What is a Sufi?
Updated 2/18/2001</>
My source for some of the material shown here is from various books written by Idries Shah and one by Professor L. F. Rushbrook Williams (Sufi Studies East and West). I offer my appologies in advance if I have incorrectly interpreted anything.
The Sufi sees the truth in every religion
(reprinted with permission from Sufi Ruhaniat International
"If invited to offer prayers in a church, a mosque, a synagogue, or a temple, the Sufi is ready to do so, knowing that all people worship the same God, the Only Being, no matter what Name they use. Yet the Sufi's true house of worship is the human heart, in which the Divine Beloved lives. Sufism is a religion for those who wish to learn religion from it, a philosophy for those wanting wisdom from it, a mystical path for any who would be guided by it to the unfoldment of the Soul, and yet it is beyond all these things. It is the Light of Life, which is the sustenance of every soul." - Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Kahn
Sufism: from the Persian word suf meaning wool. Sufism, by one account, was established just a few hundred years after the crucifixion of Jesus, but the origin of Sufism is claimed to have predated the Islamic era (Abu-Nasr Sarraj in his Kitab al-Luma). Sufi (woolie) is a nickname given to a band of people who wore unbleached wool garments as a symbol of their asceticism (devotion to the teachings of Jesus Christ - to put it mildly). However, the teachings of Jesus Christ at that time in that land were more or less frowned upon by the prevailing religion, Islam, so it was rarely known by outsiders that the band was actually following the teachings of Jesus Christ. In the Islamic culture of that day, death to a non Islam believer (an "infidel") was considered to be doing them a favor. To this day, "outsiders" still believe that a Sufi is of the Islamic, or Muslim, faith. A Sufi may also profess to be a Christian, a Buddhist, a Jew, or practice no religion at all. In effect, at the heart of a Sufi is no religion, having been replaced with a higher ideal of spirituality and a personal experience of God.
The classical definition of Sufism is that it is the inner, esoteric, mystical, or purely spiritual dimension of the religion of Islam. After studying Sufism I find that this can also be said of any other religion. I stand on the premise that Sufism is not a religion. Sufism can more properly be identified as the product of diverse philosophical and spiritual influences and goes beyond what any religion teaches. Nevertheless, the practice of any given religion may be essential to the Sufi student in learning (remembering) his/her true nature. To espouse any particular religion as the only path for a Sufi is to make a grave mistake. One religion may be better than another, but only to a given Sufi student at a given moment in his/her life. Change is essential in the Sufi way.
Because a Sufi cannot be connected solely with Islam, their numbers are literally unknown as a public statistic, but they may be counted in the many, many millions.
There are several "bands" of Sufis in existence today. Each has developed a "practice" that particularly suits the people studying under that band's leadership. One of them is famous for the Whirling Dervishes, or Sufi dancers. No one band is better than another unless what you are looking for is contemporary learning, as most Sufi "schools" today are immersed in traditional teachings as opposed to working with the students individually on their current needs. All true Sufi practices and teachings have only one purpose in mind: to awaken the inner self. A fully "aware" Sufi is known as a master, the term being handed down from the old days when a leader was called 'master'. But this is not unlike the 'master' status of a tradesman.
Among the required practices of a Sufi are humility, dedication, abstinence, restraint, and obedience. These are known to Sufis as "virtues" rather than "values".
A Sufi master is believed to posses special "powers", some of which may be attributed only to Jesus. But no one can prove or disprove that a Sufi has such powers because a real Sufi master will never admit to having such powers publicly. However, there are many fabled stories of such Sufi powers. Sufis, whether a master or not, would not display their gifts as a token of their status, nor would they use it to impress anyone, for such a display would immediately place them in the position of being a non-Sufi. It just isn't done that way. They hold their status (if there be any) secret probably because the masses simply wouldn't accept anyone other than Jesus as having such "higher" power. As might be expected in any religious order, to have such power and not be in a position of authority is "dangerous". By and large, and most likely for their own safety, Sufis do not seek such positions.
To protect their early writings from detection and destruction, Sufis adopted an extremely sophisticated form of code or encryption in their writing. This code was borrowed from earlier successful codes and enhanced by the Sufis for their purposes. Using words as symbols, a simple story contains several levels of interpretation that reveal to the student what is needed for his or her spiritual development.
Sufism is regarded as a cult by most Christian churches. The only reasoning behind this may be because that a Sufi believes that he and God are one, just as Christ taught (but the Christians deny this teaching declaring that Creator and Created are two distinct entities - forgetting that Love simply IS and that a creation of Love is Love). Sufis have a set of tenets much like what can be found in many religious orders, but the Sufis detest being called a religion. They have no religious text. A Sufi may appear 'religious', but this action comes from their understanding of Truth based on their repentence of forgetting God and accepting Wisdom (implying that one does not gain Divine acceptance by simply practicing a religion). Their knowledge is passed on mostly through stories and guided teachings of the masters and their disciples. A renowned Sufi that most of the Western world is familiar with is Kahlil Gibran, the poet and writer most noted for The Prophet. The Western world so loves his writings that you will find them repeated in many Christian marriage ceremonies.
Recommended Internet sites for Sufi studies:
A comprehensive selection of books on Sufism is available from ISHK .
Recommended reading: books by Idries Shah:
A good introduction to Sufism by Professor L. F. Rushbrook Williams:
And a couple of very technical books on Islam:
For a more complete search of Sufism, see Sufism's Many Paths.
For a (somewhat) comparative philosophical study, see A Course in Miracles. I caution the reader to be aware that in comparing ACIM to Sufism one must have a very open mind and be able to think "outside the box".