The World Community for Christian Meditation is a mainstream group that is close to Sufism in my view. The WCCM supports a daily meditation practise that enables one to draw closer to the unity that is God.
It has no priests nor churches of its own. It has acquired a retreat centre at Bonnevaux, France recently.
The twice daily mantra meditation is rooted in the practise of the desert fathers.
Although founded by monks in Catholic orders, the local and national groups are heavily comprised of practitioners from lay backgrounds. Groups are wonderfully diverse.
I have been able to attend some sessions and have always found the participants welcoming. The current world leader, Lawrence Freeman (a monk) writes widely and speaks at events all over the world. He is a very inclusive tolerant person, who finds wisdom and the hand of God in many places.
The last group I attended frequently used Rumi’s poetry as a discussion point after meditation.
The search for the divine in our lives and unity with it that runs through Sufism runs through the people I met at the WCCM.
Hope that this helps.
Presbyterian Christian - PC(USA)8y
Originally Answered: What is the closest to Sufism in Christendom?
As far as the Christian tradition (which is what I'm guessing you mean by Christendom, since Christendom itself is a more narrow term and signifies a period of Christian Imperialism that the greater majority of the church is desperately trying to distance itself from in a post-modern society), there isn't a lot of correlation with the Sufi lifestyle, philosophy, and teaching.
Admittedly, my knowledge of Sufism is very limited, but the closest thing to Sufism in the Christian tradition that you will find is in the early church at the beginnings of the ascetic/monastic movement. The ascetics, in particular, took on a similar approach to their relationship to God/Allah. Most ascetics moved to places of isolation and sought to spend their time denying themselves of earthly pleasures and distractions in order that they might better focus their energies toward the mystic contemplation of the Divine. Through fasting and a very minimal diet, the ascetics cleansed and emptied their physical bodies in order to be filled by God's Spirit. Through isolation, they removed themselves from distraction and temptation. Some ascetics would take on students or disciples and form more or less ascetic communities, living together in the faith.
The monastic movement grew somewhat out of the ascetic movement, and if you're looking for a modern-day equivalent in Christianity to the Sufi tradition, then the closest you will likely find is still in the monastic orders of the Catholic and Orthodox churches. Just as Sufis have a variety of different Orders that have different approaches to the life of faith, so too do the various monastic orders. These communities of people devoted to time spent in work, in worship, and in devotion to their faith are historically some of th...
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Maybe you should look for the answer by reading about this guy: Francis of Assisi, and maybe, but not necessarily these guys: Mount Athos - National Geographic Magazine
There's another person whom I could think of, and that would be this guy: Pope Francis. He could tell you (something) about Sufism without even knowing it. I strongly point to could tell and something.
But to give a more accurate answer, one should get insight into what Sufism is and how even Sufis look at it.
After all, since this quiestion is to compare to Christianity, I'd say that this guy might have known a thing or two about what Sufism is:
Check Matthew 5-7 to see more what is the closest to Sufism in Christianity.
Maybe Matthew was too harsh on cutting thieve's hand, or gouging one's eye for looking at a woman lustfully, or suggesting to not marry a divorced woman, but more or less it resembles close enough.
Sufis more than other Muslims are like floowing: " If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also." (not counting the terrorists obviously).
Gnosticism.
Once existence Disciples were sufi. Also their story came us with Quran. Jesus Christ (a.s) gave them secret dhikr and they dedicated theirself to the teach people but followers of Desciples broke the rules.
Then We sent following their footsteps Our messengers and followed [them] with Jesus, the son of Mary, and gave him the Gospel. And We placed in the hearts of those who followed him compassion and mercy and monasticism, which they innovated; We did not prescribe it for them except [that they did so] seeking the approval of Allah . But they did not observe it with due observance. So We gave the ones who believed among them their reward, but many of them are defiantly disobedient. (Al-Hadid 27)
I wrote two books about this. No. Christianity and Islam are diametrically opposed to one another. Their respective teachings and moral values are literally polar opposites.
While on the surface both religions come from roughly the same area of the world and promote a belief in one God, they teach you vastly different things.
