Concept Of Sufism Research Articles

An Examination into the Impact of Sufism on Muslim Elites and the Development of Islam in Nigeria

AbstractSufism is a living and dynamic esoteric institution in Islam, as demonstrated by the ever increasing number of its adherents, especially in Nigeria. This article therefore, examines the impact that the Sufimovement orders have made on the Muslims elites and the growth and spread of Islam in Nigeria. In doing so, the concept of Sufism, its place in Islam, and its impact in the world of Islam will be examined. The articles reveals that the Sufis play an important role in the propagation of Islam in Nigeria. Even today, the Sufiorders are still involved in the promotion of Islamic education and the propagation of Islam. This is so because, through the efficacy of prayers derived from it, Sufis were able to solve some personal problems of Muslims in Nigeria. The article concludes that the orders have led many of their members to acquire the necessary discipline before they can acquire deeper knowledge of the true existence of Allah and his relation to Him and the universe.

ФИЛОСОФСКО-ЛИНГВИСТИЧЕСКИЙ АНАЛИЗ ТЕРМИНА СУФИЗМ

Article deals with the linguistic analysis of the concept of Sufism. Different meanings of the notion discussed and a proper definition educed. Etymological and philosophical study of the terms «Sufism» and «Tasawwyf» shows conceptual difference between these two concepts. Genesis of the notion Sufism is complex and multifaceted.

Sufism and the Poetry of Bulleh Shāh

Sufism has been one of the dominant trends in Punjabi culture and literature. Although the basic concepts arrived in India from the Arab lands, Persia and Turkey, it took its own form in India, particularly in the Punjabi speaking region. The present paper intends to focus on the concept Sufism in a historical perspective and then go on to see how Sufism was manifested in the Punjabi poetry of a major Sufi poet Bulleh Sh?h. The paper traces the concept of Sufism to the time of Prophet Mohammad, though it was not welldefined at that time. Through successive generations of Islamic ascetics and saints the concept took a few centuries to develop in its final form. The Paper traces the developments from the time of Prophet Mohammad, which includes his Companions, and then goes on through their disciples onto generations of other followers. Sufism emerged in its present form largely through the efforts of mystics of the Baghdad school. By the end of 10 th century it had grown into a fullfledged discipline to be pursued for its own sake. It came to India around the 14 th century and took deep roots in the country due to its liberal philosophy. It carried its work through various orders that had their own chains or silsilahs, and each of these orders traced their origin to the time of the Prophet. Bulleh Sh?h, the Sufi poet of the 17 th and 18 th century belonged to the Q?dirТyah order of Sufis. His poetry reveals the true sensitivity of a Sufi and it also shows the developmental stages through which Sufi ideals are acquired by a murd (disciple) for his devotion to God through a murshid (master).

Jāmī's Salāmān va Absāl: Political Statements and Mystical Advice Addressed to the Āq Qoyūnlū Court of Sultān Ya‘qūb (d. 896/1490)

This article explores Salāmān va Absāl, one of seven poems which comprise Jāmī's collection of long masnavīs, known collectively as the Haft aurang. The work, which gained some renown outside Iran due to the English version of Edward FitzGerald, has nevertheless received little attention in modern scholarship. The few investigations of Salāmān va Absāl, moreover, have dwelled on its narrative, which tells the story of the carnal attraction of a prince for his wet-nurse, and never situated the work in its historical context or examined its political content. In addition, the allegorical symbolism of the tale, especially its depiction of key stages of the Sufi path, such as the act of repentance, has not been discussed in terms of representing a work of mystical advice. With these concerns in mind, the present article discusses the possibility that the political elements in Salāmān va Absāl complement the advice it gives on becoming a Sufi. Seen from this perspective, it would appear that Salāmān va Absāl correlates the notion of the just ruler to the Sufi concept of the “Perfect Man” to the extent that Jāmī presents the Sufi-king as the ideal medieval Islamic ruler. By implication, the work advises its royal patron, Sultān Ya‘qūb, to repent and embark upon the Sufi path, doing so, Jāmī intimates, would lead Ya‘qūb to realize his rank as God's “true” vicegerent.

Islamic mysticism - sufism

Basic concepts of Sufism are introduced along with pointing out that the cause of occurrence of that original learning should be sought in gradual distancing of the Islamic state and its leaders from the great moral ideals and value system set by the Prophet Mohammed and the first caliphs. The established periodization starts from the classical period dominated by excessive influence of some scholars and the tendency of respecting local traditions, continues with the medieval period marked by systematization and achieving the peak of Sufi thought through acting of a number of great mystics and ends with the modern period characterized by its prevalence and enormous global impact, adapting to constantly changing conditions and efforts for giving an adequate response to the challenges of colonialism, which inevitably led to gradual weakening of Sufism. Overlapping between mysticism, Hellenistic philosophy and other religious systems is also pointed out, as an inexhaustible source of new, original and creative theological syntheses, that significantly dynamized the already established Islamic doctrine prone to repeating fixed patterns, as well as a great contribution of Sufism to the spread of Islam in different parts of the world.

