A BRIEF HISTORY OF SUFISM
The Four Rightly Guided Caliphs (7th Century)
At the time of Muhammad’s death in 632 AD, a significant portion of the Arabian tribes had already embraced Islam (from the root “slm,” meaning “to submit (to God)”). As Muhammad left no heirs, his close friend and most loyal companion, Abu Bakr, took charge of leading the Muslim community (from the root “musilim,” meaning “(one) who submits (to God)”). Abu Bakr became the first caliph (from the root “khfl,” meaning “to follow”) and passed away in 634. Before his death, he appointed Omar (634-644), another companion of the Prophet, as his successor. After Omar’s death, Othman became the third caliph and was assassinated in 656. This led to a political crisis between Ali, the Prophet’s son-in-law, who was elected as the fourth caliph, and a group of rivals led by Mo’awiya, Othman’s cousin and the governor of Syria. Ultimately, in 661, Ali was assassinated, and the capital of Islam was moved from Medina to Damascus, with the caliphate passing to Mo’awiya.
The era of the four rightly guided caliphs was a period of immense expansion for Islam, which by 710 AD stretched from the Chinese border to Spain, including North Africa, Egypt, the entire Middle East, Persia, Afghanistan, Chinese Turkestan, and made inroads into India.
When Abu Bakr assumed the position of the first caliph in the Muslim community, he simultaneously inherited spiritual authority and governing powers. The same applied to the four rightly guided caliphs. However, as early as the first generations of Islam, the pure and mystical faith as professed in the Quran (Qur’an, from “qara’a,” meaning “to read, recite”) ceased to be defended by pious and saintly men, and instead, it became the concern of a caliph primarily focused on political calculations and individuals interested in power. It was in such a climate that the pious individuals dedicated to spirituality found the only viable solution to be a deeper separation from the world and the choice of an ascetic life.
The Ascetics (8th Century)
The first groups of ascetics emerged in Iraq in the early 8th century. Although the principles of Sufism had not yet been formulated during that time, Sufis themselves consider these ascetics as their predecessors. It was they who, rebelling against the impiety of the caliphs, led a life of poverty and trust in God, preached the verses of the Quran and their love, inaugurated the practice of dhikr or invocation (see the chapter on the method later), wore woolen garments, and began to gather in centers. The terms “sufi” and “tasawwuf” (Sufism) probably derive from the woolen garments (suf) worn by these Muslim ascetics.
The most important figure of this intermediate period is Hasan al-Basri (640-728), who was born in Medina and lived in Basra. He founded the first “Sufi” school and advocated fidelity to the prophets, from Moses to Jesus and Muhammad. Basri, recognized by almost all Sufi orders as their spiritual ancestor, introduced the Sufi principle of purity of the heart. He is credited with the essence of Sufism, which can be illustrated by his famous expression: “Whoever knows God loves Him, and whoever knows the world renounces it.”
Other influential members of the Basra school were the two disciples and successors of Hasan: Habib al-Ajani and Dawud Tai. Renowned ascetics such as Malik ibn Dinar (died in 744), al-Wa’id (died in 793), founder of a monastic convent in Abbadan near Basra, Utba Ghulam (died in 784), and a woman named Rabi’a al-Adawiyya (died in 801), considered the most important saint in Islam, also emerged during this period.
Around the same time, another religious center had been established in Kufa, northwest of Iraq, and exchanges were organized between the two communities. The most representative figures of this school include Sufyan al-Thawri (died in 778), Sufyan ibn ‘Uyaynah (725-814), Fudayl ibn Iyad (died in 822), Hudhayfa (died in 822), and Uthman Sahrik (died in 776).
Another important school of that time was the one in Balkh, located in Khorasan, on the borders of Iran. It was inspired by its prince Ibrahim Adham (died in 777), whose conversion by Christian hermits in the desert was often compared to that of Gautama Buddha.
The Mystics (9th Century)
The early Sufi movement underwent a progressive transformation due to various factors, including contact with Western doctrines, ascetic movements, and novel ideas about self-renunciation, ecstatic love, and the unity of being (al-tawhid). All of this eventually led to defining Sufism as a mystical experience in the truest sense of the term.
Among the most important saints in this transformation, which mainly took place in Baghdad, are al-Muhasibi, Bistami, Junayd, Hallaj, Kharraz, Nuri, and Dhu’l Nun. Others include al-Hallaj, who was crucified for blasphemy, Kharras, Tustari, and Abbas Baghdadi. It is during this time that the foundations of the doctrine were established.
The most illustrious figure of the Baghdad school and of the entire 9th century was undoubtedly Junayd, considered the “lord of the group,” the greatest sheikh of Sufi masters. It can be said that he is the true father of the doctrine of unity and extinction in God, or fana. He said in this regard, “Sufism consists of God causing the death of the human self so that it may live in Him.” His two teachers who greatly inspired Junayd were Saqati and al-Muhasibi.
The Theorists (10th and 11th Centuries)
The following two centuries are characterized by the organization and formalization of Sufi doctrine. This was the period when numerous treatises were written to understand Sufism and its history. The most important among these are: Kitab al-Luma by Sarraj (died in 988), Ta’arruf li-madhab ahl al-tasawwuf by Kalabadhi (died in 1000), Kashf al-Mahjub by Kujwiri, Muajat and Manazil al-Sairin by Ansari (died in 1088), and most notably, the Risala by Abul Qasim al-Qushayri (died in 1072), which is considered the most classic formulation of mystical thought. It is also important to mention the work of al-Ghazali, considered the greatest Sufi theologian of all time, whose seminal work is Ihya Ulum al-Din. With these and other works, Sufism reemerged as a sober model and emerged as the heart of Islam.
The Sufi Orders and Ibn Arabi (12th Century)
The emergence of Sufi spiritual instruction centers or orders marked the 12th century. These orders developed in all places where Islam was present. The most important orders were founded between the 11th and 14th centuries, drawing influence from great mystics who had lived long before. These orders represent the two major currents of Sufism: the path of passionate love characterized by ecstasy and intoxication (mysticism of love), and the path based on discernment and lucidity (mysticism of emptiness).
Ibn Arabi, who would be considered the greatest mystical genius in the history of Islam, was born in Murcia in 1165. He studied jurisprudence in Seville and then moved to Tunis in 1194, where he was initiated into Sufism. Eight years later, he embarked on a journey to the East. After stays of varying durations in different places such as Mecca, Cairo, Baghdad, Aleppo, Konya, all of Iraq, Anatolia, and Asia Minor, he settled in Damascus, where he died in 1240. The two most important works that have come down to us are the Meccan Revelations, so-called because while in Mecca, “the angel of revelation” ordered him to begin writing them, and the Wisdom of the Prophets, which comprises 27 chapters, one for each prophet, and expounds on his doctrine of the unity of being.
Some of the central concepts in Ibn Arabi’s work are:
- God is the absolute truth, the sole source of existence. In Him, being and existence are nothing but One.
- God is simultaneously transcendent and immanent. He transcends the world, yet He is inseparable from the world.
- Before existing in the phenomenal world, human beings were hidden in the spirit of God and were nothing but One with the divine essence.
- Union with God in the sense of becoming one with God does not exist; what exists is becoming aware of the fact that one already is, truly, one with God.
After Ibn Arabi (13th-20th Centuries)
Ibn Arabi left a significant mark in the history of Sufism, influencing mystical literature from his time onwards to the present day. It is also known that he greatly influenced Christian mysticism during the Middle Ages.
Between the 14th and 20th centuries, Sufism, whose primary goal is to achieve the reintegration of human beings with the divine unity, was characterized primarily by the development of orders and a rich literature of poetry and commentaries.
Source: Shiva Shambho
Documents on the History of Sufism
Books on the History of Sufism
External Links:
The Four Rightly Guided Caliphs (7th Century)
Sufism / Prophet Muhammad / Rashidun Caliphate / Succession to Muhammad
The Ascetics (8th Century)
Sufism / Hasan al-Basri / Habib al-Ajami / Dawud al-Ta’i / Malik Dinar / al-Walid I / Utba Ghulam / Rābiʿa al-ʿAdawiyya al-Qaysiyya / Sufyan Tawri / Sufyan ibn ʽUyaynah / Al-Fudayl ibn ‘Iyad / Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman / Uthman Sahrik / Ibrahim ibn Adham
The Mystics (9th Century)
Sufism / al-Tawhid / al-Muhasibi / Bayazid Bastami / Junayd of Baghdad / al-Hallaj / Abu Sa’id al-Kharraz / Abu al-Husain al-Nuri / Dhul-Nun al-Misri / Sahl al-Tustari / Abbas Baghdadi / Saqati
The Theorists (10th and 11th Centuries)
Sufism / Kitab al-Luma by Sarraj / Ta’arruf li-mad-hhab ahl al-tasawwuf by Kalabadhi / Kashf al-majub by Kujwiri / Muajat / Manazil al-sairmm by Ansari / Risala by Abul Qasim al-Qushairi / Al-Ghazali
The Sufi Orders and Ibn Arabi (12th Century)
Sufism / Ibn Arabi / Ibn Arabi and theoretical mysticism
After Ibn Arabi (13th-20th Centuries)