Sufi Research Articles

Character Education in Islamic Sufism Perspective

Abstract
 This study comprehensively explores the role and relevance of Sufism-based approaches to character education as a valuable framework for shaping individual and community character from an Islamic perspective. This study uses the literature study method with an integrative literature analysis approach to obtain comprehensive results in identifying and evaluating critical concepts related to character education from the perspective of Islamic Sufism. The results of this study stated that character education based on Islamic Sufism has excellent potential to form individuals who are responsible, moral, and ethical. Through a basic understanding of Sufism in character education, individuals are taught to have a profound moral awareness and strong ethical values as the foundation of their actions. The practice of Sufism in character education creates individuals who are more humble, thoughtful, and able to reflect on their activities honestly and focus on continued personal growth. Applying Sufism-based character education in everyday life connects moral and ethical principles with concrete steps in society, creating better relationships with fellow human beings, nature, and the spiritual world. Thus, character education based on Islamic Sufism can positively contribute to creating a more inclusive, fair, peaceful, and harmonious society in an increasingly complex world.
 
 Abstrak
 Kajian ini secara komprehensif mengeksplorasi peran dan relevansi pendekatan pendidikan karakter berbasis tasawuf sebagai kerangka kerja yang berharga untuk membentuk karakter individu dan masyarakat dalam perspektif Islam. Kajian ini menggunakan metode studi pustaka dengan pendekatan analisis literatur secara integratif untuk mendapatkan hasil yang komprehensif dalam mengidentifikasi dan mengevaluasi konsep-konsep kunci yang terkait dengan pendidikan karakter dalam perspektif tasawuf Islam. Hasil kajian ini menyatakan bahwa pendidikan karakter berbasis tasawuf Islam memiliki potensi besar untuk membentuk individu yang bertanggung jawab, bermoral, dan beretika. Melalui pemahaman dasar tasawuf dalam pendidikan karakter, individu diajarkan untuk memiliki kesadaran moral yang mendalam dan nilai-nilai etika yang kuat sebagai landasan tindakan mereka. Praktik tasawuf dalam pendidikan karakter menciptakan individu yang lebih rendah hati, bijaksana, dan mampu merenungkan tindakan mereka dengan kejujuran serta berfokus pada pertumbuhan pribadi yang berkelanjutan. Penerapan pendidikan karakter berbasis tasawuf dalam kehidupan sehari-hari menghubungkan prinsip-prinsip moral dan etika dengan tindakan konkret dalam masyarakat, menciptakan hubungan yang lebih baik dengan sesama manusia, alam, serta dunia spiritual. Dengan demikian, pendidikan karakter berbasis tasawuf Islam dapat memberikan kontribusi positif dalam menciptakan masyarakat yang lebih inklusif, adil, damai, dan harmonis di tengah dunia yang semakin kompleks.

Hermeutical Analysis on Ibn Arabi's Poems

The purpose of this research was to analyze or interpret Ibn Arabi’s poems on Tarjuman Al-ashwaq. The method used in this research is a qualitative descriptive method with content analysis, by analyzing poems with a hermeneutic approach. This abstract explores the use of hermeneutical analysis in interpreting the poems of Ibn Arabi, a prominent Sufi philosopher and poet. Hermeneutical analysis is a method of interpretation that focuses on the meaning and significance of a text. The poems of Ibn Arabi’s poems have many symbolism and metaphors that are rooted in Islamic mysticism, and hermeneutical analysis provides a framework for understanding the deep spiritual and philosophical themes in his poems. Through this approach, the abstract examines the various layers of meaning in Ibn Arabi's poems, including the spiritual insights they offer, the relationship between the individual and the divine, and the concept of divine love. Overall, this abstract highlights the importance of hermeneutical analysis in unlocking the profound and complex meaning of Ibn Arabi's poems.

SINTREN’S SACRED CADENCE: Journeying into the Mystical Dimensions of Spiritual Rhythms

This article explores the mystical dimension within the art of Sintren. This research utilizes a qualitative approach, referring to Annemarie Schimmel's work on Islamic mysticism, and includes in-depth analysis of Sintren performances, as well as field research involving practitioners, artists, and audiences to explore their spiritual experiences and perceptions of Sintren. This research has found that Sintren art serves as a real expression of mysticism in Javanese culture, transcending mere ritual and worship to encompass profound spiritual experiences and a quest for the presence of the Transcendent. Through singing, dance movements, and symbolic language, Sintren art invites its audience to connect with the Divine and encounter profound mystical moments. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the correlation between art and spirituality in traditional cultures, emphasizing the significance of valuing and studying intricate cultural legacies.

