Ambiguities And Controversies Of Sufism

There are various ambiguities and controversies which exist in scholarship in relation to what Sufism essentially is and what it means. Nevertheless, the common view perpetuated by scholarship is that Sufism can be defined as the mystical or interior aspect of Islam, commonly referred to as ‘Islamic mysticism’ which is practiced by an unknown amount of Muslims in our current society today (Elias, 1998; Khanam, 2006; Pazouki, 2002; Khanam, 2006). It is a movement that essentially aims at intensifying the religious experience of Islamic faith practices (Khanam, 2006; Heck, 2007; Hanieh, 2011). The word ‘ Sufi’ has yet to be precisely defined but it is has generally been accepted to be defined as being the etymological root of ‘suf’ in Arabic

They come to this conclusion as they believe that the Prophet led an extremely pious life – turning away from material possessions and power and sought out a pious life instead (Khanam 2006). However, this view, that Sufism is that in a way it is intrinsic to Islam and originates in the practices of Prophet Muhammad (Khanam, 2006) does not stand up to scholarship as being factual evidence due to extensive historical research (Khanam, 2006); Instead, scholars commonly hold the view that that Sufism, historically and as a movement, emerged initially and predominantly in the seventh to ninth centuries out of regions furthest from capitals e.g. from Iran (Nishapur) and Iraq (Basra) to a major extent (Kynsh, 2011; Melchert, 1996; Hanieh, 2011). This is elucidated further by Pazouki (2002) who postulates that the inception of Sufism, by inspection of textual sources and the word ‘Sufi’ itself provide evidence that Sufism was a sect that emerged late in Islamic

Christian, Zoroastrian) to be able to adapt their understanding of Islam to aspects of their own backgrounds. It is also believed by Khanam (2006), Hanieh (2011) and Nicholson (1906) that the emergence of Sufism can be traced back to the early Umayyad period (661-750CE) wherein a chaotic environment of gaining wealth and power erupted in the midst of political expansion and conquests which caused a reaction by some individuals who felt that these ways were abandoning the austere teachings and lifestyle of Prophet Muhammad and thus, it is claimed that this climate caused a state of deprived spirituality for some (Hanieh, 2011). Subsequently, it is within this context that the prompting of a spiritual movement or emerged from, where some minor number of individuals separated themselves from society and turned into a small ascetic community who sought to explore asceticism and spirituality (Kynsh, 2011b; Khanam, 2006). Hanieh (2011) concurs with this theory, stating that asceticism was a motivating force that initiated the Sufi movement. This implies that Sufism was a mystical feature/aspect formed within Islamic history and did not emerge primarily because of religion but rather it was enhanced by political, social and cultural factors. Melchert (1996) agrees by attributing social developments to be the cause of the emergence of Sufism. Others such as