A Simple Guide to ISLAM
Tasawwuf – Sufism
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with any relish; as far myself I wish that I were a tree which is
lopped and then devoured.”
The outstanding figure in this early ascetic movement was Hasan of
Basra. It is said that the fear of God seized him so mightily that “it
seemed as though hell-fire had been created for him alone”
Gradually the life of seclusion led on to contemplation, and
contemplation to vision and ecstasy.”
Some Sufis believe in
wahdatul wajud
(the oneness of existence).
They believe that the souls of men differ in degree with the divine
spirit but not in kind. The human soul is a particle of the divine
soul. The spirit of God pervades the universe. It is ever present in
His work (that is creative). God alone is perfect benevolence,
perfect truth, perfect beauty. Love for Him is true love (
ishq-i-
haqiqi
) while love for other objects is illusory love (
ishq-i-majazi
).
The beauties of nature are only a faint reflection of His beauty like
images in a mirror. The Sufi believe that the real existence is only
of mind or spirit. Material substance are just like pictures, leaving
no real existence. So we should never attach ourselves to such
phantoms but attach ourselves only to God. God truely exists in us
as we solely exist in Him. The idea of heavenly beauty is instilled in
human beings. In order to find God in all His glory the mystics
renounce the world and devote themselves entirely to God. Shariah
is the first step that the Sufi has to pass in order to emancipate his
soul and be able to join the greater soul.
The Murid (disciple) observes the shariat and the rites of Islam. He
makes Shaikh his spiritual guide in the full sense of the word. He