A Comparative Analysis of Cultural Terms in Arabic-Javanese Religious Texts Through the Lens of al-Hikam Aphorisms Translation

Local wisdom stood as a cornerstone of Indonesia's cultural richness. Regrettably, this invaluable asset, particularly in the form of "translation products," was overlooked and underappreciated. Despite Indonesia boasting a substantial collection of Arabic religious texts translated into Javanese, utilizing the pegon script, these Arabic-Javanese texts demanded preservation, scholarly exploration, and development grounded in specific theoretical frameworks. This research undertook a comparative analysis of "cultural terms" within religious texts, focusing on al-Hikam aphorisms translated from Arabic (L1) into both Indonesian and Javanese (L2). The primary objective was to dissect and analyze the local wisdom and Islamic Sufism moral values embedded in al-Hikam aphorisms through translation. The study drew on translations of words, phrases, clauses, and sentences from carefully selected sources related to cultural terms, including books and various Arabic-Javanese translation dictionaries. Employing a purposive sampling method, data collection followed a meticulous process. Qualitative data analysis unfolded through four pivotal stages: (1) domain analysis, (2) taxonomy analysis, (3) componential analysis, and (4) cultural theme analysis. The findings, gleaned from lexicography study and semantic analysis of translation, revealed the existence of two translation ideologies shaping cultural terms in Arabic-Javanese religious texts: domestication ideology and foreignization ideology. This research underscored that translation products were inseparable from the ideological dimensions of foreignization and domestication. Foreignization endeavored to assimilate source language elements into the target language, while domestication integrated original components with local elements. This research contributed to a deeper understanding of how foreignization and domestication shaped the depiction of local wisdom in Arabic-Javanese religious texts.

Impact of Sufi Movement on Socio-religious Life During the Medieval Period: Rise and Spread of Sufism Movement in India

Sufism develops the esoteric and exoteric dimensions of spiritual practice to establish deep devotion, love as passion; Instead of Namaz, Hajj and celibacy, poetry, song and dance, worship and turning away from God are the norm. Like the Bhakti movement, the Sufi movement also came into its effective form in the medieval period, although its background can be seen only in the seventh-eighth century. Similarly, like the Bhakti movement, the Sufi movement was not an attempt to establish any new religion but was a peaceful campaign of Islam.

Aktualisasi Sufisme dan Masa Depan Pendidikan Islam Modern Era Society 5.0

Education always develops following the dynamics of people's lives, Islamic education is faced with big challenges after the industrial revolution 4.0 era, then "is surprised by the emergence of the era of society 5.0 where at this time there appears a "learning society" and a society with knowledge (knowledge). society). This qualitative study aims to find out how to actualize Sufism and the future of modern Islamic education in the era of society 5.0. The world of education takes a large part of the teachings of Islamic Sufism because Sufism teaches respect for fellow creatures of God without discriminating against a background, leading people to be tolerant and upholding peace. With data collection methods, namely observation, and interviews. The results of the research information that Islamic education will form Insan Kamil, which has a close relationship with the essence of modern Sufism, namely with the creation of life, and simplicity (zuhud) from within a modern Sufism, which is based on the principle of monotheism, so that it can realize an attitude of piety, which later will maintain good relations with God, fellow humans, the universe or the surrounding environment. From the results of the research that has been submitted, it is hoped that in modern conditions and the era of society 5.0, the practice of Sufi is very necessary, but the meaning is not as narrow as what has been understood, meaning Sufi does not mean isolating oneself from communication in the mass media. People with different beliefs, different languages, cultures, and ethnicities, are still human beings who must be respected, appreciated, and accepted for their existence.

Between Sufism and Marxism: Social Religious Movements in Twentieth Century Minangkabau

<h2><span lang="EN-US">The Sufi movement in Minangkabau in the 20th century was influenced by Marxism. In some Muslim scholars' views, Marxism could not possibly be in line with Islam. On the ground, Islam and Marxism were able to act in dialectic as a weapon against colonialism that hit the entire Muslim society at the time. In Minangkabau, which has an Islamic view of life, the ideology of Marxism spread rapidly and captured the attention of the public, including the Sufis. To analyze this study uses the theory of social action by Max Weber, which is divided into four types, traditional action, affective action, instrumental rationality, and value rationality. Based on the traditional type, the Sufi tried to follow their teachers, as well as the tradition of the Padri, who went against colonialism. Through affective actions, the Sufis demonstrated a strong emotional bond to the system that exists in the Sufi tradition. Using instrumental rationality, they were consciously able to carry out the resistance rationally after seeing the available resources. In terms of rationality of value, the Sufis want to receive the reward for their <em>jihad</em> (<em>mujahada</em>), as had been done by the other Sufis before them</span></h2>

