Sufism: Encyclopedia II - Sufism - History of Sufism

Sufism - History of Sufism

The history of Sufism can be divided into the following principal periods:

Sufism - Origins

According to the history of Sufism as told by Sufi masters themselves, Sufism began as a hidden or esoteric teaching of the Prophet Muhammad during his 23 year prophetic career. Almost all traditional Sufi schools or orders trace their orgins or "chains of transmission" back to the Prophet Muhammad, either through his cousin and son-in-law Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib or through caliph Abu Bakr. From their point of view, since the Prophet Muhammad was sent as a "mercy to all the worlds" (all creatures/species/all things existent), his message was naturally and necessarily manifold, attuned to the capacities of the hearts of his listeners, and the esoteric teaching was only given to those of his immediate companions who had the capacity to contain the direct experiential gnosis of God (Allah), and was then passed on from them from teacher to student through the centuries to modern times. Tradition includes among these early sufis a group known as Ahl as-Suffa ("People of the Bench") who lived lives of poverty and piety, many of whom were of foreign origin (like Bilal from Ethiopia, Salman from Persia and Suhaib from Rome).

Some scholars believe that Sufism was essentially the result of Islam evolving in a more mystic direction. For example, Annemarie Schimmel proposes that Sufism in its early stages of development meant nothing but the interiorization of Islam. And Louis Massignon states: "It is from the Qur’an, constantly recited, meditated, and experienced, that Sufism proceeded, in its origin and its development."

Sufism - The great Masters of Sufism

At a time when Iraq was the center of the Muslim Caliphate and an intellectual crucible and crossroads of various influences, there were mystical circles in cities such as Basra and Baghdad, and Sufism appears in the historical record as a discipline and school bearing this name. The Sufis dispersed throughout the Middle East, particularly in the areas previously under Byzantine influence and control. This period was characterised by the practice of an apprentice (murid) placing himself under the spiritual direction of a Master (shaykh or pir), as exemplified in the original Prophetic model. Schools started to form around some famous masters, such as Junayd in Baghdad and Al-Tustari in Basra. These were developed in a very open and public way, and were then written up as treatises concerning such topics as: mystical experience, education of the heart to rid itself of baser instincts, the love of God, and especially the approach towards Allah through a series of progressive stages or stations (maqaam) and states (haal). These schools were formed by reformers in reaction to the disappearance of values and manners in the society of the time, which was marked by a material prosperity that was seen as eroding the spiritual life. The Qur'anic verses which were the favourites of the Sufis included:

Hasan Ul-Basri is regarded as the first mystic in Islam. Rabia was renowned for her love and passion for God. Junayd was the first theorist of Sufism, known for his teachings on ‘fanaa and baqaa’, the state whereby the annihilation of the self occurs in the divine presence and is accompanied by a great clarity towards the world of phenomena. In addition to these famous names Soulami (325-416 AD) quotes more than one hundred Shaykhs (spiritual masters) in his book ‘Tabaqat’. The most famous of them are: Foudail Bin Ayad, Dhu Nun Al Misri, Ibrahim Bin Adham, Sari Saqti, Al Harith Al Muhassibi, Bayazid Bastami, Marouf Khalkhi and Ibrahim Al Khawass. The revolution of religious thought engendered through the Sufism of this time did not go without causing some reactions. Certain attitudes of the Sufis were not considered to be very orthodox. The crisis culminated in the famous case of Al Hallaj, who was executed for making what were considered to be heretical remarks in public whilst in a state of spiritual intoxication (sukr).

Sufism - Formalisation of Philosophies of Sufism

Sufism was now recognized and understood by virtue of the spiritual values that it propagates, and because of the intellectual efforts of the great thinkers of this time. These scholars used all due discretion when they addressed matters of high spirituality. They respected the social and cultural hierarchies of their time, and spoke to everyone according to their level of understanding.

