Islamic Beliefs And Practices Through Mysticism

The religion of Islam has become a controversial issue in today’s 21st century. In spite of excessively negative representations by Western propaganda, increasing numbers of the population are pursuing to learn more about the wonderful religion of Islam. More frequently than not, these people are becoming more pleasantly startled by the product of their exploration. In fact, increasing numbers of people are embracing Islam nowadays then they did prior to the horrific attacks on September 11th, 2001; which evoked much attention to misconceptions about Islam and Muslims. Yet, there does endure an abundant amount of misconception and misinterpretations about Islam, frequently invigorated by political policies which reckon their interest’s to patronage Islam 's enemies. Islam is a religion which elucidates the way of life and is the second largest religion after Christianity, with approximately one-fifth of the world 's population and is currently the fastest growing religion. Muslims are existent all around the world and come from diverse nationalities, cultures and races. However, Islam instills that all people are principally equal no matter the differences (colour, class, culture, etc.) as long as they are peaceful and law-abiding citizens. The behaviour of particular erroneous groups or individuals outside mainstream Islam cannot be accredited to Islamic beliefs and practices as correspondingly hostility in North Ireland or illegal mafia activities being attributed

Mevlana Jalal al- Din Rumi is one of the most influential Islamic mystics of all times. It is no surprise that even seven hundred years after his death; he remains to be the best selling poet in North America. His poetry reflects the teachings of Islam and his opinions on various matters such as faith, prayer, love, free will etc. are assembled in a book called “The signs of the Unseen”. Occasionally, commentators dissociate Rumi poetry’s from Islam but the fact is that Rumi’s entire writings are inspired from the Quran and sayings of Prophet (PBUH) and represent the essence of Islam.

Lecture seven illustrated Islamic Sufism; provided a variety of manifestation regarding the terminology of Sufi-Islam. The word Sufism may be manifested from a negative perspective, which therefore perceived as a hocus pocus tradition or a fictional Islam. This portation on Sufism came from various polemics and negatived perspectives on Islam. Some claimants upon Sufism is that Sufi sheiks or practitioners function the principles of Islam differently than other Muslim sects. These perceptions attempted some people to manifest it in a derogative way; to accuse it of plagiarism. However, Professor Asani stated that these manifestations were perceived differently, because of the initial illustration of Sufism, which emerged from Western Scholarships

There are seven key convictions that each Muslim must acknowledge. These center convictions are faith in God, confidence in the holy messengers, faith in the uncovered Books of God, confidence in God's numerous prophets, tolerating that there will be a Last Day, confidence in the awesome estimation of human undertakings, confidence in an eternal

Orthodox Islam emphasizes the absolute transcendence of God, but there is a sect of Islam called Sufism, which has placed a major emphasis on mystical experiences. To quote John Esposito: "The Sufi path is a way of purification, a discipline of mind and body whose goal is to directly experience the ultimate reality." Sufis seek to experience God directly, utilizing poverty, fasting, silence, celibacy, recitation of the Most Beautiful names of Allah, music, dance, and veneration of the saints. Sufism is a combination of worldly renunciation and meditation with "undying devotional love of God."

Around 570 C.E., Muhammad, the leader of the Islamic religion, was born in Mecca. Shortly after he was born, his mom sent him to live with a nomad family in the desert. When Muhammad was around six years old, he returned to Mecca, around that time, his mother and grandfather died and he was left as an orphan. His uncle, who was a trader, took him in. When Muhammad was around twelve years old, he went on a trading trip with his uncle, there Muhammad saw places outside of the Arabian desert. When he was a young adult, he took up a job for managing caravans for a widow, Muhammad and her soon got married.

The search for truth through God is where the philosophy of attaining knowledge intersects with religious doctrine. Although the esoteric and mystical system of Sufism has its origin in Islamic orthodoxy, Sufism can be seen as less as an individual sect and more of a stepping-stone towards Christian revelation. In the Sufi allegory The Conference of the Birds by Farid Ud-Din Attar, God is represented as a mystical essence within and beyond all of creation, closer to a state of being that can be obtained with the discovery of true love and wisdom. In comparison, the God described in Christian texts by medieval authors such as St. Augustine is singular and whole, but in three parts: The Father God, the Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, or the spiritual component that dwells within the souls of believers. The Christian God is permanently unreachable due to humanity’s sinful nature and is only known through redemption via the grace of and faith in Christ. The Sufi’s relationship to God is a depiction tantamount to the entirety of their accepted belief system. While Sufi Mysticism and medieval Christianity share a monotheistic vision of God, Sufism blurs the lines by emphasizing the series of tribulations necessary to obtain the knowledge of God. The nature of Sufism is not to find redemption for sins through faith or grace, but is to be made one with God himself at the end of a

Sufism is an avenue within the soul that whispers to those in humanity who hunger for an impending intimacy with God, a prosperous interior essence, and a reserve of spiritual customs that give it depth and meaning. With Sufism’s wealthy mixture of esoteric poetry, their divergent composition, their divine morality, and their innumerable, musical treasures, their mystical life is portrayed. This visually captivating film, recorded in Tunisia and Iran, displays a multi-leveled glance of Sufism, the mystical expression of Islam. Bab'Aziz hypnotizes with its alluring and philosophical depictions of the passion that animates their communication with the Beloved, with the world, and with our neighbors.

