Sufism: Its Mystical Contribution to an Understanding of the Islamic God

Stephen Prothero’s “God Is Not One” is a survey of world religions, comprising vital information on a vast array of different sets of belief. As someone who has never studied religion before, nor belongs to a particular faith, the variability within these religions is staggering. One might be satisfied to define religion as “how a person goes about believing in God,” but soon finds that even that definition has its holes. Thankfully, “God Is Not One” does an amazing job of cluing its reader into the nuances that are sometimes forgotten about the religions it approaches.

Although religions today take on many shapes and forms, and may seem so dramatically different from each other, in order to study and understand these religions, their similarities must be identified. This paper will first present a definition of religion that will connect to all religions at the simplest base. Then this paper will examine the common practices and experiences that are present in both the primary religions of the world, as well as the indigenous religions. Finally, this paper will discuss the issues that are critical to the academic study of religions.

There are few different branches of Islam but the two most prominent branches are Sharia law and Sufism. Sharia law and Sufism both seem to contradict each other. Sharia laws are the Qur’anic rules for the tangible world. The law includes predetermined punishment and rewards for actions, clearly defined by the Qur’an. It also has a spectrum of the lawfulness of actions, ranging from required to forbidden. Sufism, however, takes a more mystical approach to the practice of Islam. Sufism focuses on rejecting the material world and becoming one with God through self-annihilation. Despite the difference, I argue Sharia law and Sufism can be reconciled because although one person cannot practice both at the same time, but both versions of Islam

Complete the following questions in detail. Answer each question with a 1- or 2-paragraph response that includes a reference citation. Make use of Experiencing the World’s Religions and other sources in your research as you complete the questions.

Thesis: In his book, No god but God, Reza Aslan recounts the history and teachings of Islam in order to deconstruct the barriers within interreligious comprehension.

The topic I chose to write about that interest me the most is religion. I chose religion because there are lots of differences when it comes to religion and cultures. I felt it was important to acknowledge three religions that our practiced today. The religion groups I chose to discuss in my paper are the Muslims, Santeria and Judaism .

Mysticism is the honoring and the study of God’s mysteries and truths while a mystic is someone who knows the truth beyond the physical world. What is interesting about mysticism to me is that mysticism is not a religion it is someone's personal path to help develop one’s pure self. Mysticism is the awareness of one’s divine nature and helps us human beings to become one with God as he helps us follow the right path. Mysticism originally was studied by the early Christians and the word mysticism derived from the Greek word “to conceal.” Today, mysticism is viewed all over the world helping people get a better idea of their personal beliefs through “mystical experiences.”

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.

This idea the mystical tradition was a recent idea that has come about. Or in other term the idea of having another worldly relationship with God. This idea is especially popular with the western Christianity. And this might be due to that fact “that people in the West are feeling the need for an alternative to a purely scientific view of the world”. In the new Jewish mysticism they see the relationship with God as something “that can in no way appeal to the normal experiences of thought or language.” It is a “mental ascent to a reality within.” This insight is like a ‘vision of God and is similar to the view of nirvana for Buddhists. The mystical experience of God is not an experience outside of one’s self by an internal revelation someone has within oneself and is unique with each individual person. From the many presentation I have heard in class and with reading this book, The History of God, it is clear to me that our interpretations of God are specific with each domination within a religion and between the religions

“These spiritual window-shoppers” is a poem written by Rumi, the Muslim scholar, that encouraged one to become devoted to their religion that they believe in whatever it may be. Throughout this poem, the narrator, being Rumi, tells the audience his ideas about why one should become part of a religion which is to ensure that one will have a more peaceful afterlife. Rumi uses metaphors, allusion and hypophora to emphasize his belief that in order to have a more fulfilling and meaningful life one should be fully devoted to their religion.

Mysticism focuses on the relationships individuals have with religion. More specifically, the practice concentrates on the religious subject and how it is portrayed through religious experience. Mysticism emphasizes the irrationality and ineffability of the Absolute, Divine, or Transcendent. Defining and coming to know the unknowable is an extremely difficult yet intriguing topic to explore and in The Idea of the Holy by Otto Rudolph, he attempts to convey the irrational to his audience. Rudolph presents the characteristics of the Divine and its stupefying effects on humankind through defining and examining the word “holy”.

Deeply embedded in Islam, Maimonides philosophical works engages in critical reflection and analysis of intercultural relations between Jewish and Muslim traditions and the nature of experiencing the divine. In contrast to his Muslim counterparts however, Maimonides argues against the Muslim hierarchy by stating that no one could ever surpass Moses or his prophecy. Thus Maimonides indirectly rejects the Muslim belief of Muhammad, as well as the Koran, superseding Moses and the Torah. While Judaism and Islam share a monotheist theology, their distinctions and theological overlaps of religious prophecy raises issues of superiority and supremacy in Jewish and Muslim traditions.

Within Sufism, Al-Ghazali defined the difference between Ilham (inspiration) and Ta’allum (reasoning or learning). He believes that inspiration and revelation in union with religion hold a superior position than reasoning that originates from philosophy. Rational knowledge, according to Al-Ghazali, is always relative to the senses. The knowledge of the senses, however, cannot be trusted as valid. True knowledge, known as the Truth, only comes through inspiration and revelation (McCarthy 378). Al-Ghazali introduces the aspect of God, or Allah, in the acquisition of perfect knowledge. “Inspiration can bring one closer to Allah than philosophical learning alone” (Inglis). Ultimately, this idea of Ilham brings with it the Supreme Reality which is equivalent to Truth (McCarthy 378). In practical terms, Al-Ghazali believes that the necessary Truths of the intellect begin from “a light which God most high cast into my breast. That light is the key to the greater part of knowledge” (Al-Ghazali 25). An individual can only experience this light of God if he or she has reached the “state.”

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

The controversial nature of the subject of Sufism becomes evident when one realizes that this short introduction already reveals a viewpoint which the Sufi would strongly disagree with. For, if the Sufi spiritual quest is to be viewed