worldly affairs, and prefer to remember the fact that both the Prophet and
his companions supported them and saw to it that they did not lack the
necessities of life. This shows that the Prophet did not disapprove of their
full-time engagement in acts of worship.
The Sufis always laid emphasis on
safa
4
, that is, purification.The Qur’an
has this to say: “He indeed shall be successful who purifies himself’ (87:14)
and ‘He will indeed be successful who purifies his soul, and he will indeed
fail who corrupts his soul.” (91:9-10)
We learn from the Qur’an that God made the human soul perfect and
endowed it with an understanding of what is right and wrong (91:7-8) But,
unfortunately, human life being a trial, it is beset with pitfalls and the soul is
corrupted during its sojourn on earth. To bring it back to its pristine state
requires purification. This action is most pleasing to God, for it shows a
desire to return to and follow the path laid down by Him. Thus the
purification of the soul is essential to attain divine approval.
The only way to win divine approval and become one with the divine
will is to sacrifice one’s life for God: the rite of purification is a necessary
step for one who wants to follow this way.The Sufis call this way a spiritual
path, the path of those “others who would give away their lives in order to
find favour with God. God is compassionate to His servants.” (2:207)
The Sufi way
(Tariqa)
In Sufism, therefore, there is the road (sing.
tariqa
, pl.
turuq
; this term
went on to refer a Sufi order) and mystic travel, or
suluk
. One who
undertakes a journey along this road is called a
salik,
or traveller.The mystical
4
Indeed, some scholars tried mistakenly to link the term
Sufi
with the word
safa,
or purity.
Th e Or i g i n a n d E v o l u t i on o f Su f i s m 14
