3
Towards Mysticism
Historical background
The time of the Prophet and his companions as well as that of the Rightly
Guided Caliphs was a period when belief in God and the simple practice of
this belief was considered enough for a life to be judged pious.There was a
moderation to formal worship and to worldly activities. But the rise of the
Umayyads, with their aspiration to worldly riches and power, estranged some
of the single-minded believers who thought that the early prophetic ideals
were being betrayed and abandoned. This gave rise to the early wave of
asceticism and the emergence of figures like Hasan Basri, Rabia Basri and
Ibrahim ibn Adham. Their piety was very personal, their interests other-
worldly and their message simple – one should devote one’s life to God’s
service in order to win His favour and please Him.
However, the concept of overwhelming divine love originally developed
by Rabi’a, and solitary striving in order to reach His Presence, as exemplified
by Ibrahim ibn Adham, began slowly and imperceptibly to acquire mystical
overtones. By the time the Umayyads were replaced by the Abbasids in 750
AD, Sufism was deeply embedded in mystical practices.These practices aimed
at personal visions of God, but, though achieved only through His grace,
they nonetheless required a certain detachment from the world.This could
be best achieved by following the spiritual path of the Sufis and by taking
guidance from the Sufi masters. Beginning with mystical utterances simply
declaring love of God, there was the gradual evolution of a proper and full-
