Sufi

Central Belief

TEN PRINCIPAL SUFI THOUGHTS

There is One God, the Eternal, the Only Being.

There is One Master, the Guiding Spirit of all Souls,
who constantly leads his followers towards the light.

There is One Holy Book, the sacred manuscript of nature,
the only scripture that can enlighten the reader.

There is One Religion, the unswerving progress in the right direction
towards the ideal, that fulfills the life’s purpose of every soul.

There is One Law, the law of reciprocity, that can be observed
by a selfless conscience, together with a sense of awakened justice.

There is One Brotherhood, the human brotherhood that unites
the children of earth indiscriminately in the Fatherhood of God.

There is One Moral, the love that springs forth
from self-denial and blooms in deeds of beneficence.

There is One Object of Praise, the beauty that uplifts the heart
of its worshippers through all aspects from the seen to the unseen.

There is One Truth, the true knowledge of our being,
within and without, which is the essence of all wisdom.

There is One Path, the annihilation of the false ego in the real,
which raises the mortal to immortality,
in which resides all perfection.

from sufiorder.org/ten_thoughts  

History

Sufism is a Muslim movement whose followers seek to find divine truth and love through direct encounters with God. Sufism arose from within Islam in the 8th-9th centuries C.E. as an ascetic movement. The movement may have been given (or taken on) the name Sufism because of the course wool garments they wore as a mark of their rejection of worldly things; Sufis have traditionally taken vows of poverty and celibacy. Sufism developed religious practices focusing on strict self-control that enable both psychological and mystical insights as well as a loss of self, with the ultimate goal of mystical union with God. The Sufi movement consists of fraternal orders in which leaders train and assist disciples in the mastery of Sufism’s philosophical principles and ritual practices. Such rituals and practices include writing and reciting poetry and hymns; some of the most famous and beautiful literature of the Islamic world has been written by Sufis. Sufis engage in a variety of ritual practices intended to help them realize union with God, such as distinct forms of ritual prayer (dhikr, literally “remembrance”), including the recitation of God’s names, as well as bodily rituals such as those practices by the so-called “Whirling Dervishes,” a Turkish Sufi order that practices meditation and contemplation of God through spinning.

Read more at http://www.patheos.com/library/sufism#AdP2yYWEOGZyCxPH.99

Inspiration

Meditation

O ye who believe,
be conscious of God [in your heart],
and keep the company with those who are truthful.
(9:119)

Sacrad Text

Quar’an

Special Days

List of appropriate holidays

Region

Geography

Additional Information

Place appropriate links to outside resources here.

Sufism, mystical Islamic belief and practice in which Muslims seek to find the truth of divine love and knowledge through direct personal experience of God. It consists of a variety of mystical paths that are designed to ascertain the nature of humanity and of God and to facilitate the experience of the presence of divine love and wisdom in the world

“The vibrations of music free the soul
and take from a person all the heaviness
which keeps (them) bound.”

Poetry: Sufism and the encounters that Sufism facilitates –encounters with God, love, and the deepest aspects of human consciousness– have evoked feelings in Sufis that have provided some of the most beautiful and profound poetry ever written. Some of the most prominent of the Persian Sufis who wrote poetry were Rumi, Attar, and Hafiz.

Oracle: In the Persian tradition, whenever one faces a difficulty or a fork in the road, or even if one has a general question in mind, one would hold that question in mind, and then ask the Oracle of Shiraz Hafiz for guidance.

More often than not, Hafiz, in his own enigmatic way would sing to the questioner and through the song, would get the questioner to look in the mirror of his/her soul. Upon reflection in the mirror of Hafiz’s Ghazal, one would be inspired with an answer, a guidance or a direction. Traditionally, the first line upon which the eyes of the reader fall, would give the answer to the direct question, and the rest of the Ghazal would give further clarification.

“The One who knows joy, youthfully glows.”
-Hafiz

Sufi – Worship

SUFI WHIRLING  Rumi’s poetry sought to explain a Heavenly love which flowered in his soul,. The practice of whirling is a technique Sufis believe can actually open that love. Sufi whirling is a form of Sama or physically active meditation through which dervishes...

Sufi – Notable Sufi

Rumi was a 13th-century Persian poet, jurist, theologian, and Sufi mystic. Rumi's importance is considered to transcend national and ethnic borders. Iranians, Turks, Afghans, Tajiks, and other Central Asian Muslims as well as the Muslims of South Asia have greatly...

Sufi Rituals and Symbols

"The Veil" is the primary symbol of the separation between man and God.  In keeping with Sufism's attentiveness to the exoteric and esoteric, to the outer and inner, there is a sense of what is Real and what is Unreal. Because of the fall of Adam, a veil was put in...