conformity to Islam Greek philosophy, and in particular the teachings of Neo-Platonists.On this orientalist-wahhabi imaginary sufism see: http://sunnah.org [refering to the deragatory: "The Other Side of Sufism" at: www.qss.org; but see instead "From the Fatawa of Shaykh al-Azhar `Abd al-Halim Mahmud," (the chief religious authority in Egypt) : On Sufism at: www.uga.edu/islam; OKN]
A parting note. Ibn `Abd al-Hadi narrates in bad' al-`Ilqa bi-Labs al-Khirqa that Ibn Taymiyya boasted of having received the Qadiri Sufi Tariqa from Ibn Qudama. For his part al-Dhahabi in his Siyar twice states he received the Suhrawardi Tariqa from his beloved Egyptian Sufi teacher Ahmad al-Abarquhi. Siyar (Fikr ed. 17:118-119 #6084, 16:302 #5655). He boasts the same in his Mu`jam al-Shuyukh.
And the Hafiz who surpassed both of them, Ibn Hajar al- `Asqalani, was a Shadhili Sufi - as were his students al-Sakhawi and al-Suyuti.
In Sunni Islam it is unthinkable that a learned person not be a Sufi.

Salam.Hajj GibrilGF Haddad

Your thought is a tree rooted deep in the soil of tradition and whose branches grow in the power of continuity. My thought is a cloud moving in the space. It turns into drops which, as they fall, form a brook that sings its way into the sea. Then it rises as vapour into the sky. Your thought is a fortress that neither gale nor the lightning can shake. My thought is a tender leaf that sways in every direction and finds pleasure in its swaying. Your thought is an ancient dogma that cannot change you nor can you change it. My thought is new, and it tests me and I test it morn and eve.
You have your thought and I have mine.
Your thought allows you to believe in the unequal contest of the strong against the weak, and in the tricking of the simple by the subtle ones. My thought creates in me the desire to till the earth with my hoe, and harvest the crops with my sickle, and build my home with stones and mortar, and weave my raiment with woollen and linen threads. Your thought urges you to marry wealth and notability. Mine commends self-reliance. Your thought advocates fame and show. Mine counsels me and implores me to cast aside notoriety and treat it like a grain of sand cast upon the shore of eternity. Your thought instils in your heart arrogance and superiority. Mine plants within me love for peace and the desire for independence. Your thought begets dreams of palaces with furniture of sandalwood studded with jewels, and beds made of twisted silk threads. My thought speaks softly in my ears, “Be clean in body and spirit even if you have nowhere to lay your head.” Your thought makes you aspire to titles and offices. Mine exhorts me to humble service.
You have your thought and I have mine.
Your thought is social science, a religious and political dictionary. Mine is simple axiom. Your thought speaks of the beautiful woman, the ugly, the virtuous, the prostitute, the intelligent, and the stupid. Mine sees in every woman a mother, a sister, or a daughter of every man. The subjects of your thought are thieves, criminals, and assassins. Mine declares that thieves are the creatures of monopoly, criminals are the offspring of tyrants, and assassins are akin to the slain. Your thought describes laws, courts, judges, punishments. Mine explains that when man makes a law, he either violates it or obeys it. If there is a basic law, we are all one before it. He who disdains the mean is himself mean. He who vaunts his scorn of the sinful vaunts his disdain of all humanity. Your thought concerns the skilled, the artist, the intellectual, the philosopher, the priest. Mine speaks of the loving and the affectionate, the sincere, the honest, the forthright, the kindly, and the martyr. Your thought advocates Judaism, Brahmanism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam. In my thought there is only one universal religion, whose varied paths are but the fingers of the loving hand of the Supreme Being. In your thought there are the rich, the poor, and the beggared. My thought holds that there are no riches but life; that we are all beggars, and no benefactor exists save life herself.
You have your thought and I have mine.
According to your thought, the greatness of nations lies in their politics, their parties, their conferences, their alliances and treaties. But mine proclaims that the importance of nations lies in work - work in the field, work in the vineyards, work with the loom, work in the tannery, work in the quarry, work in the timberyard, work in the office and in the press. Your thought holds that the glory of the nations is in their heroes. It sings the praises of Rameses, Alexander, Caesar, Hannibal, and Napoleon. But mine claims that the real heroes are Confucius, Lao-Tse, Socrates, Plato, Abi Taleb, El Gazali, Jalal Ed-din-el Roumy, Copernicus, and Pasteur. Your thought sees power in armies, cannons, battleships, submarines, aeroplanes, and poison gas. But mine asserts that power lies in reason, resolution, and truth. No matter how long the tyrant endures, he will be the loser at the end. Your thought differentiates between pragmatist and idealist, between the part and the whole, between the mystic and materialist. Mine realizes that life is one and its weights, measures and tables do not coincide with your weights, measures and tables. He whom you suppose an idealist may be a practical man.
You have your thought and I have mine.
Your thought is interested in ruins and museums, mummies and petrified objects. But mine hovers in the ever-renewed haze and clouds. Your thought is enthroned on skulls. Since you take pride in it, you glorify it too. My thought wanders in the obscure and distant valleys. Your thought trumpets while you dance. Mine prefers the anguish of death to your music and dancing. Your thought is the thought of gossip and false pleasure. Mine is the thought of him who is lost in his own country, of the alien in his own nation, of the solitary among his kinfolk and friends.
You have your thought and I have mine.

