Who is ULEMA (scholar) of Islam? The Origins of Sufism - from Aṣḥāb al-Ṣuffa to a Global Spiritual Path. Divine Love and the Human Face - the Mystical Journey of Sufism.

The Origins of Sufism - from Aṣḥāb al-Ṣuffa to a Global Spiritual Path.  Divine Love and the Human Face - the Mystical Journey of Sufism.  

A Glance at the History of Sufism:

The roots of Sufism can be traced back to the earliest days of Islam, and many scholars link its origin to a group of devout companions of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), known as the Aṣḥāb al-Ṣuffa. These were poor, pious individuals who had no permanent homes or possessions. They lived a life of simplicity and devotion, residing on a shaded platform— al-Ṣuffa —attached to the Prophet's Mosque ( Masjid al-Nabawi ) in Madinah.

The Aṣḥāb al-Ṣuffa spent their time in worship, learning, and contemplation. Despite their poverty, the Prophet held them in high regard. He would often provide them with food and would teach them personally, nurturing their spiritual growth. Their lives were marked by a strong inner connection with God, detachment from worldly possessions, and a deep sense of humility—principles that would later become central to Sufi practice.

After the passing of the Prophet Muhammad, many of these early spiritual seekers distanced themselves from political conflicts and power struggles that arose within the growing Muslim community. Instead of seeking worldly authority, they chose a path of asceticism and spiritual reflection. As Islam expanded across regions, these individuals and their followers carried with them a message of inner purification, divine love, and selfless service.

Over time, this inward-focused spiritual tradition evolved and became known as Sufism (or Tasawwuf in Arabic). The term "Sufi" is believed by some to have derived from al-Ṣuffa, symbolizing a direct link to those early seekers who sat at the Prophet's mosque. Others relate the term to ṣūf, meaning "wool," referring to the coarse woolen garments worn by early Sufis as a sign of their renunciation of luxury.

As Sufism spread throughout the Islamic world—from the Middle East and North Africa to South Asia and beyond—it absorbed local cultural influences, but its core remained rooted in the values ​​exemplified by the Aṣḥāb al-Ṣuffa: simplicity, devotion, love for the Divine, and service to humanity.

In essence, Sufism is not just a mystical path but also a living continuation of the spiritual teachings and character modeled by the Prophet and his most humble companions. It reminds us that beyond rituals and doctrines lies the heart of Islam: a journey towards knowing God and embodying compassion in every act.

"Let us make man in our image, after our likeness...' So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them... And God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living that moves upon the earth." (Genesis 1:26-28). 

This foundational biblical verse has been interpreted by mystics across traditions as a sign that divine love must find form in the human image. For many spiritual seekers, especially in the mystical branches of Islam, it is only through the contemplation of the human form — the face, the heart, the soul — that one can experience intimacy with the Divine. God becomes known through love, and love begins with the human image that reflects Him.

(Quran 50:16) Surely We have created man, and We know the promptings of his heart, and We are nearer to him than even his jugular vein.

In Islam, this yearning took shape in the path of Sufism, where purification of the soul is central to spiritual life. While all Sufis shared the goal of self-purification (tazkiyah), by the 9th and 10th centuries, a group among them began to distinguish between purification as a discipline and its fruit: a direct, emotional, and often ecstatic awareness of God. These mystics, through intense devotion, contemplation, music, poetry, chanting, and ritual movement, entered states of transcendence where self-awareness dissolved and only the Divine remained. In such moments, the soul, they claimed, did not merely witness God—it merged with Him.

This ecstatic spirituality, however, created deep tensions within the broader Islamic world. The legalist, orthodox elements of society, concerned with jurisprudence, traditional rituals they inherited from the family to which they were born and brought up, and moreover, theologians' interests and boundaries of influence over people, found the claims of these Sufis increasingly alarming and a threat to their political hegemony.

The most dramatic example of this conflict was al-Hallaj (c. 857–922), a  Sufi whose spiritual claims scandalized both orthodox clerics and fellow mystics. Al-Hallaj dared to speak publicly of what most Sufis kept hidden: his intimate union with God. His infamous utterance, “Ana al-Haqq” ("I am the Truth"), drew particular outrage because Al-Haqq is one of the 99 names of God in the Qur’an ([20:114]), thus implying divine identity. This echoed a similarly bold claim made by Jesus in John 14:6: "I am the way, the truth, and the life."

But al-Hallaj was not condemned for his inner experience— many mystics shared similar moments of divine union— rather, he was executed for speaking it aloud. He refused to recant, was publicly scourged and crucified in Baghdad, and became a symbol of the deep unease between inner mysticism and outer orthodoxy. His death marked the beginning of a wave of persecution against Sufis. And yet, paradoxically, many later Sufis revered him as a martyr—a—lover of God punished for refusing to keep divine truth hidden.