Define Sufism and discuss the life and contributions of Rabi’a al-Adawiyya (Rabi’a of Basra) in developing the Sufi tradition.

Religion, in my words, is a term used to describe a personal set of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices but “the groups, practices and systems that people identify as "religions" are so diverse that it is no easy task to bring them all under one simple definition” (Anonymous. "What Is Religion? Definitions and Quotes). Religion is considered to be a very important part of life; even people who choose to not practice a religion agree that it is.  No matter what religion it is that you decided to practice, the set of beliefs in that religion will regulate your behavior and provide you with hope and a reason for life. There are indeed a great amount of religions such as Christianity, Catholicism, Buddhism, Hindu, Islam and so on, but Islam is the religion I have chose to do research on.

Islam, ISIS, ISIL, Sunni Muslim, Shi’ite Muslim, 911, various terrorist attacks around the world. What do the aforementioned people have in common? Their belief in the Qur’an and Allah. How does this belief in Allah differ with Christianity’s belief in Father God? Who knew that taking down Al Qaeda, and murdering Saddam Hussein would lead to the formation of the violent Islamic State called Isil or Isis? We often hear news about Shiite and Sunni Muslims – what is the difference? Is there really a difference: both are considered monotheistic in nature, however, the “path” to the Almighty, tends to differ depending on the group or sect. What are the fundamental beliefs of Islam? What world view if any do Muslims ascribe? Islam, like Christianity, and Judaism are thought to have originated with Abraham. However, Islam insists its founder is the Honorable Elisha Muhammad, likewise, Judaism insist that Moses is its father, but if there was no Abraham, there would be no Moses. A Babylonian man who was from a paganistic polytheistic family is chosen by God and ordered to leave his country and go to a city which has foundations whose maker and builder is God (Hebrews 11:10). Abraham’s lineage stems from Ur, of the Chaldeans – the Persian Empire. He was Babylonian, and later declared Hebrew by the Almighty God – from this man comes three major religions: Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.

Sufism was decisive in the spread of Islam. It was a highly mystical and communal religion. These mystics sought closer union with God and performed ecstatic rituals such as repeating over and over again the name of God. In time, groups of devotees gathered to read aloud the Quran and other religious tracts. Against the seemingly lack of theological

     A Sufi tries to change the state in a person, to bring him closer to God.

Similar states of ecstasy are reached in the same way in Pentecostal or charismatic branches of Christianity where believers, filled with the Holy Spirit become enraptured and as if drunk, begin to speak strange utterances known as the divine language of tongues (referred to as shathiyyat in Arabic (Ernst 1997: 117)). These practices shed light on the nature of the divine from the perspective of the mystic. It is as if God consciousness and a divine connection can be reached by touching the inner workings of the spirit, by grasping at the core of one’s emotions, mental capabilities and spirituality in order to access what is already there – the divine spark that unifies God with mankind. The God of the Sufis exists beyond human egotism, beyond any normal state of consciousness – beyond the conventional. These trance-like experiences may occasionally be granted to a Muslim by spontaneous “divine grace” (Ernst 1997: 116) as in the case of the famous Luri tribesman who, when having encountered a sudden spiritual state where divine unity became apparent to him, became drunk and as incomprehensible as a madman. However, the majority of Sufis commit to a spiritual quest that is characterised by specific stages or spiritual stations,’ which illustrate a conscious progression towards the ultimate goal – reaching al-Haqiqah (commonly known as fana)

Tracing back to the original prophet, Sufism is a type of mystical Islamic philosophy where Muslims attempt to take a more direct route to finding God and his divineness. Consisting of different practices and paths that are meant to trace their teachings from the prophet Muhammad himself, and therefore they see themselves as being practitioners of a perfected type of worship, or “ihsan”. While often grouped together as one entity, Sufi orders (called “tariqas”) are found in a wide variety of different Islamic groups and regions, all varying slightly in how they perceive their version of Islamic mysticism. While they are relatively small in quantity compared to Muslims as a whole, they have greatly contributed to the shaping of Islamic philosophy and tradition. In this paper, I will be exploring the Sufi movements in Iran, Turkey, and Senegal and how they have affected the political systems of their respective countries, while also highlighting key differences and similarities between them. I have chosen these three countries due to the stark contrasts in how Sufism is received in them. For example, while Iranian clerics have taken a strict hardline stance against Sufism that involves prosecution, arrests and even demolition of their places of worship, Senegal’s Sufi leaders influence their government and vice versa. Turkey is in many ways a middle ground; while first persecuted and forced to go into hiding, today the dominant Sufi movement, the Naqshbandiyya, works hand in