Sufis on Exile and Ghorba: Conceptualizing Displacement and Modern Subjectivity

Sufis' theory of ghorba (estrangement or exile) underlies here a reflection on exile in contemporary Arab cultures. Hence Ibn al-Arabi's speculations on ghorba in Al-Futuhat al-Makkiyya shed a new light on Arjun Appadurai's notion of “ethnoscape.” The Sufi concept of ghorba paves the way for a modern Arab ethnoscape, where the Arab subject experiences transnational movement in the global space without associating this experience with the negative aspects of exile. Ibn al-Arabi dismisses the negative effects of “geographic” displacement. According to his reasoning, an expatriate does not feel estranged anywhere he or she travels, since the world—and the divine—are in continuity with the human subject. The real exile is a psychological experience resulting from the disruption of monist unity and harmony between human and divine, man and the world. This conception of exile challenges nationalist theories of estrangement based on the assumption that a sense of displacement is bound to physical movement out of the national territory. Ghorba is a state in which the subject is far from his or her ethical and spiritual plenitude (thanks to the Sufi mystical unity with the divine), not a geopolitical situation. This conception challenges the dogmatic distinction of House of Islam versus House of War in Arab Islamic Sunni tradition, where the displacement out of the former results in an experience of exile. In modern terms, ghorba—as conceptualized by Sufis—provides a traditional basis helping the modern Arab subject cope with the experience of displacement, by shifting the paradigm of belonging from the realm of geopolitics to that of spirituality and ethics. Thus the construction of a modern postnational Arab subjectivity can be achieved thanks to the investment of the ethnoscape—a virtual space that transcends national boundaries but keeps active a network of affects and cultural references and products unifying an ethnically distinct subject. The Sufi sense of belonging to the whole world makes it politically and ethically acceptable to feel at home outside of one's homeland, without being stripped from one's ethnicity. It adds to this compromise a dimension of spiritual fulfillment, since the horizontal ethnoscape intersects with a vertical spiritual axis, constantly neutralizing nostalgia to the geographic paradise of origins.

PLAYING GOD AND THE ETHICS OF DIVINE NAMES: AN ISLAMIC PARADIGM FOR BIOMEDICAL ETHICS

The notion of 'playing God' frequently comes to fore in discussions of bioethics, especially in religious contexts. The phrase has always been analyzed and discussed from Christian and secular standpoints. Two interpretations exist in the literature. The first one takes 'God' seriously and playing 'playfully'. It argues that this concept does state a principle but invokes a perspective on the world. The second takes both terms playfully. In the Islamic Intellectual tradition, the Sufi concept of 'adopting divine character traits' provides a legitimate paradigm for 'playing God'. This paradigm is interesting because here we take both terms 'God' and 'playing' seriously. It is significant for the development of biomedical ethics in contemporary Islamic societies as it can open new vistas for viewing biotechnological developments.

Universe - Man - Text; The Sufi concept of literature (with special reference to Malay Sufism)

Comment le soufisme a influence au XVII e siecle la litterature malaise : anthropomorphisme de l'expression du parallelisme entre microcosme et macrocosme et conception de l'homme et de l'Univers comme texte ; perception du chemin soufi et des principaux elements dans la transformation de soi en des termes anthropomorphiques ; correlation de ces elements avec le macro- et le microcosme et leur representation en tant que textes, qui permettent, une fois lus, une ascension spirituelle et incluent la structure psycho-somatique humaine

The Naqshbandi Order: A Preliminary Survey of Its History and Significance

the sunna of His Messenger; it is reliving, by inner state and outer deed, the auspicious age of the Messenger and his Companions; it is the very essence of Islam. (1) Such is the definition of Sufism, concise, simple and sober, that is given by a contemporary Turkish master of the Naqshbandi path. It is a definition that many will find surprising and even inadequate, given the complexities of the historical expression of Sufism, and it is, moreover, at variance with numerous concepts of Sufism that have proliferated in the present century, in scholarly circles and beyond. Numerous Orientalists, joined by certain Muslim modernists, have sought to establish an extra-Islamic parentage for Sufism, just as they have seen in the Qur'anic revelation little but an amalgam of Judeo-Christian borrowings,