Hamoudeh
18-09-05, 04:56 AM
Assalamu Alaikum
Essentially the 2 words Tasawwuf and Sufism are the same; Tasawwuf is the science as it is called in Arabic, whilst Sufism is the term used in the context of the English language. The -ism in the term may carry a negative undertone but that is caused by the English language, its usage and the orientalist approach to this concept; not the concept itself. Sufism derives from the Arabic term Sufi, which conceptually carries the same meaning as the term Mutasawwif derived from Tasawwuf. The difference is grammatical, the concept remains the same. A further linguistic etymological discussion is not directly relevant.
It should be noted that the term Sufi carries great weight and is not to be commonly or easily applied; such application is often caused due to the influence of orientalism and secterianism. In modern times Tasawwuf is often heavily misunderstood, because of this influence it is often so that Sufism itself comes to be considered secterian by some, of which its secterian followers are then called the Sufis. The reality is very different, though it cannot be denied that Tasawwuf, just as other major sciences, has been misused by certain people that indeed have formed sects and deviated from the mainstream.
But before such deviations or even before such differences can be observed it is essential to understand the meaning of Tasawwuf and the reality it knows in Islam.
This is a rigorously authenticated hadith, described by Imam Nawawi as one of the hadiths upon which the Islamic religion turns. The use of the word "religion" (din) the last words of it, "came to you to teach you your religion" entails that the religion of Islam is composed of the three fundamentals mentioned in the hadith: Islam, or external compliance with what Allah asks of us; Iman, or the belief in the unseen that the prophets have informed us of; and Ihsan, or to worship Allah as though one sees Him.
Thus these are the 3 fundamentals upon which religion is based; Islam as spoken of in this Hadith is systematically approached and achieved through the science of Fiqh. It is in this fashion that Iman relates to Aqida, and that Ihsan relates to Tasawwuf; Tasawwuf is therefore the path to Ihsan, and as much part of Islam as is Fiqh and Aqida.
Sunni Islam, or Ahl al-Sunna wa’l-Jama‘ah, understands the Islamic religion as it has been passed down in an unbroken chain of transmission from teacher to student from the time of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) until today. The way of Sunni Islam is to take the branch of Islam from living jurists who follow one of the four Sunni schools of fiqh: the Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi‘i, and Hanbali schools; the branch of Iman from living scholars belonging to one of the two Sunni schools of ‘aqida: the Ash‘ari and Maturidi schools; and the branch of Ihsan from living masters of one of the many Sufi orders that have emerged over the centuries, such as the Qadiri, Naqshbandi, Shadhili, Chishti, and Rifa‘i tariqas.
The Way of Sunni Islam: Islam, Iman, and Ihsan - Sunni Path.Com (Sunni Islam) (http://www.forumforfree.com/forums/index.php?mforum=ahadunahad&showtopic=260)
The Sufi Turuq (ways) are comparable to other schools in their respective sciences; they are not contradictory and are adhered to at the same time; for example, a Muslim that follows the Shaf`i school in Fiqh, can at the same time follow the Asha`ri school in Aqida and the Naqshabandi way in Tasawwuf. This is possible because Tasawwuf has a place in the sciences of Islam, one of great significance. Further explanations of what precisely Tasawwuf means and the place it has in Islam can for example be found in the following articles:
Tasawwuf is a branch of Islamic knowledge which focuses on the spiritual development of the Muslim.
Allah created his final messenger, Prophet Muhammad , as a source of knowledge for the entire ummah. He was the fountain of Quran, Hadith, tafsir, rhetoric, fiqh, and so on. After the Prophet, the scholars of this ummah carried and propagated each of these branches of knowledge. Because no one person can attain the perfection of the Prophet , who single handedly assumed all of these roles, various branches of the Islamic sciences developed. For example, Imam Abu Hanifah preserved the science of fiqh and after him thousands of scholars continued in his footsteps. Hence these scholars preserved the fiqh of the Prophet . Similarly Imam Bukhari and the other famous scholars of Hadith, preserved the words of the Prophet. The scholars of tajweed preserved the recitation of the Prophet . And, the scholars of Arabic grammar preserved the language of the Prophet .
Along these lines, the Prophet was the model of spirituality for the world. His God-consciousness, deep spirituality, acts of worship, and love for Allah were preserved and propagated by an Islamic science called Tasawwuf. The aim of the scholars of this science was purification of the heart, and development of consciousness of Allah through submission to the shariah and sunnah.
