Sufism Pertains to Ancient Perspective Within Islam - Essay Example

Sufism pertains to ancient perspective within Islam and covers a wide aspect of traditions and customs directed to supreme love and the development of good values ((Smith 4).
Sufism has been pertained to as a body of knowledge by the well-regarded Sufi leaders. Shaykh Ahmad Zarruq, an ancient Sufi leader who established the basic foundations of Sufism, classified Sufism as a body of knowledge whose goal is the cleansing of a person’s heart and shying away from all temptations to become pleasing to the eyes of God. In short, Sufism is a body of knowledge through which a person can learn the way towards being with the company of the Lord, cleanse one’s inner self from impurities and fill it with good and pleasant characteristics.
Basic Teachings
The value of God cannot be classified in every structure and quality, and therefore cannot be seen, yet it remains with the world from every structure and situation either living or dead. It is most of the time the basic understanding of Sufis that each situation is an element and the will of God and at the same time, the developing of bad feelings as to why it happened is not correct. The main objective of all Sufis, therefore, is to prevent the entry of all negative attitudes brought about by worldly temptations, including a belief of personal identity, and to value and respect the existence of God (Qushayri 5).
Sufis teach in individual set-ups, as the student of the leader is characterized as essential for the development of the student. They make wide utilization of stories, parables, and poetry, and it is stated by Sufis that implications can only be attained through a procedure of searching for what is right and learning of the personal identity. Even though concepts and theories differ among various Sufi sects, Sufism in its entirety is initially concerned with direct individual experience, and as such may be considered similar to different types of religious sects like Buddhism and Christianity (Ernst 6).
Disapproval of Sufism
Sufism is considered a highly controversial topic at present and has actually faced various disapprovals and rejections all over the world, especially the Muslims because for the following reasons:
A. Sufism bases its teachings on things and aspects of human life that cannot be deciphered by numbers (such as the purity of the mind and heart).
The founders of different Sufi principles most of the time utilized symbolic language which was hard to be decoded by an ordinary individual to understand these principles (Shah 5). This utilization of symbolical and hard-to-understand language and the presence of various implications by individuals who possessed inadequate knowledge in Muslim teachings or Sufism itself result in the rejections and disapprovals being cast over the authenticity of Sufism as a component of Muslim tradition. In addition, some sects arose that categorized themselves above Allah and portrayed Sufism as a process of intervening in the principles of Islam in order to be saved immediately. This was rejected by modern experts.
B. Sufi leaders have established various specific chants and activities into their teaching grounds (Lings 6). The symbolical and often absurd language utilized by Sufis in their teachings when deciphered by ignorant individuals opens channels for various misinterpretations and chaos. Read More