Tag: Sufism

Sufism and Wahhabism are very general words that people use to mean a variety of things, good and evil, from the Islamic point of view. So, I will try to clarify all the different views about them regardless of the names and labels.   Sufism: A Quest for Spirituality Originally, Sufism (‘Tasawwuf‘ in Arabic) started as an Islamic branch of knowledge that focused on spirituality and dedication to Allah. Some Sufis say that Sufism derived its name from a group of Companions of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) who were called “As-hab As-Suffah” . This was a group of poor Companions who were always in the Prophet’s mosque. So, they had a rough life, but very spiritual and very dedicated. Abu Hurayrah, the famous Companion and narrator of Hadith, was one of them. Sufis, according to this definition, also derived from a group of pious scholars, who used to wear rough wool (Souf), such as `Abdul-Qader Al-Jilani and Bishr Al-Hafi. These scholars were not traditional faqihs, but rather a group of dedicated preachers who always reminded their followers of Allah and the hereafter and left a memory of a simple and spiritual life. Sufism, afterwards, evolved into an educational method, where students (called Mureedun, pl. of Mureed, i.e., a seeker) follow a certain teacher (Sheikh). The Sheikh used to train those students according to a certain educational method,...