Channelling mediumistic: Encyclopedia - Channelling mediumistic

Channelling (mediumistic)
Channelling or channeling is the alleged communication of information to or through a physically embodied human being (the channel or medium), from a spirit or other supernatural entity outside the mind (or self) of the channel.
Channelling is part of the belief systems and rituals of many religions, such as shamanism, Candomblé, Voodoo, Kardecism, Umbanda, and more.
Channelling mediumistic - General
Research of articles by channellers has shown they allegedly have channelled ascended masters like Buddha, Jesus, or St. Germain.; people that have passed away; angels; and higher dimensional beings. Channelling is a popular source of revealed teachings in some New Age groups. Well known channellers like Diandra (Salem), Edgar Cayce, Esther Hicks (Abraham), Jane Roberts (Seth), and Lee Carol (Kryon) have volumes of teachings on angels, chakras, higher dimensions, future predictions, manifestation, meditation, non-judgment, now moment, past lives, and spirituality.
It is said there are two types of channelling using the spoken word. Conscious voice channelling and trance channelling. Conscious voice channelling is when the channeller calms their mind down and connects to the energy of the source being channeled. The source uses the vocabulary of the channeller to speak through them. The channeller usually has their eyes closed and is conscious of the room and what is being said but they are allowing the source to speak through them by calming their mind. Trance channelling is when the channeller does not want to become one with the energy of the source being channelled through them. A trance channeller therefore through meditation has their consciousness leave their body and the source consciousness enters it. Observers will notice the channeller's voice change when the transition is complete. This is not related to multiple personalities. The trance channeller makes a freewill choice for their consciousness to reconnect with their physical body. Trance channelling uses the same dynamics as astral travel.
The definition of channelling has not yet reached a consensus. Some constrict the definition to a narrow band of behavior and experience, while others see it as including almost any information-processing of an apparently self-transcending nature. For example,
Channelling mediumistic - Channelling Definition
The divine, inspired words (or energy) of God as imparted to Humans by Humans.
The above definition is what channelling actually IS. That means that not only were most of the sacred scriptures of the planet (all religions) channelled originally, but also much artwork and music too! It is absolutely commonplace, but like so many other re-emerging processes in the New Age, it has a stigma about it that is strange. God did not write the Bible... Humans did, while divinely inspired. by Lee Carol
The above definition, however, excludes all conscious and assorted altered states such as daydreaming and dreaming, as well as memories and the personal unconscious. It also excludes "talking to oneself" that falls in the realm of clinical and cognitive psychology, and also telepathy and ESP communication between minds of embodied persons that fall under parapsychology.
Channelling mediumistic - Hypotheses on Channelling
One hypothesis of channelling is anyone can develop the ability to channell. The channeller raises their consciousness through meditation and the source being channelled lowers their vibration to connect with each other. The channeller makes a freewill choice to connect to the source. The source creates an energy corridor through the vibrations of the mass consciousness in order to not be distorted by the lower vibration of the planet. The source can be from the fourth, fifth, sixth or seventh dimension. At higher vibrations beyond the seventh dimension it is hard for the source to lower their vibrational conscious to the level of the third dimension. The awareness, intent and enlightenment of the source varies on factors beyond the scope of the definition of channelling.
Another hypothesis of channelling is that the human minds are really part of some vast impersonal sea of mind (or energy) with which humans interact to give birth to further, seemingly separate minds or personalities (or energy systems) that are the "entities" being channeled. According to this hypothesis, everything is "us", a single creative source generating, sustaining, and merging the endless possible sub-entities or sub-personalities of itself — a blending of what once appeared as separate minds, entities and energies.
For some, this concept is less bizarre than the prospect that there are totally separate beings living outside the physical universe who are communicating with us. This is one of many related hypothesis that goes beyond the stereotype that it is always some independent entity that is communicating, that humans are each, a bounded and autonomous entity as well, albeit an incarnate one.
However, there is another point of view about the phenomenon: that channelling is pure nonsense, an entirely self-generated phenomenon which very often involves conscious and unconscious fakery. The claims of some channels have been found to be without merit. One must therefore keep in mind that this subject is fraught with possibilities of deception and misunderstanding.
Because of its subjective nature, channelling may be not easy to verify and is an inherently difficult phenomenon to research. The problems faced are similar to those faced by philosophers and theologians who are trying to understand mysticism and the mystical experience. Channeling, like mysticism, is a phenomenon that has been a part of human experience as far back as human records go.
Professor Marcello Truzzi, a sociologist at Eastern Michigan University who co-founded the "Committee for Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal" and the "Center for Scientific Anomalies Research", prefers to maintain what he calls "constructive skepticism" until someone comes forward with channel information that is evidential.
Spiritualism, Spiritual medium, Spiritual possession, Automatic writing, Automatic drawing
Channelling mediumistic - Books channelled texts entities and mediums
Channelling mediumistic - Books and channelled texts
Several notable books describe the entering of a trance state to allow the dead to speak through the medium or channel, or a spiritual guide to convey messages from other spirit men to listeners (see seance).

