The Donkey's Jihad on 'Sufism'

Greetings, my two-legged friends,

Long time readers (yes, plural!) would remember that one of the categories for labelling my posts was 'Sufism'. However,as of late I have deleted this as a category as replaced it with the term 'Tasawwuf'.

Though I was always aware of the superior appropriateness of this latter term, I was content to use 'Sufism', as it more or less served its taxonomical purpose, or so I thought, plus the fact that it is a much more familiar word with non-Muslims.

But this recent change is not just the outcome of pedantry. The words we choose to use have very real effects in life outside of the printed page or internet. I have noted as much in previous posts. Rather, my motivation comes from the realisation of the harms such careless use of language may produce.

The prevailing image of tasawwuf in the West is of whirling dervishes and fire-walking fakirs. Of the (often atrociously watered-down) poetry of Rumi (qaddasah Allahu sirrah, may God sanctify his mystery) and songs about love and wine. Tassawuf is seen as a kind of 'Islam-lite', a benign heresy, amusing distraction for spiritually-starved Westerners and happy-clappy solution to everything that is wrong with 'Muhammadanism'.

This is in complete ignorance of its central role in Islamic spiritual life. Tasawwuf is not some motely collection of eccentric practices. Rather, it is the internal dimension of worship itself.

It can be said that Islam consists of three parts, each with its corresponding science. The first, most basic element is Islam itself, used in its sense as a verb, meaning the act of submission to the Will of God. The science of Islam is fiqh, or religious jurisprudence. The second element is iman, or faith, a confidence in belief which comes as a logical outcome to the act of submission. Its corresponding science is aqidah or creed. The final element is ihsan, the perfection of worship. There is a hadith in the collection of Sahih Muslim which states this beautifully:

As we sat one day with the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace), a man in pure white clothing and jet black hair came to us, without a trace of travelling upon him, though none of us knew him.

He sat down before the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) bracing his knees against his, resting his hands on his legs, and said: "Muhammad, tell me about Islam." The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said: "Islam is to testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and to perform the prayer, give zakat, fast in Ramadan, and perform the pilgrimage to the House if you can find a way."

He said: "You have spoken the truth," and we were surprised that he should ask and then confirm the answer. Then he said:
"Tell me about true faith (iman)," and the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) answered: "It is to believe in Allah, His angels, His inspired Books, His messengers, the Last Day, and in destiny, its good and evil."

"You have spoken the truth," he said, "Now tell me about the perfection of faith (ihsan)," and the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) answered: "It is to worship Allah as if you see Him, and if you see Him not, He nevertheless sees you."

~ Sahih Muslim, 1.37, hadith 8

(Incidentally, this man in pure white clothing was actually the angel Gabriel alayhissalam). And what is this corresponding science to ihsan? Yep, you guessed it, tasawwuf.  How tasawwuf is performed can vary greatly, from endeavouring to improve one's concentration during prayer to performance of the famous sema ritual. Regardless, no one can deny its status as the heart of the religion. This heart cannot exist without its body, and the body cannot exist without the heart.

The use of the word 'Sufism' suggests the externalization of tasawwuf into a seperate sect of its own. The heart is ripped out of the body and zombiefied into a kind of fringe-cult which exists in contradiction to Islam. It is held that a 'Sufi' cannot possibly be an orthodox Muslim, and that an orthodox Muslim cannot possibly be a 'Sufi'.

And what is the result of this? Muslims are killing each other over supposed deviancy, and centuries-old spiritual heritage is being erased in the name of purifying the religion. Neoconservative think-tanks advocate the cooption of 'Sufism' to use in a divide-and-conquer strategy to serve the interests of their political masters. And some Muslims play straight into their hands by setting up 'Sufi' organizations defined in opposition to the mainstream, claiming to represent the 'real Islam' as if everybody else's 'Islam' is fake and labelling everybody who disagrees with them as 'Wahabi'.

Screw all this, man.

Sufism is dead, long live tasawwuf.

Recommended reading:

The Place of Tasawwuf in Traditional Islamic Sciences