What is Tasawwuf? - Tasawwuf.Org (http://www.tasawwuf.org/basics/what_tasawwuf.htm)
What is Tasawwuf? "Verily, he who has purified the heart is successful and he who has despoiled it has lost." Many people have misunderstandings about tasawwuf. Many think that it is something beyond the Qur'an and Sunnah. Errant Sufis as well as the superficial ulema, although on the opposite ends of the spectrum, are together in holding this mistaken notion. Consequently the first group has shunned the Qur'an and Hadith while the second group has shunned tasawwuf. Actually, although the term tasawwuf, like many other religious terms in use today, evolved later, the discipline is very much part of the Shariah. The department of the Shariah relating to external deeds like salat and zakat is called fiqh while the one dealing with the internal feelings and states of the heart is called tasawwuf. Both are commanded in the Qur'an. Thus while commanding Salat and Zakat, the Qur'an also commands gratefulness and love of Allah and condemns the evil of pride and vanity. Similarly, in the books of hadith, along with the chapters on Ibadat, trade and commerce, marriage and divorce, are to be found the chapters on riya' (show off) takabbur, akhlaq, etc. These commands are as much a mandatory requirement as the ones dealing with external deeds.
On reflection it will be realized that all the external deeds are designed for the reformation of the heart. That is the basis of success in the hereafter while its despoiling is the cause of total destruction. This is precisely what is known technically as tasawwuf. Its focus is tahzeebe akhlaq or the adornment of character; its motive is the attainment of Divine pleasure; its method is total obedience to the commands of the Shariah.
Tasawwuf is the soul of Islam. Its function is to purify the heart from the lowly bestial attributes of lust, calamities of the tongue, anger, malice, jealousy, love of the world, love of fame, *****rdliness, greed, ostentation, vanity, deception, etc. At the same time it aims at the adornment of the heart with the lofty attributes of repentance, perseverance, gratefulness, fear of Allah , hope, abstention, tauheed, trust, love, sincerity, truth, contemplation, etc.
What is Tasawwuf? - Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanwi (http://www.tasawwuf.org/basics/thanwi_tasawwuf.htm)
The historian Ibn Khaldun notes in his Muqaddima:
"This knowledge (Tasawwuf) is a branch of the sciences of Sacred Law that originated within the Umma. From the first, the way of such people had also been considered the path of truth and guidance by the early Muslim community and its notables, of the Companions of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), those who were taught by them, and those who came after them.
It basically consists of dedication to worship, total dedication to Allah Most High, disregard for the finery and ornament of the world, abstinence from the pleasure, wealth, and prestige sought by most men, and retiring from others to worship alone. This was the general rule among the Companions of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) and the early Muslims, but when involvement in this-worldly things became widespread from the second Islamic century onwards and people became absorbed in worldliness, those devoted to worship came to be called Sufiyya or People of Tasawwuf" (Ibn Khaldun, al-Muqaddima [N.d. Reprint. Mecca: Dar al-Baz, 1397/1978], 467).
In Ibn Khaldun’s words, the content of Tasawwuf, "total dedication to Allah Most High," was, "the general rule among the Companions of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) and the early Muslims." So if the word did not exist in earliest times, we should not forget that this is also the case with many other Islamic disciplines, such as tafsir, ‘Koranic exegesis,’ or ‘ilm al-jarh wa ta‘dil, ‘the science of the positive and negative factors that affect hadith narrators acceptability,’ or ‘ilm al-tawhid, the science of belief in Islamic tenets of faith,’ all of which proved to be of the utmost importance to the correct preservation and transmission of the religion.
The Place of Tasawwuf in Traditional Islam - Shaykh Keller (Sufi Mujahiddeen) (http://www.forumforfree.com/forums/index.php?mforum=ahadunahad&showtopic=470)
These but a few examples of works to demonstrate the fashion in which Tasawwuf is explained, and hopefully clarify the misconception that seems to increase in the times we live in today. In final I want to refer to a thread that lists the most famous scholars that have practiced and spoke about Tasawwuf and mention a quote from Imam Malik:
He who practices Tasawwuf without learning Sacred Law corrupts his faith, while he who learns Sacred Law without practicing Tasawwuf corrupts himself. Only he who combines the two proves true.
