The
role of Sufism in the Arab-Muslim culture
À.S.Tanabayeva, M.B. Alikbayeva
al-Farabi Kazakh
National University, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Islamic mysticism, often referred to as the internalization and
intensification of Islamic faith and practice. Sufis strive to constantly be
aware of God's presence, stressing contemplation over action, spiritual
development over legalism, and cultivation of the soul over social interaction.
In contrast to the academic exercises of theology and jurisprudence, which
depend on reason, Sufism depends on emotion and imagination in the divine-human
relationship [1].
Sufism
has been a prominent movement within Islam throughout most of its history. It
grew out of an early ascetic movement within Islam, which sought to counteract
the worldliness that came with the rapid expansion of the Muslim community.
The earliest form of Sufism arose under the Umayyad
Dynasty (661-749) less than a century after the founding of Islam. Mystics of
this period meditated on the Doomsday passages in the Quran, thereby earning
such nicknames as "those who always weep."
These early Sufis led a life of strict obedience to
Islamic scripture and tradition and were known for their night prayers. Many of
them concentrated their efforts upon tawakkul, absolute trust in God, which
became a central concept of Sufism.
Another
century or so later, a new emphasis on love changed asceticism into mysticism.
This development is attributed to Rabi'ah al-'Adawiyah (d. 801), a woman from
Basra who formulated the Sufi ideal of a pure love of God that was
disinterested, without hope for Paradise or fear of Hell.
Other
important developments soon followed, including strict self-control,
psychological insight, "interior knowledge," annihilation of the
self, mystical insights about the nature of man and the Prophet, hymns and
poetry. This period, from about 800-1100 AD, is referred to as classical Sufism
or classical mysticism.
The
next important stage in Sufi history was the development of fraternal orders,
in which disciples followed the teachings of a leader-founder. The 13th century
is considered the golden age of Sufism, in which some of the greatest mystical
poetry was composed. Important figures from this period include Ibn al'Arabi of
Spain, Ibn al-Farid of Egypt, Jalal ad-Din ar-Rumi of Persia, and Najmuddin
Kubra of Central Asia. By this time, Sufism had permeated the whole of the
Islamic world and played a large role in the shaping of Islamic society [2].
Muslim scholars and
historians conditionally divide the history of Sufism into three periods: the
period of zuhd (asceticism), the period of tasawwuf (Sufism) and the period of
tariqats (Sufi brotherhoods).
Zuhdah period
• VII-VIII century - the
emergence and development of ascetic mystical tendencies in Islam.
• mid-VIII - the beginning
of the IX century - the actual beginning of the formation of Sufism.
Period of tasawwuf
• IX century - the emergence
of a number of Sufi schools and the active development of the theory and
practice of Sufism.
• the end of IX century -
rapprochement with Shiite and Ismaili esotericism [3].
• X-XI century - the growing
popularity of the Sufi way of life and worldview. During this period, works
were written in which the main provisions of the "Sufi science" were
fixed and in general the Sufi tradition actually developed. The authors of the
classical Sufi literature systematized the Sufi knowledge and fixed the
terminology peculiar only to Sufis.
Period of tariqahs
• XII-XIII centuries - the
emergence of Sufism is an important element of the religious life of Muslim
society.
• middle XII - beginning of
XIII century - Sufi brotherhoods (tarikats) begin to be formed around Sufi
monasteries (zava, khanaka, ribat).
• XII-XIII centuries -
development of the speculative-esoteric side of the Sufi doctrine.
• XIII-XIV century -
flourishing of philosophical Sufism. The development of the concept of "perfect
man," "the unity of being", the self-manifestation of the
Absolute, "emanation",etc [3].
Sufi beliefs are
based firmly in orthodox Islam and the text of the Quran, although a few Sufi
teachers have strayed too close to monism or pantheism to remain within the
orthodox fold.
The core principles
of Sufism are tawakkul (absolute trust in God) and tawhid (the truth that there
is no deity but God). Tawhid is rich in meaning for mystics: it has been
interpreted by some as meaning that nothing truly exists but God or that nature
and God are but two aspects of the same reality.
The love of God for
man and the love of man for God are also very central to Sufism, and are the
subjects of most Islamic mystical poetry and hymns [2].