For starters, Islam vehemently rejects all the basic tenets of Christianity, which are:
- The Divinity of Christ - In Christianity Jesus is basically the incarnation of the Divine. Islam denigrates Jesus to a mere man, a prophet who is of lower “rank” than Muhammad, the “Seal of the Prophets”.
- Christ’s Death on the Cross and Ressurection - In Christianity, Jesus died on the cross and came back to life on the third day. Islam teaches that Jesus was prematurely called to heaven by Allah, and another person was crucified in his place. Since Muslim Jesus didn’t die, he cannot be resurrected.
- Christ dying for our sins - In Christianity, Jesus died for our mankind’s sins. Whoever accepts Jesus’ sacrifice, will be atoned from his or her sins. In Islam, since Jesus didn’t die AND was just a mere human, he also cannot atone for anyone’s sins.
- Christ coming back to judge the living and the dead - Christ is the central figure of the Christian Endtimes. Christians believe that Jesus will come back in power to rule the whole world as Divine King. In Islam, Jesus a.k.a. Isa al-Masih is said to come back, as well. BUT when he does, he will “break the cross and kill the pig” (i.e. destroy the Christian faith and Christian practice). Then he will take a wife and retire and die here on earth after a couple of years.
If you go beyond the basic tenets, you will also see that the teachings of Christianity and Islam are polar opposites.
Let us for example, take apart Jesus’ manifesto - The Sermon on the Mount - and compare the teachings contained therein with Islam’s teachings:
- Loving your Enemy - Jesus tells you to turn the other cheek in face of adversity and loving even your enemies. Islam is in every aspect non-pacifistic. In fact, the Qur’an repeatedly admonishes Muslims who refuse to take part in an armed Jihad and even regulates how and when to fight the unbelievers, and how to divide the war booty gained from the Jihad. One of the longest Surah from the Qur’an, Surah 8, is aptly named “War Booty.”
- Divorce - Jesus rejects the Old Testament notion of a man is able to divorce his wife by writing a letter. Muhammad goes the other way and teaches that a man can irrevocably divorce his wife just by saying “Talaq, talaq, talaq!” Also, Christianity teaches that husband and wife are “one flesh” and so therefore polygamy is forbidden. However, Islam promotes polygamy and concubinage (mainly in the form of captured sex slaves a.k.a “those whom your right hand possesses”).
- Oaths - Jesus forbids saying oaths made to God. He tells his followers to just say “yay, yay” or “nay, nay.” Muhammad teaches that you HAVE to say your oaths to Allah.
- Adultery - Jesus teaches that adultery (and also every other sin) starts with the intention. Islam teaches that intentions that are not translated into action do not lead to sin.
- Praying - Jesus teaches that you shouldn’t pray in “vain repetitions,” because God already knows what you need before you even say it. Islam, on the other hand, is a religion of repetitions: repetitive body movements during each of the daily prayers, repeated prayers for each body movement, going around the Kaaba 7x, etc.
As mentioned above, these are just some of the differences one can find in the Sermon on the Mount. The list is basically endless if you go through the whole length and breadth of the New Testament and compare it to the Qur’an.
Lastly, two points that I should note as well, since they are so fundamental to the understanding how Christianity and Islam are polar opposites:
- The Christian God is described as love (1 John 4:8), devoid of any darkness (1 John 1:5), and that he does not tempt anyone (James 1:3) to do evil. Once again, in stark contrast to that, Allah continuously tests the believer and is the source of all that is good and all that is evil.
- In Christianity Hell is the state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God, while Heaven is an eternity at God’s side. The torment of Hell comes from an eternal existence excluded from God. The bliss of Heaven comes from being in eternal companionship with God. In Islam however, Allah and his angels are the ones who actively do the torturing of the unbeliever in hell. All the while, the Islamic Paradise is filled with earthly pleasures that might have been forbidden for Muslims while they were alive on earth: rivers of alcoholic drinks, underaged boy-servants, multiple sex-mates who stay can perpetually rejuvenate their virginity, perpetual penile erections, etc.
As I said, I wrote two books on this topic, so this is certainly only the tip of the iceberg. However, I hope that it should be clear that Christianity’s teachings and moral values are diametrically opposed to that of Islam.
