Sufism History

Sufism is the mystical branch of Islam in which Muslims seek divine love and truth through direct personal experience of God. This mystic tradition within Islam developed in several stages of growth, emerging first in the form of early asceticism, based on the teachings of Hasan al-Basri, before entering the second stage of more classical mysticism of divine love, as promoted by al-Ghazali and Attar of Nishapur, and finally emerging in the institutionalised form of today's network of fraternal Sufi orders, based on Sufis such as Rumi and Yunus Emre. At its core, however, Sufism remains an individual mystic experience. A Sufi can be characterized as one who seeks fana' (annihilation of the ego in God, dissolving individual ego-consciousness) followed by baqa' (subsistence in God, returning to ordinary human existence where one's life, character, and actions are entirely sustained by and aligned with the Divine). Both occur without ontological union or indwelling; the union Sufis actually speak of—despite any ecstatic language suggesting otherwise—is strictly one of love, will, and conscious accord. This state is illustrated by many scriptural sections such as Sahih al-Bukhari 6502 (a Hadith Qudsi where God describes the culmination of this closeness): He who bears enmity toward a Friend of Mine (Saint), I have indeed proclaimed war against him. My servant draws not near to Me with anything more beloved to My heart than what I have made obligatory upon him. Yet my servant continues to draw closer to Me through devotion in the supererogatory until I love him. And when I love him, I become the hearing through which he listens, the sight through which he sees, the hand with which he strikes, and the foot upon which he walks. [2]