What is Sufism? | Living the Islam in the Holy Qur’ân

Sufism is Not a Concept That Emerged Later

It is not correct to think that Sufism emerged 5-6 centuries after our Master the Prophet (PBUH). Sufism is the name of the religious life that our Master the Prophet (PBUH) and the companions lived in its entirety. The life lived by all the prophets who have come and gone and those who followed them was also Sufism. All prophets since Prophet Adam have lived the hanif religion.

Two alternatives are mentioned regarding the existence of the word "Sufism". The first is the word "suf". Suf means wool, and 14 centuries ago, the companions who lived Sufism, that is, who lived the Islamic life, all wore wool. The patterns of behavior and religious life of people who wore wool were taken as the basis for the foundation of Sufism. The second alternative is the word "suffa". It is said, "Sufism is the people of the suffa, the sufa." The word sufa is the word used as "sofa" in our time. Behind the mosque in Medina, there was a covered section with completely open sides. A group of 50-60 companions would sleep and live there. Their duty was to try to learn everything our Master the Prophet (PBUH) said word for word and to try to explain it to those who did not listen to that conversation or could not listen to it. The word tasavvuf was derived by taking the word sufa from the term Ahl al-Suffa.

Where the word "Sufism" comes from is not the main issue either. It does not matter whether it comes from Ahl al-Suffa or from the word suf, meaning wool. What is important is that the life expressed by Sufism has been lived. Before the etymology of Sufism, it is necessary to understand the Islamic life it expresses.

Sufism is Not Extremism

People who do not know the Holy Qur’ân have perceived Sufism as a luxury, a fantasy, or extremism. However, Sufism is not a concept that emerged outside the Holy Qur’ân. On the contrary, it is the living of the Islam that the Holy Qur’ân sets as a target.

The fact that people move away from the Holy Qur’ân and content themselves with information they have written themselves is one of the main reasons for the misunderstanding of Sufism. The Holy Qur’ân expresses this situation with the concept of "ammaniya":

2/AL-BAQARAH-78: And among them are unlettered ones who do not know the Book (of Allah), they only know ammaniya (false beliefs/fantasies). And they are only assuming.

Sufism is Living the 7 Stages and 4 Surrenders

The Sufi life is the living of the 7 stages and the realization of the 4 surrenders that the Holy Qur’ân makes obligatory. These 7 stages are as follows:

• To wish to reach Allah.
• To follow a spiritual guide (murshid).
• To reach the spirit to Allah and surrender it.
• To make the physical body a good-doer (muhsin) and surrender it to Allah.
• To make the nafs ahsan and surrender it to Allah.
• To reach the level of irshad (guidance).
• To surrender the will to Allah as well.

The reaching of the spirit to Allah while still alive, which is at the beginning of these goals, has been made obligatory upon us exactly 12 times in the Holy Qur’ân.

The entirety of Sufism consists of these surrenders that a person performs towards Allah and the goals they reach.

In Sufism, the Goal is Surrender, and Worships are Means

Sufism aims to surrender to Allah beyond the 5 essential conditions of Islam, which are considered sufficient in our time. Performing salaat, giving zakat, going on Hajj, and reciting the Kalima-i Shahadah are all just means that will take you to the goal of surrendering to Allah.

Allah Almighty wants you to be a servant only to Allah, that is, to surrender your spirit, your face, your nafs, and your will to Allah. He has made it obligatory upon you. And while performing these surrenders, you will also perform salaat, you will fast, you will give zakat, you will go on Hajj, and you will recite the Kalima-i Shahadah.

The 5 conditions of Islam are the means that will take you to those goals. The 5 conditions of Islam are the means that you must use to live Islam, that is, to live Sufism. You will go to 4 destinations. You use a car for this; the car you use is a means. It encompasses performing salaat, fasting, giving zakat, going on Hajj, reciting the Kalima-i Shahadah, and above all of these, and more important than all of them combined, performing dhikr. All of them, including dhikr, are means, not the goal.

The goals are; to wish to reach Allah, to reach the post of religious guide and follow, to reach the spirit to Allah and surrender it, to make the physical body a good-doer (muhsin) and surrender it to Allah, to make the nafs ahsan and surrender it to Allah, to reach the level of irshad (guidance), and to surrender the will to Allah.

