History of Sufism

Ahmet Karamustafa describes renunciation (زُهد zuhd) as a widespread form of piety in Muslim communities in the first century of Abbasid rule.[3] Ibrahim ibn Adham al-Balkhi (d. 777-8) took on an ascetic lifestyle with a "radical aversion" to mainstream social life.[3] The followers of the preacher Hasan al-Basri founded a ribat on Abadan Island on the Tigris near Basra.[3] Karamustafa also cites Rābiʿa al-ʿAdawiyya, Shaqiq al-Balkhi, Al-Darani, Dhul-Nun al-Misri, Yahya ibn Mu'adh al-Razi, and Bayazid Bastami as some of the pioneering figures in the introspective trends that would lead to what would later be called Sufism.[4]

A distinct practice of piety associated with introspection, drawing from different practices and ideas, took form in Baghdad in the second half of the 9th century.[3] Members of the first generation of Sufis in Baghdad included Harith al-Muhasibi, Abu Hamza al-Baghdadi, Abu Sa'id al-Kharraz, Abu al-Husain al-Nuri, Junayd al-Baghdadi, Ruwaym, and Khayr an-Nassaj.[5] A following generation included Abu Bakr al-Shibli, Al-Jurayri, Rudbari, and Ja'far al-Khuldi.[5]

Towards the end of the first millennium CE, a number of manuals began to be written summarizing the doctrines of Sufism and describing some typical Sufi practices. Two of the most notable are Kashf al-Mahjûb (Revelation of the Veiled) of Hujwiri, and Al-Risala al-Qushayriyya (The Message) of Al-Qushayri.[6] According to the late medieval mystic Jami, Abd-Allah ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah (died c. 716) was the first person to be called a "Sufi".[7]

Two of Al Ghazali's greatest treatises, the "Revival of Religious Sciences" and the "Alchemy of Happiness," argued that Sufism originated from the Qur'an and was thus compatible with mainstream Islamic thought, and did not in any way contradict Islamic Law—being instead necessary to its complete fulfillment. This became the mainstream position among Islamic scholars for centuries, challenged only recently on the basis of selective use of a limited body of texts . Ongoing efforts by both traditionally trained Muslim scholars and Western academics are making Al-Ghazali's works available in English translation for the first time,[8] allowing English-speaking readers to judge for themselves the compatibility of Islamic Law and Sufi doctrine.

The tomb of Khoja Afāq, near Kashgar, China.

All Sufi orders claim a direct chain of leadership to Muhammad, through Ali, with the exception of the Naqshbandis who claim a direct connection to Muhammad through Abu Bakr. In the eleventh century, Sufi orders (Tariqa) were instrumental in the institutional spread of Sufism.[9]

Beginning in the 9th century and continuing throughout the 10th century, al-Andalus was home to fairly strict, orthodox beliefs and practices.[10] Quranic studies and jurisprudence (fiqh) were the accepted and promoted types of scholarship that shaped the region's beliefs and practices. Early fuqaha in Spain were somewhat skeptical of philosophical thought as well as of Sufism. In later centuries, especially the twelfth and thirteenth, Sufism became more accepted and somewhat assimilated into Andalusi Islam.[11] Scholars have generally seen this later flourishing in two different ways. For some, it reflects the influence of the mystical tradition in Cordoba attributed to Ibn Masarra.[12] Others give exclusive credit to the influence of eastern mystics, most often including al-Ghazali's thoughts and teachings.[13]

One figure in particular has often been credited as being the earliest introduction of Sufism to Spain: Ibn Masarra.[14] He lived from 883 to 931 and was born outside of Cordoba. Many consider him to have established the first Sufi school in the province; however, his teachings were outside of the so-called "mainstream" Sufism that was more common in the East during his lifetime.[15] With Ibn Masarra there was a “brief flowering”[16] of Sufism in Spain, and later Spanish Sufis reflected his influence on them. After Ibn Masarra's death, in 940 his followers fell under heavy persecution under the jurists who destroyed Ibn Masarra's works and also forced his followers to recant.[17] The effects of his thought and that of his disciples would appear again in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries amidst later Sufis such as Ibn Arabi.[18]

By the twelfth century, shifts towards the acceptance—or at least tolerance—of philosophy and Sufism into what had previously been strictly orthodox beliefs were occurring. Many people began to read and translate the works of philosophers such as Aristotle and Plato. At the forefront of the philosophical movement in Spain were Ibn Bajjah, Ibn Tufail, Ibn Rushd, and a Jewish scholar named Ibn Maimun.[19] Ibn Tufail introduced the element of Sufism into this philosophical way of thinking. Andalusi Sufism was at its peak at this time.[20] Also at this time, eastern Sufism was developing more as a communal movement, whereas that of the West (including in al-Andalus), it remained largely an individual pursuit.[21]