The word Sufism was first used in the 19th Century bt German scholars to define Tasawwuf, i.e. Islamic Mysticism. In truth, the idea of Sufism is really synonymous with Heart-based Mysticism. It is all about the prayer of the heart and the Way of Love. Franciscan Spirituality is essentially Christian
Left (Islam) >< Right (Christian)
- Jesus is a prophet >< Jesus is a God
- Jesus is still alive (as human) and will return to earth (as human) in the end of the day >< Jesus died on the cross (even though he came back from dead)
- Muhammad pbuh is the last prophet >< Muhammad is not a prophet
- Solomon and David are prophets (and also they were good men) >< Solomon and David are not prophets
- God sent human to the earth because human is the leader (Caliphate) on earth >< God sent human to the earth because of Adam and Eve’s sins
- Eat and drink halal >< You can eat and drink anything because it never remains on your body.
- Muslim men can marry Christian and Jew >< Christian only can marry Christian or the non christian spouse needs to promise that the future children will be raised as Christian.
- You can pray (not Salah) anytime you want to God but you still need to do Salah (Pray) 5 times a day >< you can pray anytime you want and go to church on Sunday
- Fasting : can't eat any kind of foods and drinks >< Christian has fasting which allows to eat certain foods, like only not eating meat, only can drink water etc.
- Newborn baby : Aqeeqah >< Baptism
- God will forgive all sins without redemption >< God redeemed himself (Jesus) for human’s sins according to God’s law that all sins need blood for redemption.
Most Turks love a person called "Mevlana" aka Rumi in all the world.
Mevlana had a view of Islam different than other middle eastern, esp. Arab countries, this view is more open to the world, because it makes faith something between you and whoever you worship.
adding to that a lot of young Turks are agnostic or atheist.
So I would say most Turkish people love Islam, Mevlana's Islam, not Saudi Arabia and Wahabism's Islam.
Sufism rejects the core of Christianity (the divinity and salvific grace of Jesus as the Christ). In turn, Christianity rejects the core of Sufism, i.e., the prophecy of Muhammad.
Yes, both religions have movements that focus more on various universal teachings, or (mystical) experiences and practices, etc. But there's no easy way to measure which is more accepting or syncretic with the Other.
Unfortunately some “Salafi Muslims” are creating misunderstanding about Sufism at social media and they are also very active at Quora. Sufi Islam in actual is true form of Sunni Islam which has become separate school of thought due to emergence of Salafi/Wahabbi/Deobandi ideology over the years which are hardliners. I will try to explain the core values of Sufism in more simple way.
- The first and foremost important rule of Sufi Islam is worship and praise of Almighty Allah.
- Sufi Muslims regard Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) as al-Insān al-Kāmil, the perfect human being.
- Sufi Muslims highly regard Imam Ali (cousin and son in law of Prophet Muhammad) and trace most of their precepts from him.
- Praying to Almighty Allah 5 times a day (Salat in Arabic, Namaz in Persian/Urdu) is a must thing for every Muslim including Sufis.
- The core practices of Sufis are praising Almighty Allah through Majalis (sitting) and Dhikr (devotion).
- The core dimensions of Sufism is universal brotherhood, human values and spirituality. You will hardly find Sufi Muslims confronting with other group of people and attacking their religious beliefs.
- Sufism object the ideology of Takfeer (calling someone as infidel).
- Sufi Muslims also get mediation through Raqs e Darvesh (Darvesh Whrilling), Dhamaal (a subcontinent style of dance mostly found at Sufi shrines) and Sufi music. These practices stand rival to Salafi/Wahabi/Deobandi Islam.
- Sufis do not worship any human being but Almighty Allah.
If I conclude in simple words, if you don't believe in oneness of Almighty Allah and Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) as perfect human being, then you are not Sufi Muslim atleast.