Revealing the Sanctity of the Eternal Cosmic Hierarchy: A Comparative Analysis of Javanese Mysticism and Islamic Sufism

Revealing the Sanctity of the Eternal Cosmic Hierarchy: A Comparative Analysis of Javanese Mysticism and Islamic Sufism

Indonesian Javanese Cosmology and its Transformation in Social Tradition and Built Environment

The research focuses on how the teaching of different faiths was blended into Javanese-Nusantara culture and has created a culture with a peaceful and moderate Islamic image that is different from radical Islam which has generated Is-lamic phobias in many countries. This research examines how Javanese cosmology (syncretism of Hindu - Buddha - Islam) had been translated in social space and built-environment. The second is to describe how the system in Java successfully harmonized different faiths into Javanese culture. This study was a purposeful qualitative study that focused on traditional communities and two prominent existing Kingdoms of Surakarta and Yogyakarta in Java. Observation, in-depth interviews, and reviews on literature and documents of classical authors in Islamic Sufism were conducted to collect and compile data. The results show that the cultural process of Javanese prefers similarities rather than emphasizing differences between faiths. Converting faith from Hindu or Buddha to Islam did not necessarily cause conflicts and hostilities. The study underlined that the Javanese’s understanding of cosmology at the micro and macro level, orientation or qiblah, and spiritual axis found similar mystical knowledge between Islam and the pre-Islam (Hindu-Buddha). This syncretism process created Kejawen culture and moderate Islam in Nusantara. Islam Nusantara is recently used as a paradigm by the largest Islamic organization in Indonesia

Mystical and Archetypal Journeys in Leila Aboulela’s Bird Summons

This article aims at exploring the significance of intertwining the mystical and the archetypal journey structures in Leila Aboulela’s novel, Bird Summons (2019). It highlights the author’s indebtedness to Islamic Sufi tradition and shows how she appropriates Farid ud-din Attar’s mystical pilgrimage of the seven valleys to a postmodern context where three Arab-British female characters attain spiritual transcendence. On the other hand, the article employs Joseph Campbell’s structure of the archetypal journey narratives to explicate the relationship between the narrative structure and the author’s chief thematic concerns. Campbell’s seventeen stages of the “Monomyth,” or the “hero’s journey,” illuminate Aboulela’s proficient projection of the characters’ spiritual quest in their physical movement from the city into the forest. England performs a cultural contact zone which entices the protagonists to overcome their identity crises caused by traumatic experiences, acute sense of displacement, and nostalgia. The success of their physical journey to Lady Evelyn Cobbold’s grave functions as an allegory for the redemptive impact of spirituality which ultimately empowers them to become more functional individuals and to integrate into English society. The study concludes that Aboulela’s deliberate fusion of Islamic journey structure with a Western one attests to the author’s belief in the universality of Islam and the possibility of religious tolerance and intercultural coexistence.

The doublespeak of ‘leave no one behind’: Implications for religious inequality in Hindu and Muslim pastoralist communities in India

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development pledged to ‘leave no one behind’ (LNOB). This article suggests that LNOB can be a form of ‘doublespeak’, susceptible to being used to mask ideologies and policies that worsen social, political and religious divisions. Despite stated commitments to LNOB, both Agenda 2030 and the Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of India adhere to narrow models of development that fail to address and exacerbate the growing problem of religious and other inequalities. This article argues for reclaiming LNOB’s radical potential by conceptualising it as an empty signifier that takes on meaning through the hegemonic struggle to articulate what ‘left behind’ means. It develops this argument through a case study of Hindu Nationalist developmental normativity and two mobile pastoralist communities in Gujarat: Hindu Rabaris and Sufi Muslim Fakirani Jats. The empirical data show that in Gujarat’s marketised neo-liberal land regime, mobile pastoralism as a livelihood is increasingly stressed and liable to be constructed as ‘left behind’. Simultaneously, the Hindu and Sufi religious practices that shaped pastoralists’ relationships with land and animals are being transformed and, framed by the BJP government’s promotion of a Hindu nationalist religious identity, are shifting towards adoption of communal Hindu and Muslim identities that exacerbate social and religious inequalities, with particular effects on women. The paper concludes that LNOB has potential to tackle religious and other inequalities and generate a more radical and democratic politics of development if the range of demands that are met by this ‘empty signifier’ is broadened to challenge the hegemonic representations that dominate, and religion’s centrality in this struggle is recognised.