This time was marked primarily by a proliferation in the number of treaties on Sufism and in particular by the personality of Al Ghazali, considered by some as the greatest philosopher of Sufism. His works influenced influential Western thinkers such as Kant. His famous treatises - the "Reconstruction of Religious Sciences," the "Alchemy of Happiness," and other works - set out to convince the Islamic world that Sufism and its teachings originated from the Qur'an, and were compatible with mainstream Islamic thought and theology. It was Al Ghazali who bridged the gap between traditional and mystical Islam. It was around 1000 CE that the early Sufi literature, in the form of manuals, treatises, discourses and poetry, became the source of Sufi thinking and meditations. Another very important Sufi of that period was Ibn Arabi . Ibn Arabi was a contemporary of the Andalusian philosopher Ibn Rushd (Averroes). The relations and relationship between this exceptional trio ( Ghazali, Ibn Rushd and Ibn Arabi ) is worthy of study. Ibn Arabi met with Ibn Rushd and attended his burial. At their first meeting, Ibn Rushd (Averroes) was an elderly man renowned for his books of learning and Ibn Arabi was a young man known as a ‘wali’ (saint). Contrary to the traditional view that a man must pass through three stages (sharia, tariqa and haqiqah) to reach realization, Ibn Arabi received the ‘fath’ (literally ‘the opening’ or direct Gnostic knowledge) when he was barely ten years old. It was only thereafter that he followed the tariqa (the spiritual way) and acquired book knowledge. Ibn Rushd is to some extent the ‘father’ of modernistic thought, and Ghazali and Ibn Arabi the ‘fathers’ of post-modernist thought.

The Malamatiyya (the blameworthy) order can be considered a proto-Sufi order that arose in the 9th century CE before the crystallization of the Sufi orders.

Sufism - Propagation of Sufism

It was during 1200 - 1500 CE that Sufism enjoyed a period of intense activity in various parts of the Islamic world. Hence this period is considered as the "Classical Period" or the "Golden Age" of Sufism. Lodges and hospices soon became not only places to house Sufi students and novices but also places for "spiritual retreat" for practising Sufis and other mystics. This period is characterized by the propagation of Sufism starting from its centre in Baghdad in Iraq, from where it spread towards Persia , India , North Africa & Muslim Spain. It is characterized by tests of conciliation between Sufism and the other Islamic sciences (sharia, fiqh, etc.) and starting of the Sufi brotherhoods (turuq).

One of the first orders to originate in this period was the Yasawi order, named after Khwajah Ahmed Yesevi in modern Kazakhstan. The Kubrawiya order, originating in Central Asia, was named after Najmeddin Kubra, known as the "saint-producing shaykh" , since a number of his disciples became great shaykhs themselves. The most prominent Sufi master of this era is Abdul Qadir Jilani, the founder of the Qadiriyyah order in Iraq. Others included Rumi, founder of the Mevlevi order in Turkey, Sahabuddin Suharwardi in Asia minor, Moinuddin Chishti in India . Although each order had a regional flavour, their fundamental teachings and practices remained substantially the same.

After having gained influence over the whole of the central Islamic world, the brotherhoods (turuq) became the focus for Islam in the new territories that came under Muslim domination or influence. This included the Indo-Malay territories in the East, and West Africa and Andalusia in the West. The brotherhoods made a significant contribution throughout the centuries in presenting the true face of Islam – the Islam of beauty and love.

Sufism not only represented a practical and specific stream of religious thought, but also played an important cultural role in Islam. It played an important role in the development of literature, in Persian, Turkish and Urdu. Sufism also appears in other art forms, such as dance and music (like Qawwali ) and the Indo-Persian miniatures which decorate the Philosopher's stones in verse and prose). It became an integral and fundamental element of religious thought and Islamic sensitivities, and became fully absorbed into the culture of the time.

Sufism - Modern Sufism

This period includes the effects of modern thoughts , science & philosophy on Sufism, and the advent of Sufism to the West. Important Sufis of this period include Inayat Khan , Idries Shah, Bawa Muhaiyaddeen, Muzaffer Ozak, Javad Nurbakhsh, Hisham Kabbani , Khawaja Shams ud din Azeemi , Nuh Ha Mim Keller, Abdullah Harraiyy, Samuel L. Lewis and Shaykh Sidi Muhammad al-Jamal who have in great measure been responsible for the continued introduction and spread of the Sufi path in the modern West.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "History of Sufism", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki