The Sufi Movement : A Religious Movement

Islam, meaning submission or submitting oneself fully to God, is one of the world’s largely practiced religions. Those that participate and practice the Islamic religion

In order to proceed, there needs to be a baseline of understanding in regards to Hinduism and Islam. Hinduism is a religion, or a way of life, found most notably in India and Nepal. Hinduism has been called the "oldest religion" in the world, and some practitioners and scholars refer to it as Sanātana Dharma, "the eternal

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

The Middle East is home to the creation of so many different cultures and religions. It is the home to the most prominent monotheistic faiths of this lifetime. Those faiths are Christianity, essentially Catholicism, and Islam. They do not only share a similar origin, but share the same ancestors and stories of prophets and people. There is a connection between the profound values of truth, love, and mercy that Catholics and Muslims hold dear. Although there are a great many commonalities between Catholicism and Islam, it is important to note the key foundations that make both religions special.

The Sufi path is the means within the Islamic tradition of finding the ultimate answer to this basic question. And of discovering our real identity. Throughout the ages religions have sought to teach us who we are and through their inner teachings to provide the means of "becoming" our True Self. Islam is certainly no exception. It unveils the complete doctrine of our true nature and also the nature of the levels of reality issuing from the One, who alone is ultimately real, and provides teachings that, if put into practice, lead us back to the One through a path of spiritual effort combined with joy and felicity. The Quran asserts majestically, "Verily we come from God and to Him is our returning"(2:rs6). The One is of course that Supreme Source and End of all things whom Abraham, Moses, and Christ addressed as the One God and whom the Quran calls by his name in Arabic,

Religions have historically incorporated elements of mysticism into their broader teachings in order to help explain the inexplicable or to provide alternate routes to the Divine for their followers. While more the conservative sects of a religion typically look down upon mystical schools of thought for straying too far away from what is written in their sacred texts, most will simply accept them as another group of lost souls looking for answers to the universe’s deepest questions. In Judaism, mystical tradition is referred to as “Kabbalah” and, unlike most other mystical schools of thought, it stays true to the smallest details of Jewish Law. This close attention to remaining consistent with greater Jewish tradition has made Kabbalah more

The word Sunni comes from "Ahl al-Sunna", the people of the tradition. The tradition in this case refers to practices based on precedent or reports of the actions of the Prophet Muhammad and those close to him.

When discussing the idea of conversion and Islamization in Eastern Europe under the Ottoman Empire regime, there is a lot of discussion about the modalities that drove conversion in this area. Scholars have discussed the use of force through child gathering or desire to avoid the cizye; however, there seems to be debate about the validity of these statements. Within the survey of Sufism, there is discussion on the role Sufis played in the periphery of empires in the development of Islam. Islamization does not just pertain to the conversion of groups within an area, but a cultural transition with the influence of Islam becoming popular culture and not solely religious. The system of brotherhoods that were established provided access to the

Religion plays a crucial role in the daily lives of millions of people. This is even more evident in India. Hinduism and Sikhism are two very obvious religions in this nation. These two religions both share similarities like many philosophical concepts such as Karma, Dharma, Mukti, Maya and Saṃsāra. Three reasons as to how these two distinct religions are related are through their basic beliefs, festivals, and conclusively through their rituals.

Other religions in India are Islam, Buddhism, Christianity, Jainism, and Sikhism. Outbreaks of violence occurred between Muslims and Hindus, but they also have lived together peacefully.

Dr. Alexander Berzin wrote an article called “The Relation between Buddhism and Sufism” which explains that both Sufism and Buddhism have many issues in common such as that human is limited. This example and many others that show how they are connected are explained in the very organized structure by the author. This will help a lot in providing more analysis of Buddhism which is highly needed in this research. Berzin is a professor of Buddhism especially Tibetan. His academic language along with his structure are useful, however, he needed to offer more explanation. I also had to go online to find his biography. This research was highly useful in giving me a huge amount of information and perspectives of Buddhism. The fact that the sources I used is diverse and gave a valuable information, make the research’s conclusion well based. More topics may need to be researched like the Zen and Sufism. I intend also to investigate deeper in the most of the previously mentioned areas as I write the research paper to give a clear view of the answer to my

As of today, the world’s two largest religions Christianity and Islam share an estimated 3.6 billion members, more than half of the world’s population. On the surface, they appear to have almost nothing in common, however, as one goes beyond the surface and examines the other factors such as the rituals, beliefs, ethics, founders, and convictions, the two religions share many similarities. However, in order to truly see and understand these similarities and differences, one must date back to the rise and birth of Christianity and Islam.

Muhammad (570-632 A.D.) and Siddhartha Gautama (563-483 B.C.) were the key figures in the establishment of Islam and Buddhism, respectively. As two of the major religions on the planet, Buddhism and Islam rule billions of people’s psychological behaviors. They both direct their believers to evolve into more intelligent and spiritual beings. The foundation of each religion was formed during the lives of their respective founders. Each man sought to spread the ideas and beliefs that they thought to be true. Although they were successful in gaining believers and followers, each man had to employ various techniques to accomplish this same goal. Some techniques were similar, many were very different. The major

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

Sufism has influenced many Muslims, and is, especially in the West, portrayed and regarded as a valuable and legitimate part of the Islamic faith. Fazlur Rahman, in his work Islam, says that “considerable ink has been spent by modern scholarship on the ‘origins’ of Sufism in Islam, as to how far it is ‘genuinely’ Islamic and how far a product, in the face of Islam, of outside influences, particularly Christian and Gnostic.”4 Rahman seems to hint that some of this ink has been wasted, as he concludes that “outside influences must have played an accessory role and these no one may deny, but they must have supervened upon an initial native tendency.” However, aside from a vague