IS IT POSSIBLE TO LEAD A GOOD ISLAMIC LIFE WITHOUT SUFISM?

Osman Nûri Topbaş

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    The legal aspects of Islam (fatwâ) are the pillars of the construction of Islam whereas the Sufi manners (taqwa) are the complementary parts of the building that beautifies and strengthens the main building. Sufism helps Muslims to unite these two aspects of Islam in addition to perfecting their morality. Furthermore, Sufism enables man to understand the Quran and the universe thus helping him to understand his place and responsibilities in the universe. Sufism with its principles of love of God and knowledge of God is like a window opened to the miraj (ascension to God). In short, the Sufi way is a necessity in the training of the both soul and the heart. Every Muslim more or less needs the Sufi training. In other words, wherever there is a human being Sufism is also present.
   The question "can we do without sufism is in essence equal to asking can we do without hadith, theology, Islamic law, commentary of the Quran and other Islamic sciences. Regarding sufism, nothing equals up to regarding the characteristics such as sincerity, gnosis, purification of the heart, and realization of servanthood to God. Sufism is the name of attaining all these good characteristics; as a matter of fact those who practice these principles without mentioning the name or rejecting the nomenclature of sufism- are also practicing Sufism. The name is not important as long as the principles are put into the effect, we can call sufism as asceticism (zuhd), fear of God (taqwa), realization of religion (ihsan) they all indicate the same reality and serve for the same purpose. All these names take their reality from the most perfect master and teacher of humanity, the prophet Muhammed (pbuh) and the companions whom the prophet (pbuh) trained personally.
   On the other hand, the heart needs training in order to attain peace and tranquility. Even the prophet (pbuh) who was blessed with reception of the divine revelations had a special training before the prophethood. He used to go to the cave Hira and spend his time in worship and contemplation. This special dedication of time to worship is called itiqaf. The prophet (pbuh) continued this practice after he became a prophet and spent the last ten days of the Ramadan in the mosque dedicating all his time solely for worship. Similarly, the prophet Moses spent forty days in worship and mortification of the flesh before he was blessed with speaking with God on the mountains of Sînâ. Prophet Joseph spent twelve years in prison before he became the king of Egypt. He went trough all sorts of difficulties and perfected his personality as well as worshiping God. In that way his heart was cleaned from trusting the ephemeral beings and was dedicated to God only.
   Before the ascension, the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) attained the meaning of the chapter inshirah. His breast was opened and his heart was cleaned. Allah the Almighty filled his heart with knowledge and divine light. In this way he was prepared to see the extraordinary things on his voyage to God, he was cleaned from the density of the material world and was prepared for the spiritual world.
   If all the prophets of God went trough a spiritual training and purification of heart how can ordinary people like us can do without this process? A hair which is polluted with the destiny of the worldly concerns cannot approach to the divine light of the spiritual world. A nose, which is blocked with the dirt, cannot smell the aroma of the flowers and roses. When the window is steamed we cannot see through clearly. A drop of dirt can pollute a whole pot of pure water similarly spiritual dirt blocks the heart from the reception of divine illumination and spiritual blessing.
   In order to emphasize the significance of a purified heart from all sorts of world diseases Allah the almighty states in the Quran: The day on which property will not avail, nor sons Except him who comes to Allah with a heart free (from evil).(Shuara, 26:88-89)
   One can attain a heart, which is sound and free from all sorts of evil thoughts only through a spiritual training. Before such training the heart is like an untamed iron. First it should be heated with the fire and should be cleaned from the dirt, and then it should be hammered and put into the shape that we need. Once the heart is perfected with spiritual training, it can see and understand what the physical eyes cannot see and the mind cannot understand. Rumi describes his own state before his spiritual travel as being unripe even though he occupied a high post in the Saljukid universities. However, when the secrets of the book of the universe was opened to him through the spiritual training he described his new state saying, "I was cooked".
   The companions of the prophet (pbuh) also has shown the highest examples of this spiritual perfection. Before Islam came, some of them had such a stern heart that they used to bury their daughters alive, but after accepting Islam they became the monuments of mercy and soft-heartedness.
   In short, we can also practice Islam without Sufism but the level would be short of perfection. When Sufi methods are excluded from the practice of Islam none can reach the level of practicing Islam in the sense of Ihsân (as if he is seeing God)."
   What else could you advise to the readers of Altinoluk who are the spiritual friends of you about the Sufi way of life. We are sure that they will be waiting the English version of your book "from faith (iman) to internalization of faith (ihsan) in which you have given a detailed information about sufism.
"In addition to what I said so far I should also add few more advises that are emphasized by the sufi masters.
   Sufism is the method of moral training taken from the life and teaching of the messenger of God. It consists of turning one's face towards God and His messenger in love. Those friends of God who placed God and His messenger to the center of their hearts as the sole objects of love have become the friends of all humanity.
   Friendship with the good Muslims and participating in their conversations purify one's morality from evil effects. Those who have a high spiritual energy spread their energy to the others. Since they have purified their own souls from the vices of the ego, they can inculcate the same state of spiritual purity to those who are around them. Accompanying such people make one beneficial for the community in all aspects of life.
   By using love, Sufism establishes spiritual bonds between the disciple and the master. Once the disciple loves his master he imitates him in all of his actions and perfects his morality. Therefore as Muslims we should use the method of love more often than other methods. The basis of Islamic morality is to worship God with sincerity and love. The proof of love and sincerity is to serve God and His creation. Through love, difficult jobs are fulfilled with easiness and contentment. The greatness of a service is judged with the sacrifice in its fulfillment. Sincere service is the indication of one's spiritual perfection. The hearts of such people are the loci of God's manifestations.
   The more one gets closer to God the more his heart becomes receptive for spiritual realities. On the other hand the more one is engulfed with his animal soul, the more he loses his humanity.
   God has names of beauty (jamâl) and names of majesty (jalâl). However, his names "the most compassionate and most merciful (rahmân and rahîm) are mentioned in the Quran more than other names of Him. Therefore in the imitation of His Lord, a Muslim should make mercy and compassion his second nature. The causes of injustices in the world are lack of mercy and love. Those who cannot love can easily become despots and tyrants. They only use fear and hate to control others and they are ignorant of the fact that there is not a heart that cannot be captured. As for the sun, rejection of giving light and heat is impossible, similarly for good Muslims it is their nature to help and love others.
   Hallâj who has an exclusive place in the hearts of the divine lovers prayed for those who had stoned him to death saying, "O my Lord please forgive those who has stoned me to death before you forgive me!"
   If we like to know our spiritual state we should continuously analyze our actions and feelings. In particular the baseless claims of our ego should be subsided and kept under control. Otherwise we can fall to the state of Satan, who has lost divine favor due to his haughtiness and vain pride. He was the teacher of the angels in the paradise but he could not control his feelings and felt superior to human beings, and was cursed due to his pride.
   Rumi compares the vices of human nature to the thorns of the rose and advises us to get the nature of rose not the thorns. In the garden of the world, the thorns harm us but we should not let our soul to take the nature of thorns rather we should strive to convert the wild garden into a rose garden."

 

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