Arabs, Turkic and Persians have great contributions to Sufism. Abdul Qadir Jillani, Junaid Baghdadi, Sheikh Saadi Shirazi, Shams Tibraizi and most important Maulana Rumi are one of the biggest servants of Islam. I can bet that you will never ever find anything objectionable in their teachings and way of life. Maulana Rumi has become center figure of Sufi Islam where all of his poems and proses have been translated in many international languages. It is worth mentioning that teachings of Sikhism have inspiration from Sufi Islam. Sufi Muslims Bulleh Shah, Waris Shah, Mian Mir and Khawaja Fareed are highly respected figures in Sikhism.
Over the years Salafi/Wahabbi ideology have emerged and gained more space in our society. They oppose all forms of music and consider it haram. In some cases, they get extreme with Sufis and attack at their religious beliefs. Salafis get confused Sufis with Sunni Brelvis which is another school of thought at subcontinent. Some of the practices of Sunni Brelvis like worshiping graves is highly objectionable and against core values of standard Islam. I would clear one thing that Sufi Islam does not preach and promote the worship of graves. Yes the Sufi practices in subcontinent may be different to one in Central Asian and Turkey but that doesn't mean we set it as an example to bash entire
school of thought.
Before you go, this video give you glimpse of Dhikr in Sufi Islam.
Thanks for reading.
~MAK
References: Sufism - Wikipedia
YouTube.
I ask this question all the time. I have been raised Irish Catholic and I’m proud to be. However, when I began looking into the history of the Roman Catholic Church, they have in fact done some questionable things. This was a point in my life where I considered leaving the church. The one thing I cannot stand to this very day is the status of the Pope; all he is is the Bishop of Rome. We should remember that Christ is the head of the Church. And when I say “Church” versus “church,” I mean the Universal Church, the Christian community. After all, the Greek word translates to “congregation” and
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Sufism is based on Islam and it doesn't offer anything more than Islam. Of course, Sufism provides a different reading of the Quran, as Islamic theologians and canonists do.
We have a text and we can approach it with all kind of views. Maybe Wahhabis say that the text is self-sufficient and clear but the history says otherwise, and the Wahhabis themselves have their very own understanding of the very same text.
So this approaches creating different discourses during Islamic history and Sufism is one of them. Sufism obtains its fundamentals out of Islamic sources then merge it with other cultural
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Sufis are in every religion, they are just known by a different name. In Hindus they are called Jogis. In some religions they are called Monks. These are people who eschew worldly things. They have some connection to the religion they are following but in reality they are far away from the religious teachings they are supposed to be following.
Sufism (I mean, real, honest sufism) is an expression of universal spirituality which is common to all spiritual masters of the world. When a universal master emerges from among Muslims, he is called a “sufi.” But an adept who reach that stage of universal spiritual consciousness does not belong to any religion — When Sufi-Sant Kabir died in India, both Hindus and Muslims claimed his body and both groups were equally right (or equally wrong).
No real sufi or sant or bodhidharma or mystic is a Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist or Christian —- even if they use their respective scriptures to justify their transformation. They cannot be labeled into any category except for administrative purposes.
All religions have similar contemplative and purely spiritual traditions but moving to teh highest levels are not as rule encouraged. The Church, the Ummah, the sangha and the society seek outwardly religious, ritual-loving, and tradition-oriented masters, not those in direct touch with God! This is because they do not fear society or its rules and thus impossible to restrain except physically.
An additional problem is that mystics have a charisma of their own which cause a lot of people to listen to them and follow them. Too many followers can threaten the State and religious establishment. The State is often right too, to keep mystics from entering politics. Whenever they were successful in taking over control, the result has been disastrous. World history is replete with Savanarolas.
Because of that, in order to be be safe in a society, spiritual adepts have to pretend to follow the religious materialism practiced by their society. Thus it is difficult to distinguish between a real sufi, a pretending sufi or a normal Muslim who thinks he is a sufi, by his attire and behavior.
Some sufi adepts who revealed the highest spiritual reality were banished, persecuted or killed—like Mansour Al Hellaj who declared “Ana Al Haq” (I am He, or I am It, I am truth, I am God). This is the Arabic equivalent of the Sanskrit Aham Brahmasmi. (I am Brahma, the Ultimate.) Note that this is not a statement of pride but of utmost humility. The speaker indicates that there is only God or Brahma, and he is nothing but a temporary wave in that ocean.
