Sufism - what is it?

Question

And does anyone have any references I can use to understand it more. Possibly some online communities I can interactively question? Many thanks

Answer 1

suffism was originally practised as basically giving up all wordly and materialistic pleasures in life, eg. houses, luxury etc and living a life of poverty for the sake of God. it was a part of islam although the prophet (peace be upon him) did not live like this and that is why many muslims prefer not to. originally, it went by islam correctly, followed its principles etc but it later, became rather eccentric. the word 'sufi' derived, in arabic from a meaning that meant harsh and poor quality wool.. the poor attires that they chose to wear. suffis were made up of very religious people like Rumi, al ghelaini etc who obviously knew what they were practising and were more aware of their actions.. they attempted to separate the reality (God) from that which was unreal. i.e the world around them. However, later the message of suffism became distorted as marawana and other drugs were brought in so that these sufi 'clerics' could feel that sense of high and dances and music (forbidden by Islam) were brought in... they believed that they would become in a trance etc and some even claimed to see God. however, they mistook these deceptions to be real.. they were only seeing the devil. some clerics became lazy then and felt that because they had done this, they had reached a level that noone had done and became lazy.. they thought that they did not have to pray anymore. the beliefs of suffism is some what contradictory to islam nowadays.. the ideas of pantheism etc have been borrrowed from religions such as hindusim and buddhism.. that one must combine the reality with the unreal which of course cannot be done. as anyone would know, God is one, the creator, and we alone, are His creation... we do not associate ourselves with almighty God. the system of Suffism is also rather 'odd'.. it is quite like Shi'ism (a sect in Islam) where there are hierarchies. there is a supreme 'master' right at the top who must be obeyed at all costs and then he has apprentices.. who pass on their knowledge... from most pious to least.. or beginners... no questions must be asked.. only learn from them. Islam.. views this very differently (orthodox sunnism).. there are no hierarchies.. an imam does not possess any power at all.. he is merely a learned man whom the congregation chooses to lead the prayer. well if you want more info. just type it up.. wikipedia maybe..thanks bye.

Answer 2

Sufism is an Islamic mystical belief. It is not a sect.

Answer 3

The best reference is the literature of Rumi... praise. I love his writings.