sufi mysticism

From the inflame thyself with prayer thread, to make distinction:


Universalism is fine, the thing is that Sufism is not a brand....and not an "ism". There is mysticism, which is a broad catagory that applies to both individual paths and traditions within every religion, and there is the non-religious kind of mysticism too.
A Sufi is a mystic within Islam - it is a path, not a sect (although there are traditions.) It is someone that truly takes to the core doctrines of Islam and the Ahl Bayt (including Sunni Sufi's too.)

A general mystic doesn't have to believe or hold to any of that.

In tourism and such, "Sufism" has been associated a certain brand (like Mevlevi Dervishes) which attracts people.

The thing here is distinguishing between Sufi's and Mystics inspired by Sufi-tropes/styles. The notion of "western Sufism" is a brand.
 
'Once the sufi was a way without a name,
Today it is a name without a way.'

I can't recall who said it, but it is a critique which can be applied to 'boutique religion' generally. It's inevitable when consumerism gets its claws into something ... it's all about the packaging.
 
Thomas said:
'Once the sufi was a way without a name,
Today it is a name without a way.'

I can't recall who said it, but it is a critique which can be applied to 'boutique religion' generally. It's inevitable when consumerism gets its claws into something ... it's all about the packaging.
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Also, my favorite one:

"He who calls himself a Sufi is not a Sufi"

One of my favorites.
Hence why I try to not refer to myself as such (even though I'm a 'mystic'), I'm just a Muslim. (although I did mention "part-sufi" in my intro post)


The identity of the Sufi is a thoroughly Islamic thing, the general idea of Mysticism isn't. It's the problem with images the West has of "Sufism" that makes it so confusing. Like the notion of "I want to be a Sufi but not a Muslim", well....then just be a regular mystic :rolleyes: nobody is stopping you ;)

Boutique religion is definitely a sales store.
 
In the same way that Islam preceded the teachings of Mohammed but was not called 'Islam', so Sufism as mysticism preceded Islam, but was not called Sufism.
I like the teachings from the Inayati Sufis, even though I am Buddhist.

Here is a quote from Hazrat Inayat Khan, Pir Zia's grandfather...

"I have loved in life and I have been loved.
I have drunk the bowl of poison from the hands of love as nectar,
and have been raised above life's joy and sorrow.
My heart, aflame in love, set afire every heart that came in touch with it.
My heart has been rent and joined again;
My heart has been broken and again made whole;
My heart has been wounded and healed again;
A thousand deaths my heart has died, and thanks be to love, it lives yet.
I went through hell and saw there love's raging fire,
and I entered heaven illumined with the light of love.
I wept in love and made all weep with me;
I mourned in love and pierced the hearts of men;
And when my fiery glance fell on the rocks, the rocks burst forth as volcanoes.
The whole world sank in the flood caused by my one tear;
With my deep sigh the earth trembled, and when I cried aloud the name of my beloved,
I shook the throne of God in heaven.
I bowed my head low in humility, and on my knees I begged of love,
"Disclose to me, I pray thee, O love, thy secret."
She took me gently by my arms and lifted me above the earth, and spoke softly in my ear,
"My dear one, thou thyself art love, art lover,
and thyself art the beloved whom thou hast adored."
Hazrat- Inayat Khan
 
Tellyontellyon said:
I like the teachings from the Inayati Sufis, even though I am Buddhist.
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"Even though" - what's the deal here? Will you get into trouble with the dharmapalas for looking across the fence? Is doctrinal purity a concern? Do you have misgivings because the Inayati federation appropriate other traditions, such as Buddhism? Does the sack of Nalanda still stand between you and the Muslim tradition?
 
HakimPtsid said:
A Sufi is a mystic within Islam - it is a path, not a sect (although there are traditions.) It is someone that truly takes to the core doctrines of Islam and the Ahl Bayt (including Sunni Sufi's too.)
Click to expand...


If this is Inayati sufism then l take issue with it. You put "not a sect" then appear to stress conformity with a minority sect (Shi'ism) although you qualify that by Ahlul Bayt, you mean the House of the Prophet.

However, Islamic Sufism has nothing whatsoever to do with the descendants of the Prophet. The religion was completed with the completion of the Qur'an. Islamic Sufism has no source beyond the religion.

May l ask how you think certified descent from the Prophet, attested by concurring genealogies and quite important people, has any bearing on degrees of personal experience with the divine, up and up until you reach the realm beyond words and beyond even thought?
 
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