Much later, when later Imam Al Ghazali (who himself was a sufi) was asked whether Al Hallaj was right in declaring “An al Haq” he replied, yes Al Hallaj was right, but should not have declared it to the Ulema or Caliphs who were not adepts themselves. Al Ghazali was right. WE won’t understand what Al Hellaj meant. In our ignorance If you and I start saying “An Al Haq” it would be from a position of pride, materialism and ignorance which will be a real threat to social order.
Sufi mysticism is evident in many Muslim masters’ writings. An example:
When the mysterious unity between
the soul and the Divine becomes clear,
you will realize that
you are none other than God.
You will see all your actions as His actions;
all your features as His features;
all your breaths as His breath.
(Ibn Arabi) (13th century AD)
Due to their “supra-religious” vision, Sufis, Catholic Saints etc. were considered potential trouble makers while they were alive. But dead sufis and saints were worth their weight in gold. Their graves produced miracles and miracles brought pilgrims, and pilgrims spent money and made the custodians of the graves wealthy.
Who came first, you or your mother? Are you an offshoot of her, or is she an offshoot of you?
Judaism came first. Christianity branched off from it. Cause and effect.
What’re you asking is if mysticism possible without Islam? Sufism is the mystic version of Islam.
(A Sufi, Ahmad Al-Ghazali, the brother of Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali, with his disciple)
People often confuse and think that Sufism grew out of an isolated philosophy. Which is alien to Islam. Some people even say Sufism has nothing to do with Islam. But they’re wrong. Sufism is closer to Islam than the foreign mystical philosophies. Its true that many Sufis had their influences from the gnostic philosophies like Neoplatonism. But the original Sufism and its characteristics can draw its influence from Islam. Particularly from Prophet Muhammad himself.
First of all, one of the key roles of Sufism is to attain the divine love, mercy (attributes) of Allah. The philosophy part comes later. And how can one attain that divine attributes? Its by following a simple moderate lifestyle in contrast to earthly affairs. However unlike Christian monastics, it doesn’t have to be a complete secluded path. Anyone can attain Sufi life without any kind of formal training.
There is a hadith which says,
Umar ibn al-Khattab reported: I entered the room of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, while he was lying on his side over a mat. I sat down as he drew up his lower garment and he was not wearing anything else. The mat had left marks on his side. I looked at the Prophet’s cupboard and I saw a handful of barely in a small amount, the same of mimosa leaves in the corner, and a leather bag hanging to the side. My eyes started to tear up, and the Prophet said, “What makes you weep, son of Khattab?” I said, “O Prophet of Allah, why should I not cry that this mat has left marks on your side and I see little in this cupboard? Caesar and Khosrau live among fruits and springs, while you are the Messenger of Allah and His chosen, yet this is your cupboard.” The Prophet said, “O son of Khattab, are you not pleased that they are for us in the Hereafter and for them in the world?” I said, “Of course.”
So, there you could see some Sufi characteristics in prophet Muhammad himself. He is drawn from this world’s life.
Even in Quran, it further says,
“O Children of Adam! Look to your adornment at every place of worship, and eat and drink, but be not prodigal. Lo! He loveth not the prodigals” 7:31
Quran commands believers for not being extravagant.
It also says,
“This day are (all) good things made lawful for you. The food of those who have received the Scripture is lawful for you, and your food is lawful for them. And so are the virtuous women of the believers and the virtuous women of those who received the Scripture before you (lawful for you) when ye give them their marriage portions and live with them in honour, not in fornication, nor taking them as secret concubines. Whoso denieth the faith, his work is vain and he will be among the losers in the Hereafter.” 5:5
You could find lots of other Quranic verses and hadiths prohibiting/discouraging lavish lifestyles. This is where the original Sufism comes. The philosophical Sufism comes many years later. Of course there are people like Junayd Al-Baghdadi, Abdul Qadir Gilani, Mansur Al-Hallaj, Rabia Al-Basri, Al-Ghazali or Ibn Arabi, Rumi etc. But like I’ve been telling the most important contribution to Sufism comes from Al-Ghazali. The reconciliation of orthodoxy Islam with Sufism. So, like many people are saying that Sufism has nothing to do with Islam… I’d say read him. Then go to bigger Sufis like Ibn Arabi or Rumi.