The 7 stages constitute the basis of Sufism. The Sufi life, Sufism, and the Islamic life are all stages of it. They are all consecutive goals, and Allah Almighty has made them all obligatory.

The Companions Lived Sufism

The companions are the clearest indication that Sufism is not a concept that emerged later. They lived the entirety of the Holy Qur’ân in the presence of our Master the Prophet (PBUH).

The companions who wished to reach Allah were saved from being servants to the taghut. Allah Almighty decrees as follows in Surah Az-Zumar:

39/AZ-ZUMAR-17: And those who avoided being servants to the taghut (human and jinn satans). Because they turned to Allah (wished to reach Allah). There are glad tidings for them. So give glad tidings to My servants!

The companions followed their spiritual guide (murshid). They reached their spirits to Allah and surrendered them. They surrendered their physical bodies to Allah. They reached continuous dhikr and surrendered their nafs to Allah.

It is reported in the Holy Qur’ân that they surrendered their physical bodies to Allah as follows:

3/ALI IMRAN-20: I and those who follow me have surrendered our faces (physical bodies) to Allah.

That they reached continuous dhikr is reported in the 191st verse of Surah Ali Imran:

3/ALI IMRAN-191: They (the ulul albab, the owners of the inner cores, the owners of Allah's secret treasures) remember Allah (always) while standing, sitting, and lying on their sides.

The companions, who cleansed the afflictions in their nafs by reaching continuous dhikr, lived 100 percent of world happiness, and for this reason, that era was called the Age of Happiness (Asr-i Saadet).

In the 7th verse of Surah Al-Hujurat, it is reported that the companions reached the level of irshad (guidance):

49/AL-HUJURAT-7: But Allah has endeared the faith to you and has adorned it in your hearts. And He has made disbelief, wickedness, and rebellion hateful to you. Those are the ones who are guided (irshad).

The companions also surrendered their wills to Allah and became the owners of the post of religious guide. In the 100th verse of Surah At-Tawbah, it is reported that they should be followed:

9/AT-TAWBAH-100: And the foremost (sabikûn) - the first of the emigrants (Muhajirun) and the helpers (Ansar) and those who followed them with good deeds (those who were appointed and authorized for irshad by surrendering their will to Allah at the station of Salah): Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him. And He has prepared for them gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever. That is the great (azim) reward.

At the Foundation of Sufism is Guidance (Hidayah)

Sufism is to attain guidance (hidayah) within the standards of the hanif religion. The spirit's reaching Allah before death means "to attain guidance (hidayah)"; it is the person's wishing to reach Allah, and then the spirit's reaching Allah.

• The guidance (hidayah) of the spirit is to reach Allah.
• The guidance (hidayah) of the physical body is the surrender of the physical body to Allah with an identity that fulfills all of Allah's commands and does not commit any act He has forbidden.
• The guidance (hidayah) of the nafs is the surrender of the nafs to Allah by making it ahsan. That is, the same content applies; a nafs that fulfills all of Allah's commands and does not commit any act He has forbidden. That nafs has surrendered to Allah.
• The surrender of the will to Allah is the state of a person surrendering their will to Allah after adorning the heart of the nafs at 12 levels.

Thus, Sufism is the living of the Islamic religion, which realizes all of these, the hanif religion, which is the only religion of the universe, and its application to life. It is a lifestyle and includes all 4 of the surrenders.

How Does Sufism Provide Happiness?

Thanks to Sufism, a person experiences happiness in their inner world, experiences happiness in their relationships with other people in their outer world, and most importantly, experiences happiness in their relationship with Allah.

The place where Sufism will take a person is happiness in the inner world, happiness in the outer world, and happiness in the relationship with Allah after all surrenders. The goal of Sufism is to raise happy people and perfect human beings (insan-i kamil).

Sufism Provides Happiness in the Inner World

People who lead a life outside of Sufism experience constant restlessness due to the conflict in their inner worlds. A human being consists of three basic elements: spirit, nafs, and physical body. The spirit consists only of positive inner qualities (attributes), and while all beauties are found in the inner qualities of the spirit, the nafs consists only of negative features (afflictions). The darkness in the heart of our nafs represents the afflictions of our nafs; the lights represent the inner qualities of our spirit.