The last great figure in the line of classical Sufism
is Abu
Hamid al-Ghazalī (died 1111), who
wrote, among numerous other works, the
The Revival of the Religious Sciences”, a comprehensive work that established moderate mysticism
against the growing theosophical trends—which tended to equate God and the
world—and thus shaped the thought of millions of Muslims. His younger brother,
Aḥmad
al-Ghazālī, wrote one of the subtlest treatises “Occurrences” [i.e., stray thoughts]) on
mystical love, a subject that then became the main subject of Persian poetry.
Slightly later,
mystical orders (fraternal groups centring around the teachings of a
leader-founder) began to crystallize. The 13th century, though politically
overshadowed by the invasion of the Mongols into the Eastern lands of Islam and the end of
the Abbāsid caliphate, was also the golden age of Sufism:
the Spanish-born Ibn
al Arabī created a comprehensive theosophical system
(concerning the relation of God and the world) that was to become the
cornerstone for a theory of “Unity of Being”. According to this theory all
existence is one, a manifestation of the underlying divine reality. His Egyptian
contemporary Ibn
al-Fāriḍ wrote the finest mystical poems in Arabic. Two
other important mystics, who died c. 1220,
were a Persian poet, Farīd al-Dīn Attar, one of the most
fertile writers on mystical topics, and a Central Asian master, Najmuddīn
Kubrā, who presented elaborate discussions of the psychological
experiences through which the mystic adept has to pass.The greatest mystical
poet in the Persian language, Jalāl al-Dīn al-Rūmī (1207–73), was moved by mystical love to
compose his lyrical poetry that he attributed to his mystical beloved, Shams
al-Din of Tabriz, as a symbol of their union. Rumi’s didactic poem Mas̄navī-yi Manavī in about 26,000 couplets—a work that is for the
Persian-reading mystics second in importance only to the Quran—is an
encyclopaedia of mystical thought in which everyone can find his own religious ideas.
Rumi inspired the organization of the whirling dervishes—who sought ecstasy through an elaborate dancing ritual,
accompanied by superb music [4].
As Ghazali
"Sufism consists more of feelings than definitions".
The mystical fog of the Sufis was opposed by the
sobriety of official Islam (at least the forced sobriety that accompanies all
state religion). In addition, the Sufi mystic did not get along well with
Arabian Aristotelianism and rationalism, which had strong traditions in Muslim
medieval scholarship. Nevertheless, official Islam did not suppress Sufism, did
not force it into heresy, but, unlike mature Christianity, included the main
mystical ideas in itself, in its basic doctrine, It happened thanks to Ghazali
in the 11th century. Ghazali spoke not only as a critic of Sufism, but also as
an outstanding reformer of Islam. He successfully reconciled the traditional
rationalism of Islam and the mysticism of the Sufis, thus introducing mystical
ideas into official Islam. Ghazali introduced mystical love into the faith.
Sufism, speaking in the language of parables, paradoxes and metaphors, had a
great influence on Arabic and especially Persian poetry [5].
Asceticism and mysticism, which existed in Islam
almost from the very moment of its appearance, took the form of a broad
religious movement in the period of the formation of Islam (VII-VIII centuries
AD). During this period, the first Muslim ascetics and "spiritual
athletes" appeared, who created ascetic communities and circles in the
central and eastern parts of the Caliphate, primarily in Mesopotamia, Syria and
East Iran. By the XIII century. N. E. Such communities spread throughout the
Muslim world and took the form of new social institutions - Sufi brotherhoods
(tarika, plural turuk), each of which had its own ascetic practice, way of
life, moral and ethical system, mentoring philosophy and, often, independent
Economic base. In the late Middle Ages (XII-XIV centuries AD) Sufism became an
integral part of the Muslim society. General guidelines on Sufism and
authoritative Sufi sources, a network of institutionalized brotherhoods and a
special way of life have become the spiritual and intellectual link that unites
the culturally and ethnically diverse regions and societies gathered together
under the dome of Islam. Unlike Christian mysticism, pushed aside by secular
and rationalist tendencies, which spread in Western Europe during the
Enlightenment, its Muslim counterpart Sufism managed to retain its influence on
the spiritual and intellectual life of Muslims until the beginning of the 20th
century [6].
References:
http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e2260
2.
http://www.religionfacts.com/sufism/beliefs
3. https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ñóôèçì
4. Schimmel.A. Sufism
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Sufism
5. Sufism - Islamic mysticism.
http://scibook.net/istoriya-religiy-knigi/sufizm-islamskiy-mistitsizm-37916.html
6 Knysh A.D. Muslim mysticism. Moscow - St.
Petersburg
2004.