Anyway, you could also find poetic beauties and several other aesthetic lifestyles from Muhammad’s lifestyle. For example Muhammad used to weep upon hearing Al-Khansa’s poetries.
Although when it comes to topic of music and musical instruments, Salafists have an aversion to it, but many hadiths indicate that Muhammad was also fond of music. So, whatever the case is, love for poetries, music and aestheticism can be found in Muhammad’s life too.So, these things are closely related to orthodox Islam. Its not an alienating topic to Islam.
In any case, like I said, if you try to read Sufism, you need to draw a distinction between orthodox Sufism and philosophical Sufism. The orthodox Sufism is perfectly compatible with Islam. In fact, the root of Orthodox Sufism comes from Islam itself. The philosophical Sufism comes later and tries to strengthens the philosophical position of Sufism in accordance with Orthodox Sufism.
So, finally lets come down to your answer. Is it possible to have Sufism without Islam?
It depends. Exactly what kind of Sufism are you after. Whether its Orthodox Sufism or Philosophical Sufism. Cause orthodox Sufism follows things like - refraining from eating too much, fasting more, praying more, sleeping less, performing dhikr, giving zakat, remembering death etc. In other words, disciplining of the soul. But if you’re referring to the philosophical Sufism, more precisely gnostic mysticism, then yeah, you might find it other schools of thoughts too.
Footnotes
Absolutely.
Buddhism has great teachings and phenomenol wisdom related to meditation. Sufis benefit greatly from Buddhist teachings and many of us consider the Buddhists our brothers and sisters. Siddharta Gautama (Buddha) is likely one of the 124,000 Prophets sent to mankind before Muhammad [saw]. Buddhism Nirvana is the same as our concept of Heaven or Jannah. The enemies that Buddha taught us to overcome converge to Sufi teachings on the Four Great Enemies. Etc.
As a muslim, to me, Buddhas teachings were from Allâh but Buddhas teachings alone is incomplete. The same for all religions, Moses t
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I am a Muslim and recently I was invited by a refugee in my neighbourhood to attend an African Christian Church as a guest. I went several times and listened to sermons by their pastor. Overwhelmingly it was the similarity of our religions, rather than the differences, that stood out to me, especially through his sermons. It stands to reason that they should be similar, since we believe in all the same Prophets and messengers of God with the exception of the latest one. However, I had thought that the various translations of the Bible/Injil and the manipulation of the religion over time for human ends would be more significant and have distorted things more than has been the case. Yes, these are things we need to be constantly mindful of in both religions, but particularly in Christianity, since learning the original language of the Bible is not common. However, I am glad that we still share some much and it gives me great hope of peace and friendship between us all.
The following beliefs and practices of faith are held in common, based on the observations I have made and my study of the two religions:
- Belief in one God (with the caveat that we Muslims have concerns about the trinity impinging on that oneness… but not all Christians are trinitarian)
- Belief in the Prophethood of all the line of prophets before Jesus/Isa (as)
- Agreement with the teachings of Jesus (as) and emphasis on his importance and significance
- Hijab/hair coverings are in common with early and traditional Christians
- Saying the name of God when slaughtering an animal for meat
- Jerusalem as a holey site
- Forbidding the eating of pork (this is in both the Bible and Quran though only followed by some modern day Christians, not all)
- Belief in the return of Jesus (as) before the day of Judgement
- Prostrating in prayer (Jesus (as) did this)
- Holding hands out during supplication. European Christians place the palms together, which is different, but in other parts of the world many Christians have the palms facing up too. I have gone to Churches where this is done.