Tasawwuf Shuyukh (http://www.forumforfree.com/forums/index.php?mforum=ahadunahad&showtopic=376)
Ma`salam
Essentially the 2 words Tasawwuf and Sufism are the same; Tasawwuf is the science as it is called in Arabic, whilst Sufism is the term used in the context of the English language. The -ism in the term may carry a negative undertone but that is caused by the English language, its usage and the orientalist approach to this concept; not the concept itself. Sufism derives from the Arabic term Sufi, which conceptually carries the same meaning as the term Mutasawwif derived from Tasawwuf. The difference is grammatical, the concept remains the same. A further linguistic etymological discussion is not directly relevant.
It should be noted that the term Sufi carries great weight and is not to be commonly or easily applied; such application is often caused due to the influence of orientalism and secterianism. In modern times Tasawwuf is often heavily misunderstood, because of this influence it is often so that Sufism itself comes to be considered secterian by some, of which its secterian followers are then called the Sufis. The reality is very different, though it cannot be denied that Tasawwuf, just as other major sciences, has been misused by certain people that indeed have formed sects and deviated from the mainstream.
But before such deviations or even before such differences can be observed it is essential to understand the meaning of Tasawwuf and the reality it knows in Islam.
This is a rigorously authenticated hadith, described by Imam Nawawi as one of the hadiths upon which the Islamic religion turns. The use of the word "religion" (din) the last words of it, "came to you to teach you your religion" entails that the religion of Islam is composed of the three fundamentals mentioned in the hadith: Islam, or external compliance with what Allah asks of us; Iman, or the belief in the unseen that the prophets have informed us of; and Ihsan, or to worship Allah as though one sees Him.
Thus these are the 3 fundamentals upon which religion is based; Islam as spoken of in this Hadith is systematically approached and achieved through the science of Fiqh. It is in this fashion that Iman relates to Aqida, and that Ihsan relates to Tasawwuf; Tasawwuf is therefore the path to Ihsan, and as much part of Islam as is Fiqh and Aqida.
Sunni Islam, or Ahl al-Sunna wa’l-Jama‘ah, understands the Islamic religion as it has been passed down in an unbroken chain of transmission from teacher to student from the time of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) until today. The way of Sunni Islam is to take the branch of Islam from living jurists who follow one of the four Sunni schools of fiqh: the Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi‘i, and Hanbali schools; the branch of Iman from living scholars belonging to one of the two Sunni schools of ‘aqida: the Ash‘ari and Maturidi schools; and the branch of Ihsan from living masters of one of the many Sufi orders that have emerged over the centuries, such as the Qadiri, Naqshbandi, Shadhili, Chishti, and Rifa‘i tariqas.
The Way of Sunni Islam: Islam, Iman, and Ihsan - Sunni Path.Com (Sunni Islam) (http://www.forumforfree.com/forums/index.php?mforum=ahadunahad&showtopic=260)
The Sufi Turuq (ways) are comparable to other schools in their respective sciences; they are not contradictory and are adhered to at the same time; for example, a Muslim that follows the Shaf`i school in Fiqh, can at the same time follow the Asha`ri school in Aqida and the Naqshabandi way in Tasawwuf. This is possible because Tasawwuf has a place in the sciences of Islam, one of great significance. Further explanations of what precisely Tasawwuf means and the place it has in Islam can for example be found in the following articles:
Tasawwuf is a branch of Islamic knowledge which focuses on the spiritual development of the Muslim.
Allah created his final messenger, Prophet Muhammad , as a source of knowledge for the entire ummah. He was the fountain of Quran, Hadith, tafsir, rhetoric, fiqh, and so on. After the Prophet, the scholars of this ummah carried and propagated each of these branches of knowledge. Because no one person can attain the perfection of the Prophet , who single handedly assumed all of these roles, various branches of the Islamic sciences developed. For example, Imam Abu Hanifah preserved the science of fiqh and after him thousands of scholars continued in his footsteps. Hence these scholars preserved the fiqh of the Prophet . Similarly Imam Bukhari and the other famous scholars of Hadith, preserved the words of the Prophet. The scholars of tajweed preserved the recitation of the Prophet . And, the scholars of Arabic grammar preserved the language of the Prophet .
Along these lines, the Prophet was the model of spirituality for the world. His God-consciousness, deep spirituality, acts of worship, and love for Allah were preserved and propagated by an Islamic science called Tasawwuf. The aim of the scholars of this science was purification of the heart, and development of consciousness of Allah through submission to the shariah and sunnah.