A group of Sufi masters who defended the works of theosophists such as Ghazali and al-Qushayri began emerging in the late eleventh and early- to mid-twelfth centuries. Abu l-‘Abbas ibn al-‘Arif (1088-1141) was one of the most prominent Sufis in Spain and one of the earliest ones during Sufism's peak in the peninsula.[10] He belonged to what Spanish scholar of Islam, Miguel Asin Palacios, termed the "School of Almeria," so named for its geographical location.[22] Ibn al-Arif was one of the first to interpret Ghazali in the West, and he also founded a method of spiritual training called tariqah.[19] Ibn al-‘Arif's disciple Ibn Qasi set up a group of religious followers in Portugal and built a monastery in Silves. He authored the Khal al-Na’lain, which Ibn ‘Arabi would later write a commentary on.[23] Ibn Barrajan (d. 1141), who a student and friend of Ibn al-‘Arif, lived and taught in Seville but was originally from North Africa, has been called the Ghazali of the West.[24] Ibn Barrajan and Ibn al-‘Arif were both tried for heresy because their views conflicted with those of the Almoravids in power; however, Ibn Barrajan appears to have been more active in using Sufism as a means of challenging Quranic scholars and jurists.[25]

Ibn Arabi, another key figure of this period of Sufism in the region, was born in Murcia in 1165 at the beginning of the Almohad reign. He is one of the most important Sufis of Spain, although he--like many other Andalusi Sufis--would eventually leave the peninsula and travel throughout North Africa and the East.[26] His works in Andalusia focused mainly on the perfect human individual, monastic metaphysics, and mystical path to spiritual and intellectual perfection. Central themes of Ibn 'Arabi's were the unity of all beings, or “wahdat al-wujud,” and also how God reflects God’s self in the world.[27] According to Ibn ‘Arabi, the main practices of Andalusi Sufis included ascesis, poverty, and devotion to the Qur’an.[28]

Not long after the death of Ibn ‘Arabi, al-Andalus experienced a “spiritual aridity”[29] in the mid-fourteenth century. The one exception to that trend was Ibn Abbad al-Rundi (1332-1390), a member of the Shadhiliyya order who was born in Ronda and whose scholarship brought together mystical and juridical paths.[30] His work helped Sufism become more accepted within the Islamic sciences.[31]

Although Sufism would no longer directly be a part of Andalusi life after the Catholic Monarchs expelled Muslims from Spain, in the Spanish Christian mystics of the sixteenth century, such as San Juan de la Cruz and Teresa of Avila, many have seen Sufism's lasting influence in Spain.[32]

Nizamuddin Auliya's tomb (right) and Jama'at Khana Masjid (background), at Nizamuddin Dargah complex, in Nizamuddin West, Delhi

Muslims of South Asia prominently follow the Chishtiyya, Naqshbandiyyah, Qadiriyyah and Suhrawardiyyah orders. Of them the Chishti order is the most visible. Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, a disciple of Khwaja Usman Harooni, the propounder of this order, introduced it in India. He came to India from Afghanistan with the army of Shihab-ud-Din Ghuri in 1192 AD and started living permanently in Ajmer from 1195. Centuries later, with the support of Mughal rulers, his shrine became a place of pilgrimage. Akbar used to visit the shrine every year. Some Sufis were not against absorbing ideas from Hinduism for their devotional songs with Sufism playing the primary role as a point of contact between Hinduism and Islam.¹⁸⁹ This conversion left many of those who converted via Sufism more Hindu in practice than Muslim.¹⁹⁴

Turkic conquests in South Asia were accompanied by four Sufi mystics of the Chishtiyya order from Afghanistan: Moinuddin (d. 1233 in Ajmer), Qutbuddin (d. 1236 in Delhi), Nizamuddin (d.1335 in Delhi) and Fariduddin (d.1265 in Pakpattan now in Pakistan) . During the reign of Muhammad bin Tughluq, who spread the Delhi sultanate towards the south, the Chistiyya spread its roots all across India. The Sufi shine at Ajmer in Rajasthan and Nizamuddin Auliya in Delhi, Ashraf Jahangir Semnani in Kichaucha Shariff belong to this order.

The Suharawardi order was started by Abu al-Najib Suhrawardi, a Persian Sufi born in Sohrevard near Zanjan in Iran, and brought to India by Baha-ud-din Zakariya of Multan. The Suhrawardiyyah order of Sufism gained popularity in Bengal. In addition, the Suhrawardiyyah order, under the leadership of Abu Hafs Umar al-Suhrawardi (d. 1234), also bequeathed a number of teachings and institutions that were influential in shaping other order that emerged during later periods.

The Khalwati order was founded by Umar al-Khalwati, an Azerbaijani Sufi known for undertaking long solitary retreats in the wilderness of Azerbaijan and northwestern Iran. While the Indian Subcontinent branches of the order did not survive into modern times, the order later spread into the Ottoman Empire and became influential there after it came under persecution by the rise of the Safavid Shahs during the sixteenth century.[36]

The Qadiriyyah order founded by Abdul Qadir Gilani whose tomb is at Baghdad. It is popular among the Muslims of South India.

Baha-ud-Din Naqshband (1318-1389) of Turkestan founded Naqshbandi order of Sufism. Khwaja Razi-ud-Din Muhammad Baqi Billah whose tomb is in Delhi, introduced the Naqshbandi order in India. The essence of this order was insistence on rigid adherence to Sharia and nurturing love for the Prophet. It was patronized by the Mughal rulers, as its founder was their ancestral Pir (Spiritual guide). "The conquest of India by Babur in 1526 gave considerable impetus to the Naqshbandiyya order" . Its disciples remained loyal to the throne because of the common Turkic origin. With the royal patronage of most of the Mughal rulers, the Naqshbandi order caused the revival of Islam in its pure form.