- Belief in the omniscience of God
- Belief in the answering of supplications/prayers by God
- Washing in water (baptism and wudu)
- Respect for Mary/Mariam (as)
- Cleanliness being next to godliness
- Valuing of humility
- Valuing of generosity
- Giving charity/alms
- Valuing patience
- Understanding that wealth and power come with temptation
- Saying amen/amiin after prayers
- Wanting for our brother/neighbour what we would want for ourselves
- The Lord’s Prayer and Surah al Fatiha following a very similar pattern and our other prayers often being modelled on the same pattern
- That our lord has created
- That our lord has created us in the best of forms
- That our lord has created us from clay
- That Satan/Shaitan tempts us, that he was in the heavens and was expelled and a great deal more about genesis, through we differ on some details such as Adam’s (as) rib (which is accepted in Sunnie ahadieth but rejected in Shia ahadieth and not mentioned at all in the Quran despite the story of their creation being told five times in different ways)
- In essence, the ten commandments
- Love for each other and love for God
- Equality of all human beings
By going into finer and finer detail I could continue to add to this list for a very long time.
The Quran describes Christians to Muslims as ‘Nearest to you in faith’, says, ‘among them you will find true friends’ and promises of those who follow earlier Prophets (as), which includes Christians, that they, ‘will have their just reward’, meaning that they will go to heaven, unless they are shown clear proof of the Prophethood of Muhammad (sawa) and reject it deliberately out of worldly desire. Likewise, in the Bible Jesus (as) says another Prophet is to come after him and refers to his lineage being consistent with that of Prophet Muhammad (sawa) and to his name, which in the original script is almost identical to Muhammad.
There is far more that we agree upon than there is that we disagree upon and many, though not all, of the sources of disagreement we do have relate to Muslims or Christians having incomplete knowledge of their religion.
Dear,
I am a disciple in the Naqshbandi-Mujaddidi sufi order of Islam. I am ‘hanafi’ by the school of practice and Ahl us sunna (Sunni) in terms of belief which constitutes overwhelming majority of muslims worldwide.
I have already wrote an answer to a similar question as this one. There is a common misconception about “Tasawwuf” (sufism as generally said) but it is not a separate movement or ideology. I, as an example, am both sunni and sufi disciple but do i become a Sufi? No, hell no. I dont deserve it.
Being a sufi is harder than anything you can ever imagine. It is the complete annihilation
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The term "sufism" covers a very broad gamut of beliefs and group, and some of them are within the fold of mainstream Islam -- not even a form of Islam, but just Islam, and others have lost their Islamic character altogether.
For example, very few people would disagree that that Zaid Shakir (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaid_Shakir) or Hamza Yusuf (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamza_Yusuf) have Suf
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That’s a good question. Something I’d like to get out of the way first, is that it’s often tricky to speak of “influence” as a causal process in the development of religion. People wishing to give a concrete face to relationships often go for the simple answer, “x taught/influenced y” — this is the easy response which made 19th century enthusiasts, seeing immense similarities between the theologies and mystic exercises of different religions, to conclude that “it was all passed down from Atlantis, which had the philosophia perennis (original philosophy).”
But it’s really not that simple. Often there is no such substantial, historical link: very distant systems of mysticism and philosophy, even cultural movements, show similar traits because they capture identical aspects of thought and nature, not because they were comparing notes. I’m not saying this to rule out mutual concrete influence, but to point out that’s not the only option.
In any case, there is good reason to think - or at least so it seems to me - there was a great historical convergence between (a) the synthesis of legalist Sunnism and Sufi mysticism formulated by Al Ghazali in the 11th c., which formed historical Islamic orthodoxy until the modern period, and (b) the school of traditionalist Christian mysticism, centred on hesychasm, outlined by Gregory Palamas in the 14th century, which has remained the core of Greek Orthodoxy.
The main similarities I am thinking of are:
- The systematic ‘cardiac’ or Jesus prayer, consisting of the statement “Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me”, constantly remembered. This has often been paralleled with dhikr or remembrance of the name of God.
- The division between the energies/actions and the ousia/essence of God, the former perceptible, the latter inexpressible and incognizable. Similar ideas were expressed by the Moslem philosophers, and later integrated into Sufism, as the essence-being or wahiyya-wujud distinction.
- The aktiston phos, or Uncreated Light revealed at Christ’s Transfiguration, and forming part of the experiences of Christian mystics, and the nur or light that is central to many Sufi schools.