Following his death, some sympathetic Sufis fled eastward to Central Asia, where they played a pivotal role in converting Turkish tribes to Islam. Others remained and quietly continued their mystical path, often in tension with both Sunni and Shi‘i authorities, influenced by Jewish orthodoxies and (hadith literature is only another name of Jewish rabbinical literature in my view) Zoroastrian religious traditions, in Baghdad after 200 years.

It was not until the intervention of the traditionalist theologian Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (1058–1111) that a reconciliation, however temporary, became possible. Al-Ghazali, a competent jurist and philosopher, legitimized Sufism by showing its deep consonance with Islamic law and doctrine. In his magnum opus, Ihya ‘Ulum al-Din (The Revival of the Religious Sciences), he fused the rigor of orthodoxy with the soul of mysticism, arguing that the essence of faith lay not merely in outward compliance but in inward sincerity, presence, and love of God.

This ushered in a period of relative harmony. Clerics who were trained only to provide religious services to the community in the mosque always lack philosophical understanding of the religion, though at the end, Clerics and Sufis found common ground: the scholars provided structure and boundaries, while the mystics brought depth and heart to the spiritual life of the Muslim community.

Yet mysticism is ever expansive. In the 13th century, Ibn ‘Arabi (d. 1240), a Spanish Muslim mystic and philosopher, introduced a radically monistic vision: there is nothing but God. For Ibn ‘Arabi, the cosmos is God's self-disclosure, and all existence is a reflection of the One. Evil, in this framework, becomes an illusion — a view that challenged the ethical foundations of legalist Islam. His prolific writings, full of symbolic imagery and antinomian implications, were both revered and resisted. Nonetheless, Ibn ‘Arabi’s influence would stretch far beyond Islam, reaching Christian mystics like Dante, Ramon Llull, and St. John of the Cross, and even philosophers such as Spinoza.

The 13th century is often called the Golden Age of Sufism, even as the Mongol invasions and the collapse of the ‘Abbasid caliphate plunged the Muslim world into chaos. Amid this turmoil rose Jalal al-Din Rumi (1207–1273), a poet-saint whose Masnavi remains one of the greatest works of mystical literature, second only to the Qur’an for many. Rumi taught that divine love could be reached through the heart, through the whirling dance of the dervishes, through poetry, music, and surrender. For Rumi, God was the Beloved, and the human soul the lover, endlessly longing for reunion.

Under the leadership of figures like Rumi and ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani (1077–1166), Sufism grew from a personal journey into a widespread spiritual movement. Sufi brotherhoods (tariqas) emerged across the Muslim world, each with their own rituals, teachings, and spiritual chains (silsilah) tracing back to the Prophet Muhammad. These communities gave emotional and spiritual refuge to the masses, offering a path of love, beauty, and divine intimacy that was otherwise constrained by rigid orthodoxy; the ideology of which was based on a person's relation was God was fear and greed like a dictator King rather than spirituality, love and attachment without fear or greed, God as one love his beloved or attachment of siblings and children to their parents because God is not another but nearer even to juglar vain.

To outsiders, Sufi ecstasies - the trances, dances, and cries of divine love - may seem like psychological anomalies. But to sympathetic scholars and believers, their expressions are of the deepest human longing: the soul's return to its origin in God. In a world governed by law and form, the mystics dared to pursue love — and in doing so, gave form to the formless, image to the invisible, and a human face to divine love as mentioned in Genesis 1:26-28 and Quran 50:16.

For example, Rabia Basri, the great female Sufi saint, held fire in one hand and a water jug in the other when people asked the reason. She replied that this is to symbolize her pure love for God. As she replied that her intention was to "burn paradise and cool hell" so that people would worship God not out of fear of punishment or desire for reward, but out of sincere and selfless love.

She taught that true devotion means loving the Divine for His own sake, not for heaven’s pleasures or to escape hell’s torment. Her message emphasizes that the highest form of worship is unconditional love, free from selfish motives. Rabia’s wisdom reminds us that God should be cherished as the Ultimate Truth, beyond worldly incentives.

 

The Battle Between Dualistic Monotheism and Sufism in Islam: A Historical and Theological Perspective

Abu'l Hasan Yamīn ud-Dīn Khusrau (1253 – 1325 AD), better known as Amīr Khusrau, was an Indo-Persian Sufi singer, musician, poet, and scholar who lived during the period of the Delhi Sultanate.