According to the Holy Qur’ân, a person's nafs is initially full of negative features, that is, afflictions, and in this state, it is completely open to the influence of Iblis. However, with the cleansing (tezkiye) process, the negative aspects of the nafs decrease and the inner qualities of the spirit come to the fore. With the illumination of the heart by 51 percent as a result of cleansing, the dominance area of Iblis drops from 100 percent to 49 percent. This ratio means that the dominance passes to the lights of Allah and happiness and inner peace are achieved by half. The illumination of the heart weakens the dominance of Iblis and is the basic step that ensures a person's happiness.

If a person does not wish to reach Allah, they will always remain in the Nafs al-Ammarah. There will always be restlessness in their inner world. Because a constant conflict between their nafs and their spirit will keep them constantly restless.

Whoever reaches continuous dhikr and cleanses all the afflictions in their nafs, their nafs will be filled with virtues, all the demands of their nafs will be parallel to the demands of their spirit, and the conflict in their inner world will end.

Because the war between the nafs and the spirit is over, that person will live in peace and tranquility. They will be a person whose inner world is in peace and tranquility. A state of constant happiness and peace and tranquility. This is the first stage that Sufism will take a person to: inner world happiness.

The intellect is the decision-making authority where the demands of the nafs and the spirit reach. In whatever environment the intellect has become conscious, it accepts that demand. If a person has exhibited behavior in accordance with the demands of the spirit and the commands of Allah with their partial will, then peace and happiness follow; if they have exhibited behavior that Allah has forbidden, they experience restlessness and distress in their inner world.

Sufism Provides Happiness in the Outer World (in our relationships with people outside of us)

Those who do not live Sufism are also in constant restlessness and disagreement in their relationships with the people around them. Why are people unhappy in their outer world? Because they treat others badly due to the afflictions in their nafs, Allah constantly punishes them. On the other hand, the people they treat badly take revenge on them. When they take revenge, these people are restless once again. They also take revenge on the other side. When they take revenge, they commit a new sin, so Allah Almighty punishes them again. They are unhappy once again. If they cannot take their revenge from the other side, then they are unhappy because of stress. They are also unhappy in their outer worlds.

But if they have reached continuous dhikr and destroyed the afflictions of their nafs, the situation will change. Since the afflictions in their nafs are not present, they cannot treat others badly. They cannot make them restless, and for this reason, they will always live in peace themselves, and they will also give peace to others.

In every behavior that gives peace to others, Allah will definitely give them peace. He will bring happiness; let alone punishing, no one will take revenge on this person. They will not feel the need to take revenge on anyone either, and this person will never reach stress. Because people who do not have afflictions in their nafs will never exhibit a behavior that Allah has forbidden.

Therefore, beyond the happiness in this person's inner world, an infinite happiness will also prevail in their outer world.

Sufism Provides Happiness in Our Relationships with Allah

In the Sufi life, that person will also experience this happiness in their relationship with Allah. A person who initially never fulfills all of Allah's commands and definitely commits every act He has forbidden, when they reach continuous dhikr and the afflictions in their nafs disappear, when their nafs and spirit want the same things, when they obey all of Allah's commands and do not commit any act He has forbidden, this person will enter into an absolute happiness from the perspective of Allah's commands and prohibitions. Because they fulfill all His commands, after the fulfillment of every command of Allah, Allah will give them happiness, He will give them peace. Because they do not commit any act He has forbidden, after every opportunity that arises and the act of not committing it, Allah will give them happiness from those aspects as well. He will give them peace.

Allah's law is to be happy by making happy.

You see that the life of Sufism leads a person to continuous dhikr. It leads to the surrender of the nafs and the will. A person at that point will be the owner of infinite happiness in their inner world, infinite happiness in their outer world, and a state of constant peace and tranquility. In their inner world, in their outer world, and in their relationships with Allah.

This is Islam, this is Sufism, this is happiness!

The Foundation of Sufism is Surrendering to Allah

Sufism is to act not only with the verses of the Holy Qur’ân that concern our physical body, but also with the verses that make our nafs, our spirit, and our will responsible. Sufism is to follow the entirety of the Qur’ân.

Sufism is to surrender to Allah the spirit, physical body, nafs, and will that Allah has given us. It is to reach the level of irshad (guidance). This is to become Muslim.

Sufism is to live what our Master the Prophet (PBUH) and the companions lived. The life lived by all the prophets who have come and gone and those who followed them was also Sufism.

Thank God that they left Sufism as a legacy to us.

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