A New Day Is Dawning: Channelled text allegedly from Jesus, channelled by Diandra founder of www.inwardjourney.com

Ask and it is Given: Channelled text, allegedly from Abraham, channelled by Esther Hicks.
Conversations with God: Channelled text allegedly from God channelled by Neale Donald Walsch.

Opening to Channel: How to Connect with your Guide (1987) by Sanaya Roman and Duane Packer describes how to channel a spirit guide.
The Coming of Seth (1966): Jane Roberts describes the beginnings of her experiences with speaking for Seth.

The Cosmic Tradition of Max and Alma Theon seems to be based in large part of Mme Theon's channelling ability
The Michael Teachings

The Indigo Children: Channelled text.
Toward the Light: Channelled text.
Channelling mediumistic - Entities and mediums
Seth entity, channelled by Jane Roberts.
Abraham group of entity, channelled by Esther Hicks.
Kryon: Channelled entity.
Matthew Ward: Channelled entity.
Oahspe: Channelled entity.
Brazilian psychic surgeons, such as José Arigó, claim to work as channels for deceased surgeons.
Salem entity, channelled by Diandra
Channelling mediumistic - Channelling in fiction
In fantasy literature, the term channelling is sometimes used in other ways, particularly to describe a person's ability to draw on some form of magical power. The Wheel of Time series, for example, uses the term extensively (although it is by no means the only work to do so).
See also
Related ideas:
Spiritualism
Spiritual medium
Spiritual possession
Automatic writing
Automatic drawing
Sceptical criticism:
Pseudoscience
Hoax
Delusion
True-believer syndrome