On Sufiism

[Zainab_M]

 

 


Keeping a lengthy topic brief and to the point, personally I view Sufisim as against the idealogy of the Glorious Quran.  It's a lot more in line with the concept of monasticism in Christianity, and also somewhat similar to the mystic values of non-Divine religions like Buddhism and Hinduism.

On monasticism Allah, The Almighty, mentions concerning the People of the Book

"But monasticism they invented - We ordained it not for them - only seeking Allah's pleasure, and they observed it not with right observance."  57:27  Al-Hadid.

Broadly speaking, Sufiism depicts the concept of retiring from worldly life into a reclusive existence.  Islam, on the contrary, upholds that religion/spiritualism and worldly responsibilities go hand in hand.  Definitely, Islam commands a strict control on ones morals and ethics while indulging in worldly affairs.  To prove one's worth and quality, it's incumbent upon every human being to maintain a balance between their responsibilities toward Allah Almighty and their duties towards family & community.  After all, it's the challenges of this earthly life that carve our personality, determine our character and the level of our perseverance, which is eventually for Allah to judge.  Obviously a person who is a recluse with the minimal of contact with the outside world has not given themselves as much opportunity to face the trials and tribulations of life as those who have been exposed to the harshness of the world and yet have held on to their duties toward Allah.

There are certain Muslim societies where the concept of Sufiism has deviated from a complete hermit like existence to something between seclusion and participation in worldly life.  But it all depends upon their interpretation of merging both sides of life to make it compatible in a broader sense with Quranic precepts.

Personally, I'm completely against the expression 'Islamic mysticism.'  It's illogical and therefore contradictory from the view point highlighted above.  The Glorious Quran underscores no such ideas.  Keeping this in mind, the accusation against Sufiism trying to distract Muslims from the Quran and move them towards the servitude of other human beings could have a big element of truth and be a good reason to discard Sufiism altogether. Already enough tales and distortions have been manufactured over the past centuries until the present through innovations by the followers of sectarianism and our self-appointed leaders that have unashamedly concealed or squinched the truth and beauty of the Noble Quran.   The last thing we need is another annexation.

[Heba E. Husseyn]

hmmm, u have underscored some very logical points that make sufiism incompatible with the values of the Quran.  actually i took it for granted that 'Islamic mysticism' was synonymous with 'deen and duniya' because there's no such notion of a hermit like existence in Islam.  even with regard to the christians, Allah says in the Quran that monasticism was something which they imposed upon themselves, Allah did not instruct it. 

  and thanks

[N. Truth Seeker]

According to Islam, to prove
one's worth and quality, it's incumbent upon every human being to
maintain a balance between their responsibilities toward Allah and
their duties towards family, friends, colleagues etc.  After all,
it's the challenges of this earthly life that carve our personality
and determine the quality of our hearts & minds, which is eventually
for Allah to judge.  Obviously a person who lives the life of a
hermit in the wilderness with the minimal of contact with the outside
world hasn't given himself / herself as much opportunity as those who
have been brave enough to face the challenges of this world
and yet held on to their duties toward Allah.  

This is a very thought provoking point.  it sure makes sense.

Keeping this in mind, the accusations by several scholars about
sufiism trying to distract Muslims from the Qur'aan and authentic Sunnah, and
move them "towards the sevitude" of the "sheiks" could very well be
true ..

to be honest, i think the practice of "servitude of the sheiks" is seen generally with all issues, not just sufiism.  there are people who are confused whether or not it's halal or haram to wash clothes in washing machines of apartment buildings.  there are some who are not sure even if they can eat a perfectly halal diet of vegetables and fish on the platter provided in North American or European restaurants.  etc. etc. and for all the answers the people turn to their community shiek or imam.  unfortunately no one trusts their own wisdom based on their own understanding of the Quran and authentic Sunnah.

But it is very important that
such man-made laws that have been developed and implemented by
people in later times should NOT be 'labelled' as Qur'aanic or Sunnah laws.


Needless to say, the "Sunnah" would mean the actual things said and done by the
beloved Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), not the unauthentic stuff.  The mass of unauthentic
ideologies have infiltrated into the Islamic legal system so widely that in my view the
only way to distinguish an authentic Sunnah from an unauthentic one would be to
assess it's extent of compatibility with the Glorious Quraan.  [/font]

yes, i read your above concerns

[muslima]

 


jazak Allah khair absolutely right Quran does not support this concept  ! good one i too strongly against it . sufisum shape up islam in completely wrong way from the centuries sufi's contribute different ideology of islam which collapse with Quran sufis often understood to be a person of religious learning , very closed to Allah ,someone special but that's not true .In pursuit of this goal of worshipping Allah ,Living in this world,and to turn away from the world is just like ungrateful of life and what you will claim for without passing the test of life ? off from the world, from responsibilities ,without facing the test of hardship and luxuries of life,abstinence from the pleasure and blessings ,spending life without the implement of Quranic rules in life , just lying in a corner living on the name of Allah is against the complete and comprehensive Quranic balanced way of life  also becoming a great sufi mean the great reason to promote of shirk

[Zainab_M]

Walaikum Salaam sister Muslima.  Yes, I also don't agree with the Sufi ideology.  It's more on the lines of priesthood in Christianity and other religions .. the concept of renouncing the world and becoming a recluse.  If one thinks of it carefully, this approach is closer to cowardice than piety.  It's like running away from the challenges of the world and an effort to escape facing earthly problems.  Therefore, even if a person does lead a pious life by renouncing the world, his piety will be less rewardable than the piety achieved by another person despite facing the challenges of the world.  This is what my perception tells me.

Moreover, the notion of Sufiism or priesthood is not practical either.  Most of these people only make a show of renouncing the world.  Therefore it encourages hypocrisy as well.

[muslima]

exactly i am  completely agree with u sis zeynab 

[Zainab_M]

Btw, I've changed the pic on original the post on top    The previous one did not represent a sufi, don't know why I put that up.  The present one above represents the sufi culture which is cross marked as wrong. 

Below is the previous one.  I agree with this.  It simply portrays a pious believing man reciting the Quran beside the great Kaaba which is everyone's desire.  Alhumdulilah.

[Ruhi_Rose]

Good idea sis 

[muslima]

Ohh  sis that pic image was not shown on pad sorry didn't noticed
correct one  

[Zainab_M]

Thank u my sisters

[muslima]

u are welcome sis