What is Tasawwuf? - Tasawwuf.Org (http://www.tasawwuf.org/basics/what_tasawwuf.htm)
What is Tasawwuf? "Verily, he who has purified the heart is successful and he who has despoiled it has lost." Many people have misunderstandings about tasawwuf. Many think that it is something beyond the Qur'an and Sunnah. Errant Sufis as well as the superficial ulema, although on the opposite ends of the spectrum, are together in holding this mistaken notion. Consequently the first group has shunned the Qur'an and Hadith while the second group has shunned tasawwuf. Actually, although the term tasawwuf, like many other religious terms in use today, evolved later, the discipline is very much part of the Shariah. The department of the Shariah relating to external deeds like salat and zakat is called fiqh while the one dealing with the internal feelings and states of the heart is called tasawwuf. Both are commanded in the Qur'an. Thus while commanding Salat and Zakat, the Qur'an also commands gratefulness and love of Allah and condemns the evil of pride and vanity. Similarly, in the books of hadith, along with the chapters on Ibadat, trade and commerce, marriage and divorce, are to be found the chapters on riya' (show off) takabbur, akhlaq, etc. These commands are as much a mandatory requirement as the ones dealing with external deeds.
On reflection it will be realized that all the external deeds are designed for the reformation of the heart. That is the basis of success in the hereafter while its despoiling is the cause of total destruction. This is precisely what is known technically as tasawwuf. Its focus is tahzeebe akhlaq or the adornment of character; its motive is the attainment of Divine pleasure; its method is total obedience to the commands of the Shariah.
Tasawwuf is the soul of Islam. Its function is to purify the heart from the lowly bestial attributes of lust, calamities of the tongue, anger, malice, jealousy, love of the world, love of fame, *****rdliness, greed, ostentation, vanity, deception, etc. At the same time it aims at the adornment of the heart with the lofty attributes of repentance, perseverance, gratefulness, fear of Allah , hope, abstention, tauheed, trust, love, sincerity, truth, contemplation, etc.
What is Tasawwuf? - Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanwi (http://www.tasawwuf.org/basics/thanwi_tasawwuf.htm)
The historian Ibn Khaldun notes in his Muqaddima:
"This knowledge (Tasawwuf) is a branch of the sciences of Sacred Law that originated within the Umma. From the first, the way of such people had also been considered the path of truth and guidance by the early Muslim community and its notables, of the Companions of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), those who were taught by them, and those who came after them.
It basically consists of dedication to worship, total dedication to Allah Most High, disregard for the finery and ornament of the world, abstinence from the pleasure, wealth, and prestige sought by most men, and retiring from others to worship alone. This was the general rule among the Companions of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) and the early Muslims, but when involvement in this-worldly things became widespread from the second Islamic century onwards and people became absorbed in worldliness, those devoted to worship came to be called Sufiyya or People of Tasawwuf" (Ibn Khaldun, al-Muqaddima [N.d. Reprint. Mecca: Dar al-Baz, 1397/1978], 467).
In Ibn Khaldun’s words, the content of Tasawwuf, "total dedication to Allah Most High," was, "the general rule among the Companions of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) and the early Muslims." So if the word did not exist in earliest times, we should not forget that this is also the case with many other Islamic disciplines, such as tafsir, ‘Koranic exegesis,’ or ‘ilm al-jarh wa ta‘dil, ‘the science of the positive and negative factors that affect hadith narrators acceptability,’ or ‘ilm al-tawhid, the science of belief in Islamic tenets of faith,’ all of which proved to be of the utmost importance to the correct preservation and transmission of the religion.
The Place of Tasawwuf in Traditional Islam - Shaykh Keller (Sufi Mujahiddeen) (http://www.forumforfree.com/forums/index.php?mforum=ahadunahad&showtopic=470)
These but a few examples of works to demonstrate the fashion in which Tasawwuf is explained, and hopefully clarify the misconception that seems to increase in the times we live in today. In final I want to refer to a thread that lists the most famous scholars that have practiced and spoke about Tasawwuf and mention a quote from Imam Malik:
He who practices Tasawwuf without learning Sacred Law corrupts his faith, while he who learns Sacred Law without practicing Tasawwuf corrupts himself. Only he who combines the two proves true.
Tasawwuf Shuyukh (http://www.forumforfree.com/forums/index.php?mforum=ahadunahad&showtopic=376)
Ma`salam