The Origin And Contributions Of Sufism In Islam

There are many trends in Islam that all emerged due to specific circumstances, socio-political and socio-economical conditions in particular areas. Mysticism or Sufism is one of the most important of these trends that appear in Islam with the passage of time.

However, many Muslims oppose Sufism and question its authenticity. They claim that Sufism is against the teachings of Islam and therefore it is not suitable for the Muslims around the world. In fact, Sufism is just a trend as Wahabism is another concept prevalent in Islam that denounces Sufism. In fact, both these concepts emerged due to concrete reasons, solid circumstances, and backgrounds in different socio-political conditions that were quite different to each other.

How Sufism originated:

Some Sufis claim that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was the first ever Sufi while others are of the opinion that Hazrat Ali (R.A.) was the first one. No matter who was the original Sufi, both personalities have the qualities from which Sufis drive inspiration.

As a fact of matter, the history of Sufism dates back to the middle of eight century when two of the important Muslims dynasties, Umayyads and Abbasids were involved in political struggle. What both of these families did that they make extensive use of Islam and so called theologies to justify them as the just rulers. This bloodshed was making Islam lose its spirituality and was converting the religion into political tool.

This practice was unbearable for many Muslims who wanted to restore the spiritual value of Islam and therefore they started campaigning against this struggle for power. In this period two people, one man and one woman that are Hassan and Rabia Busry kept away from politics and devoted their energies for promoting spiritual way of living life.

Hassan Busry did not except the Umayyads doctrine of predetermination that they were using as their right to rule the Muslim world and instead endorsed the concept of free will. Hassan was a very pious man, was excellent in Quran tutoring and other Islamic knowledge, and was widely respected by his students and public.

The simple and spiritual life style of both Hassan and Rabia gave birth to Sufism and one of the most important parts of Sufism is their stern belief in “Tawakal” that is total reliance on Allah. Therefore, some of them do not attempt to earn their livelihood by working hard as they think Allah will provide them everything they need to survive.

The contributions of Sufism:

The doctrine of Sufism did great service to Islam in some departments even if it had distorted some of the teachings of this great religion. Some of these contributions are,

·         Sufis always stood firm against oppressive and cruel rulers as they think that rulers never hesitate to shed blood to take over power and it is actually public who serve them.

·         Those Sufis who accepted lands from rulers dedicated those lands to run the kitchen for poor and needy.

·         They also fulfilled the spiritual and moral needs of the Muslims because before them Muslims used to visit Ulema only to resolve legal problems.

·         Some Sufis played a pivotal role in the propagation of Islam especially in Indo-Pak Subcontinent, Iraq, Iran, and other Muslims areas.

·         Millions of people embraced Islam due to the simple and un-ostentatious lifestyle of these saints.  

Conclusion:

In this article, some of the contributions and origin of Sufism have been discussed. It is also a fact that many Muslim factions denounce Sufism as they consider it against basic teachings of Islam. However, being a Muslims, we need take a balanced approach as all the trends prevailing in Islam do have some benefits to offer.