Shariah and Sufism in Islam - Coursework Example

Shariah and Sufism in Islam: Shariah: “The Shari`ah has three parts: knowledge, action, and sincerity of motive (ikhlas); unless you fulfil the demands of all these parts, you do not obey the Shari`ah”. (Rabbani, 2005). When one follows Shariah completely and wholeheartedly, one is blessed with the happiness of Allah, and nobody can be a completely practicing Muslim unless he / she follows Shariah fully. Following Shariah does not only mean that one should act according to the ways taught by Allah Almighty through his Prophet Mohammed (P. B. U. H.) in the Quran and Sunnah, but it also requires one to accept the laws of Shariah wholeheartedly and a Muslim should be spiritually involved in making all possible efforts in order to follow the rules of Shariah. Shariah stands as the highest level of goodness one can achieve in this world, and to a Muslim nothing is more important than following Shariah. Shariah gives the Muslims a complete code of life, and guides the Muslims on all matters of this world and the world hereafter. Muslims seek guidance for their matters of daily life from two main sources. First, their Holy Book Quran. Second, the Sunnah of their Holy Prophet Muhammed (P. B. U. H.). The Muslims’ consideration of the Holy Quran is as follows. Every machine we purchase comes with a hand book that mentions every thing about that machine and guides the buyer on how to use the machine so that it would function safely and efficiently throughout the estimated life of that machine. The hand book gives complete information about what temperature and surroundings should the machine be used in, what is the maximum load the machine can take, what precautionary measures should be taken to ensure the machine’s safe functioning and also provides the user with guidance on the matters of repair and maintenance. Likewise, when Allah Almighty created human beings, He gave them a complete book to follow throughout their life. Allah named His Book “Quran”. He sent the Holy Quran for all human beings to seek guidance from through His Prophet Muhammed (P. B. U. H.). The Holy Quran serves as a complete guide for all human beings. It is a written form of Allah’s interaction with humans. Through the Holy Quran, Allah has conveyed his message to the human beings. Allah has mentioned in the Holy Quran how the humans are supposed to live their life. The Quran provides guidance on all matters in all walks of life. Hence, it is the guide sent for the human beings just like the hand book that comes with a machine as mentioned in the example quoted above. Although, the Holy Quran notes what humans should do and what they should refrain from, yet the Book does not mention the exact way a certain task needs to be done. This is where the Muslims consult the Sunnah. The way the Holy Prophet Muhammed (P. B. U. H.) performed any task in His life stands as Sunnah for all the Muslims. Ideally, Muslims are supposed to choose as guided in the Holy Quran and perform as performed by the Holy Prophet Muhammed (P. B. U. H.). This blend of the sayings of the Holy Quran and the Sunnah is what is termed as Shariah. Shariah guides Muslims on issues of marriage, relations, deadlings, money matters, prayers, fasts, beliefs, values and the list goes on.Thus, Shariah consists of laws and regulations based on the teachings of Quran and Sunnah that all Muslims are bound to follow. Sufism: Sufism refers to the willingness of a Muslim to practice Shariah to its full. Sufism particularly requires the spiritual interest, enthusiasm and involvement of a Muslim in the practice of Shariah. A person whose actions conform to the laws of Shariah, but spiritually is far from enthusiastic about practicing Shariah can not be considered as a Sufi. Thus Sufism is in a way, a means of achieving Shariah. The destined Muslim is known as a Sufi. The ultimate objective of a Sufi is to live his life in full conformance to the laws of Shariah. Sufism is generally considered as an inner aspect in contrast to Shariah which is reflected in the outer actions of a person, though both of them mutually function to serve the same purpose, i. e. practicing Islam wholeheartedly. The origin of Sufism: According to (Khuram, 2006), the origin of Sufism can be traced back to the end of the 1st century of Islam. In the same report, (Khuram, 2006) mentioned that initially, the concept of Sufism surfaced as a movement against those Muslims, who apparently practiced the laws and principles of Shariah very efficiently like they offered their prayers regularly and fasted, but lacked spiritual association with the laws of Shariah in that they did