Mysticism and Ethics in Islam ed. by Bilal Orfali, Atif Khalil, and Mohammed Rustom (review)

Mysticism and Ethics in Islam ed. by Bilal Orfali, Atif Khalil, and Mohammed Rustom (review)

THE ROLE AND PROSPECTS OF SUFISM IN INTER-CIVILIZATIONS DIALOGUE: ROGER GARAUDY AS MODEL

Sufism, in its essence, delineates the intricate relationship between humanity and the divine, entailing acts of worship, ethical comportment, and adherence to the divine injunctions. It is, at its core, a spiritual introspective voyage, a quest to unravel metaphysical and moral truths. Islamic Sufismunveils profound prospects within the realm of inter-civilizations dialogue. It stands as a multifaceted dimension of Islamic spirituality and belief, plumbing the depths of monotheism while striving to harmonize human volition with the divine decree. Within the tapestry of Sufism, life, in all its multifarious dimensions, finds convergence within the unity of the Divine. Islamic Sufism furnishes solutions to a panoply of universal human quandaries. Simultaneously, it lays the groundwork for understanding the other, transcending the boundaries of ethnicity, gender, or creed. It constitutes the bedrock upon which robust inter-civilization dialogues can be founded. Within its embrace, individuals liberate themselves from the parochialism of isolation, heralding an era of security, and enabling the edifice of individual and collective human stability, thus facilitating the construction of a holistic global order. Roger Garaudyposits that Sufism emerges as a profound ontological framework, liberating individuals from a gamut of determinative and constraining forces that often impede the individual's trajectory towards God. Through the prism of Sufism, one transcends the confines of idolatry, casting off the shackles of unbridled desires, and in the process, attaining an acute recognition of the omnipotence of God. Sufism amalgamates introspection with praxis, striving to attain equilibrium and concord among diverse peoples and civilizations, all while honoring the distinctiveness and fundamental tenets of each. This fusion ultimately furnishes the scaffolding for a common terrain, one that champions coexistence, intellectual and cultural exchange, whilst rejecting all manifestations of parochialism and violence, and thus serving as the crucible for the dissemination of global peace and security. This odyssey commences with the discerning and enlightened self, one that is endowed with the discernment of truths.

The Urgency of Renewing Islamic Sufism (Neo-Sufism) Fazlur Rahman's Perspective in the Discourse of Modernity

Problems between modern life and Sufism concepts that tend to be extreme. is still a hot topic because it is always discussed in various scientific disciplines. To answer this problem, Fazlur Rahman with his concept of Neo-Sufism explains how this concept is understood and the researcher wants to write down how to practice the Sufi lifestyle in the midst of modernity from the perspective of the figure in question. In this study the authors used a qualitative approach which was classified into library research using descriptive data analysis. From this method, researchers process and analyze to obtain data. Based on the research results obtained, Fazlur Rahman's Neo-Sufism is an attempt at socio-moral reconstruction of Muslims or in short the concept of Sufism which is based on three basic principles, namely: Referring to the normativity of the Qur'an and Sunnah, making the Prophet and the salaf as- Sholihin as a role model in its application, is principled in the attitude of tawazun in Islam (inner religious appreciation that wants to live an active life and be involved in social practice). Fazlur Rahman said that what we need to do at this point in practicing the Sufi lifestyle is to strengthen our faith, in accordance with the principles of the Islamic creed, the same evaluation of worldly life and spiritual life, continuing to participate in political activities, using property according to with moral and social needs and improve morale through dhikr and muroqobah techniques.

Rose Blossoms, Ashura Pudding, and a “Golden Trophy:” Embodied Material Traces of Islamic Mysticism in Ottoman Hungary

This study examines three of the most iconic sites associated with Islamic mysticism, or Sufism, in Ottoman Hungary. These are three mausoleums located in Buda, Pécs, and Turbék, near Zigetvár. The first two are the final resting places of the Sufi mystics known as Gül Baba and Idris Baba. The third is Sultan Süleyman’s mausoleum next to a Sufi dervish lodge, the foundations of which were uncovered during recent excavations. The research sheds light on the (embodied) material practices associated with these sites, as well as their sensory engagement and synaesthetic experiences. The bodies of the spiritual leaders, presented in the first two cases, serve as living sites of mystical experiences, both through self-destructive acts graphically represented on their bodies, and through bodily miracles such as hypercorporeality, multilocality, and dream visions. The third case concerns the body of a secular and a spiritual leader, the temporary burial of his disemboweled and embalmed body in the mausoleum at Turbék, and the tradition that his heart and entrails were kept in a reliquary-like vessel at the site, which interestingly paralleled contemporary Habsburg customs. Building on Thomas Csordas (1990) and Manuel Vásquez (2011), I explore the role of human and non-human “supernatural” actors interacting in these mystical networks, focusing on the role of their embodiment and materiality, their movement and their physically fragmented bodies.