Equally pertinently, the school of Palamas emerged as the anti-Latin and anti-rationalist school - comparable to how Ghazali’s dogmatic-mystical synthesis was set against the rationalists and the philosophers - during the 14th century controversy between Palamas and his Italiote Greek rival, Varlaam (who, after Constantinople sanctioned Palamas’ view, converted to Catholicism).
This was the same cultural rift exploited by the Ottoman state - of which the Sufis were, at the time, the strong right arm - to rally the anti-Latin elements within the Greek Church to sanction their rule. Greek scholars who favoured Hellenistic philosophy and Union with Rome generally fled to Italy, and the writings of their most prominent scholar (who was revealed to have covertly believed the “equality” of Christianity with Hellenic paganism) were burnt.
Culturally, this signalled the end of the period (13th-15th c.) in which the Greek literary culture had especially accepted classical, pagan, Latin and archaizing elements - including the Hellenic identity - and a resurgence of a more dogmatic, anti-rationalist Christianity institutionally supportive of Turkish rule to drive away Western influence (not just intellectually, but materially; medieval Greeks hated the profiteering and religiously aggressive Crusaders far more than they disliked the comparatively enlightened Turkish rule, which viewed the natural ‘order of the world’ - i.e. the tax-payer’s way of life and existing sense of community - as sacrosanct, indeed the justification for the existence of the state).
Whether the link between Palamism and Sufism was somehow causal, the two schools ended up on what was definitely the same political and social boat.
Over time, aesthetic similarities became established. The Ottoman harem was the nerve center of funding for the arts, including both secular and devotional music as well as dancing and the distinctive cultural life of Constantinople, which was in turn exported to the general Ottoman urban world. That life was disproportionately reliant on Greeks, Armenians and gypsies - who especially engaged in art, trade, music, banking and prostitution, all more vital to cultural life than farming, herding, and war, the official business of the Moslem millet. As a result, the music of the Church and the Sufis was often written by the same artistic people.
Modern Orthodox ecclesiastical music long, long ago became inseparable from this continuum with Sufi music; today, reconstructions of “original” sounds are speculative and the province of secular musicians, not the Church.
Christians freely engaged in Sufi activities, and the defining characteristic of the Sufi lodges established all over the Balkans was openness to Christians. It’s worth noting that this openness of Sufi lodges extended to men of the sword as much as to cultured associates of the harem; the Sufi lodge or tekke was so vital to the Ottoman society because it opened a free space for all communities. After the end of Ottoman rule, the Greek word for Sufi lodge or tekke was seamlessly extended to the gathering places of the criminal, impoverished and generally fringe elements of society, where they were free to continue the Ottoman musical tradition (sometimes banned by Greek dictatorships as both criminal and culturally suspect as non-Western) or rembetiko music, fraternize, drink, smoke, fight and be passionate romantics. The word that’s now used to characterize the Greek soul par excellence - the “meraki” - is a Turkish loan for suppressed passion and the romantic’s search for the weird, that was generally used in these circles.
This folk musical tradition continues what used to be secular Byzantine and later Ottoman music. Here’s a song that caused quite a bit of shock when it was released in the early 20th century, by publicly broaching the (actually very wide-spread) feeling of loss at the forced population exchange of Moslem communities in Greece with the Christians of Turkey. The singer, Stella Haskel, was Jewish, indicative of the social fringe this music developed in:
When the Hoca comes out on the mosque
at the turn of evening
When he says the Bir Allah (Tur. ‘God is One’)
my heart bloodiesOn a moment like this I met you
in a far land
and whenever I hear the Bir Allah
my mind goes to youin the depths of the east
in my black exile
when I hear the Bir Allah
my heart bloodies
The song nods to a common experience - that is, observation of the other community’s prayers, and the call to prayer in the local language - from the perspective of an ‘exchanged’ Moslem, who had first met their Christian lover when kneeling at prayers. Calling the exchange exile or xenitia to the East - exile being considered a terrible burden in Greek culture - completes the picture of a suppressed passion that cannot be fulfilled, i.e. the suffering artist’s meraki and desire for union with the Beloved. And true to Sufi form, the boundary between the earthly lover in a ‘far land’ (the original homeland) and the spiritual lover is blurred by the song making a formulaic prayer its crie de cœur to the One God.