not do justice in their dealing with the public or were not good at other matters that required their interaction with the society. The movement took place to criticize the unjust dealings of those people and their spiritual negligence was considered as the cause of their unethical worldly matters. The purpose of the movement was quite justified. All teachings of Islam are reflected in Quran. Quran stands as a guide for all Muslims. And Quran puts more emphasis on the intentions of a Muslim than his / her deeds. A deed that apparently may not sound very good, if done with an intention that would bring good results in favor of some individual or the society, is preferred over a very good deed, that somebody has done with just to earn his / her name or fame. Such an act is considered as hypocrisy in Islam and hypocrisy is hated by Allah. The hypocrites are so disliked by Allah Almighty that He will put the hypocrites in the lowest ditches of the hell. And such things like hypocrisy plainly happen in the society because of a lack of spiritual association of an individual with Islam and the teachings of Islam. It is mentioned in the Quran that our actions will be judged on the basis of our intentions on the day of judgement. Although, the term “Sufism” holds no significance in Islam and the Holy Quran does not mention its name anywhere in the Book, yet the ideology Sufism is based on and the concepts it projects are purely Islamic and support the cause of Islam. Hence, from an Islamic perspective, Sufism is justified. Neither Quran nor the Holy Prophet Muhammed (P. B.U.H.) ever mention the word Sufism in any of the verses or sayings respectively. Sufism supports the idea that one should seek spiritual guidance from a teacher on regular basis who would help one understand and practice Islam better. In the continent of South Asia, there have been quite a few Muslim poets like Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, Bulleh Shah and Bari Imam as mentioned in (Ali, 2009). They are considered as Sufis because of their spiritual association with Islam that is reflected in their poetry. In the same report, (Ali, 2009) noted that poets like Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, Bulleh Shah and Bari Imam have produced such pieces of poetry that convey a moral message in them to the listeners / readers. Their poetry is considered as ever-green and stands as an asset for the Muslims particularly of South Asia (because of language similarity) who seek spiritual guidance from the poetry of the old Sufis. It is because of them that the Indians / Pakistanis visualize a Sufi as a spiritual leader, who would guide others on spiritual matters in the context of Islam. Generally, all sophisticated and pious Muslims, whose good thoughts are supported by their good actions and who guide the people on religious matters and whose speech is inspirational and motivating can be considered as Sufis. Sufis are not necessarily men, even the women who possess similar qualities can be called as a Sufi. Long story short, Sufism is something that causes a person to become pure both externally and internally. By gaining such a purity, the person achieves the highest level of satisfaction and happiness that is possible in this world. And such a purity is gained through practicing Islam wholeheartedly. Muslims’ approach toward practicing Islam: A Muslim will only be successful in practicing Islam if he / she follows the teachings of the Quran and Sunnah. Muslims take guidance from Quran and Sunnah to decide about all important and ordinary matters of daily life. The teachings of Quran and Sunnah actually require the Muslims to make both physical and spiritual efforts toward practicing Islam. When one tries to live one’s life according to Allah’s will both physically and spiritually as mentioned in Allah’s Book and as practiced by the Holy Prophet Muhammed (P. B. U. H.) and tries to spread Allah’s message everywhere, one naturally follows all the rules and laws of the Shariah, and becomes a person very near and dear to Allah, and accordingly becomes somebody known as a Sufi. References: Ali, S., 2009. “Pakistan is a land of Sufi Izam-Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai”. Available at: http://www.icrawl.org/18869462730-pakistan-is-a-land-of-sufi-izam-shah-abdul-latif-bhittai. [Accessed: 26 April, 2010]. Khuram, 2006. “Sufism in Islam”. Available at: http://khuram.wordpress.com/2006/10/01/sufism-in-islam/. [Accessed: 26 April, 2010]. Rabbani, S. F., 2005. “Sufism and Shariah”. Available at: http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?HD=1&ID=829&CATE=3. [Accessed: 26 April, 2010]. Read More