Islam
Sufism – What Is It Exactly?
By , Georgetown University (November 2006)
Section: Islam
Key Topics: colonialism, mysticism, asceticism, spirituality, prophecy, saints.
Abstract
Sufism is commonly called mysticism, the mysticism of Islam, but is it mysticism and what is its relation to Islam? Despite diverse expressions and modernist and reformist attempts to disassociate it from Islam, Sufism is the spirituality of Islam. Sometimes saint based, sometimes text based, it aims to bring the soul into relation with the sanctity of the other world, thus orienting it to divine truth. Sufism thus sees itself as the completion of Islam, its living embodiment, in contrast to legal formalism and theological scholasticism, but not in opposition to Muslim laws and doctrines. Its goal is sanctity, embodiment of the godly holiness described by the Qur’an. It is thus a path to saintliness not as perfection of human virtue but as extension of the prophecy of Islam, standing in an integral relation to the ethical and theological outlook of Islam, with which, this article argues, Sufism is finely interwoven.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-8171.2006.00011.x
This article abstract has been viewed 6210 times.
Top 5 related articles
-
Making Sense of ‘Sufism’ in the Indian Subcontinent: A Survey of Trends
By , University of California, Los Angeles
(Vol. 3, October 2008)
Religion Compass -
Modern Qur’anic Hermeneutics
By , Indiana University–Purdue University, Fort Wayne
(Vol. 4, May 2009)
Religion Compass -
Shiism in the Modern Context: From Religious Quietism to Political Activism
By , Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
(Vol. 3, December 2008)
Religion Compass -
Islam in the Age of Globalization
By , Duke University
(Vol. 3, May 2008)
Religion Compass -
The Male Is Not Like the Female (Q 3:36): The Question of Gender Egalitarianism in the Qur’ān
By , Institute of Ismaili Studies
(Vol. 4, June 2009)
Religion Compass
Top 5 Related Blackwell Reference Chapters
Mysticism
Mysticism is a phenomenon known to all religions and religious systems. A definition of mysticism, however, ...
By David B. Perrin
The Pilgrimage to Tembayat: Tradition and Revival in Islamic Mysticism in Contemporary Indonesia
Visiting a holy grave or another spiritually potent site, especially at night, is a favorite practice ...
By Nelly Van Doorn-Harder and Kees De Jong
From The Blackwell Companion to Contemporary Islamic Thought
al-Sanusi, Muhammad ibn AH (ca. 1787–1859)
The al-Sanusi (Senussi), called sanmyyia in Arabic, is a Sufi order founded by Muhammad ibn Ali al-Sanusi, ...
By Andrew J. Waskey
From The International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest
Introducing
The Qur’ān (“Koran” in archaic spelling) is the sacred scripture of Islam. The term qur’ān means “recitation” ...
By Tamara Sonn
Discovering
The Qur’ān, the holy book of Islam, may well be the most powerful book in human history, with the arguable ...
By Christopher Buck