In the name of Allah, the beneficent and Merciful
A brief Introduction to Sufism
Sufism has been explained and is explained by many people in different ways. Sufism is, in fact, the purification of our nafs, heart and soul as prescribed in the holy Qur'an by Allah. Allah says, "Khadh aflaha man tazakka" (the one who has purified (his nafs) has won. Quran:87:15). May Allah help us to be one among them.
Many are even debating very relevance of Sufism in Islam. You can learn about what the different people
say on Sufism, from the link pages I have provided. For the persons who are questioning
the relevance of Sufism in Islam, I would say, that either their understanding of Sufism
or Islam is wrong. To this simple young man in his twenties, Sufism is love towards Allah; the
love that could not be explained but only experienced. The love for Allah, as preached by
the great Awliyas (Friends of Allah), should burn in our hearts, and it should burn our
own self. Our very existence is from Him which Insha Allah, one can comprehend only with
the help of the Faiz (blessing) of a Sheikh (Spiritual guide). Sufism is the purification of our nafs, heart and soul of all those things that are not liked by Allah. Allah doesn't like anything other than Allah being there. So, Sufism is purifying of our heart from the thoughts of Ghairullah (anything other than Allah) My Sheikh uses to say one story, which would explain what Sufism
is all about from one perspective, Insha Allah. Three men, who strictly adhere to Islam, were talking to each other. Suddenly, the talk about the heaven came up. They started discussing
who are all the people who would be entering heaven. The first person was very pleased
with himself and his amals (actions) that he proclaimed, " Only if I go, anyone else
can go inside Paradise." This statement angered the second one, as he thought that in
no way was he inferior to the first person in following Islam. He said, "No, no, only
if I go, anyone else can go inside heaven." The third person who was watching this
said, "You both are correct. If only the 'I' (thought of the self) goes, you can
enter paradise." The other two accepted that it is important to purify one's heart to please Allah. One has to purify oneself about the thought of the self to please Allah. Yes, the thought of the self, which some say as the ego or nafs,
is our first enemy. And nafs always gives us our thought. Allah wants us to think of Him.
Sufism is the way, which teaches us to think of Allah, so much that we should forget
ourselves. Our Prophet (Peace be upon Him), who is the Habib of Allah, asked us to
remember Allah, so much that others would start to call us as insane people. We hear of
Rumi, Mansoor ibn Hallaj, Muhyaddeen Abdul Qadir jeelani, Khaja Muyinuddin Chishti, Amir Khusroe (RA) and
praise their life and way of living but we never think of what made them so great and so different from
others. Insha Allah, we will try to sort them out but, one thing I want
to underline is, Allah is our sustainer and in no way we are comparable to Him. Some in
the name of Sufism, have gone astray by saying 'Everything is He', which is Ilhad (Kufr - disbelief).
May Allah, save us all from that. Allah is our Rabb (creator and sustainer) and we are His slaves. And I would
like to quote Sheikh Muhyaddeen Ibn Arabi and complete this small write-up: "Al abdu abdun fa in taraka, war Rabbu
Rabbun fa in tanazzal" (A Slave is a slave, even if he reaches the peak and the God is
God, even if He comes down to nadir) (Allah never changes and He does not move up or down
physically. Only people who know how Allah created His creations could understand the
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