The Spiritual Teachings of Zakariyyā Kāndhlavī (d. 1982) in Fażāʾil-i Durūd Sharīf

Abstract Although the influential transnational Deobandi missionary organisation Tablīghī Jamāʿat is scarcely portrayed in contemporary popular media as a “Sufi movement,” the elders of the trend – such as the late Zakariyyā Kāndhlavī (d. 1402/1982) – were staunch Sufi shaykhs. Therefore, it is not surprising to find that one of the core texts of the Tablīghī Jamāʿat – Kāndhlavī’s Fażāʾil-i ʿAmāl – is full of many distinctly Sufi concepts. In the following essay, I look into the spiritual themes found in that particular volume of Kāndhlavī’s aforementioned work which deals specifically with the virtuous act of sending blessings upon the Prophet. In doing so, we will see that the Tablīghī Jamāʿat – deeply rooted in Sufi thought as it is – is very far removed from the Wahhabism with which it is occasionally associated in popular Western imagination.

Entre o Império do Mali e o «Islão marítimo». O impacto dos legados e das literacias islâmicas na África portuguesa

The article presents the impact of the Islamicate populations and literacies in Portuguese colonial literature and scholarship. The main ethnic group that focused the attention of the colonisers were the aggressive, dominant Fulani portrayed in the novels of Fausto Duarte, Auá and A Revolta. Their usages and traditions were studied by the first Portuguese ethnographers and ethnohistorians with almost satisfactory results. On the other hand, Islam in the oriental part of the Portuguese colonial empire (Mozambique) was much less understood. The Portuguese paid greater attention to the aggressive, jihadist movements in West Africa than to the relatively less conspicuous Sufi movements that developed in the port cities and islands along the East African coast. Overall, the process of Islamicization of the territories controlled by the Portuguese went on unhindered or even accelerated during the colonial period.

Islamic Sufism in Malaysia (Origins and Major Sufi Orders)

Islamic Sufism in Malaysia (Origins and Major Sufi Orders)

Халил Рахимов. Фрагменты из «Защиты избранников Аллаха от поношений заблудших людей» (Химайат ал-авлийа’ мин иханат ал-агвийа’)

The present article reveals insufficiently studied aspects of Islamic Mysticism (Sufism) in Russia’s Volga-Ural region at the end of the 19th – beginning of the 20th century in the context of modernization in late imperial Russia. A special attention is paid to the analysis of the contribution made by pedagogue, Sufi and scholar Khalil Rahimov to moderate Muslim reformism. He led extramural polemic with outstanding Russian Muslim reformists on the ways of development of the Muslim community, the role of Islamic Mystical tradition (Sufism) in the life of Muslims. He criticized their religious and philosophical teachings and views on the issues of faith and reason, the adaptation of scientific achievements and cultural models of advanced countries. Khalil Rahimov believed that Muslim education, culture and society should be developed without undermining the foundations of religion. Alongside the research, the article provides a Russian annotated translation of excerpts from Khalil Rahimov’s book “Himayat al-awliya’ min ihanat al-agwiya’” [The Protection of the Saints from the abuse of erring men].

IBN ARABI'S CREATIVE IMAGINATION IN ODHY POETRY OF SUFISM FIGURES IN HIS ANTHOLOGY RAHASIA SANG GURU SUFI

This research aims to analyze the Sufism figure in Odhy poetry anthology Rahasia Sang Guru Sufi through Ibn Arabi's creative imagination. The Sufism figure has an important role in the Sufism discourse, and creative imagination is related to literary discourse. Ibn Arabi’s creative imagination combined indicated Ibn Arabi himself and his imagination. Ibn Arabi’s thought is compatible with the literature and applied as a theoretical approach to mystical literature, namely the work of Odhy, the Sufism figure poetry. Those terms denote part and relate to Sufism studies, especially a murshid (guru) to guide the spiritual guidance through stations until the peak. Those path finders indicate the creative imagination that Odhy used in his poetry collection; at the same time, the literature has related to that imagination. This research reveals the mutual connection between literature and Islamic mysticism based on imagination. This figure is a person who wrote down his role in the discourse and history of Sufism. The data on Sufism figures are collected through the descriptive method from the primary source of those anthologies. Besides, the historical approach explains his poetries in those anthologies. This research found the Sufism figures as a thought in Islamic Mysticism in history through Ibn Arabi’s creative imagination and an image resource in literature.