He is an iconic figure in the cultural history of the Indian subcontinent. He was a mystic and a spiritual disciple of Nizamuddin Auliya of Delhi, India. He wrote poetry primarily in Persian, but also in Hindavi and Punjabi. I would like to quote a few of his famous verses used in political discourse as well as in mystic gatherings:  

 من تو شدم تو من شدی

 من تن شدم تو جان شدی 

تا کس نگوید بعد ازین 

من دیگرم تو دیگری

(I have become you, you have become me, I have become body, you have become soul. Do not say, "After this, I am another, you are another." I have become the horizon, I have shown you love, you are very good.)

1. Dualistic Monotheism in Judaism and Islam

Dr. Muhammad Iqbal’s perspective—that God and the universe are not separate, independent realities—challenges the dualistic tendencies found in some strands of Jewish and Islamic thought. Dualistic monotheism, in this context, refers to the idea that God and creation exist as two distinct entities, with God "outside" the world, governing it as a separate, transcendent ruler.

In Judaism, this is seen in certain interpretations of the Torah where God is portrayed as a sovereign lawgiver, distinct from creation. The Kabbalistic tradition, however, leans towards panentheism (God both transcends and is immanent in creation), much like Islamic Sufism.

In Islam, orthodox (Ash'ari and Maturidi) theology emphasizes God’s absolute transcendence (tanzīh), sometimes leading to a perception of God as a distant ruler rather than an immanent presence. This can foster a legalistic, sometimes rigid, approach to religion, where divine authority is externalized in the form of laws and punishments.

This dualistic religious understanding can inadvertently contribute to extremist ideologies, as it reinforces a binary worldview:

God vs. the World – If God is seen only as a distant judge, religious practice can become rigid, legalistic, and exclusionary.

Believers vs. Non-Believers – A strict separation between the divine and the created can lead to an "us vs. them" mentality, fueling sectarianism and extremism.

2. Sufism’s Rejection of Dualism: God as Immanent and Personal

Sufism, in contrast, emphasizes non-dualistic monotheism (wahdat al-wujūd – Unity of Being, as articulated by Ibn Arabi) and intimate nearness to God (qurb). Key aspects include:

God is not separate from creation – "Wherever you turn, there is the Face of God" (Quran 2:115).

Divine Presence Within – The famous Hadith Qudsi: "I am as My servant (I don't agree with the translation of "servant when God is part of the soul) thinks of Me... and if he comes to Me walking, I go to him running."

Experiential Knowledge (ma‘rifa), unlike legalistic approaches, Sufism seeks direct, personal experience of God’s presence.

This perspective prevents extremist tendencies because:

It dissolves the ego (nafs) that fuels hatred, also helps people control reactive behaviour with an analytic approach rather than a divisive.

It sees all existence as a manifestation of Divine Reality, making violence against others a violation of divine unity. They recite لا الہ الا اللہ by لا الہ they negate everything, including self, and then took refuge within الا اللہ means there is nothing but God, in their opinion, without this no one can call themselves a true monotheist, but on the contrary, the legalists uphold dualistic faith, is that the creation is another entity, that God and its creation are facing each other in an empty space.

It emphasizes love (‘ishq) and mercy over rigid legalism. Legalism is a scientific subject that demands empirical evidence, which cannot be treated within the faith frame of reference.

3. Historical Conflicts Between Dualistic and Sufi Monotheism in Islam

Throughout Islamic history, there have been tensions between legalistic-exoteric (often dualistic) and mystical-esoteric (non-dualistic) approaches:

Early Caliphate Period: The Kharijites (rigid dualists) declared takfir (excommunication) on those who disagreed with them, leading to violent extremism.

Abbasid Era: The Mu'tazilites (rationalist theologians) clashed with both traditionalists and Sufis over God’s nature.

Medieval Period: Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 1328a literalist scholar, more inspired by Orthodox Judaism, criticized Sufi monism (wahdat al-wujūd), fearing it blurred the distinction between Creator and creation, but he himself was accused by his contemporary and arrested by the authorities for promoting anthropomorphism (tashbīh)—attributing human-like attributes to God—due to his literalist approach to divine attributes in the Quran and Hadith.

Modern Era: Salafi-Wahhabi movements (rooted in dualistic transcendence) oppose Sufism, seeing it as heretical for its immanentist theology.

Sufism, or Tasawwuf, is the mystical dimension of Islam that emphasizes the inward search for God and the cultivation of spiritual closeness to Him. It is not a separate sect but rather a path within Islam, present among both Sunni and Shia traditions. Sufis seek to purify the heart and soul, transcending the ego (nafs) to experience the Divine presence intimately. Central to Sufi practice is the concept of tariqa (spiritual path), which guides the seeker (spiritual path), towards ultimate union with God.

One of the core teachings of Sufism revolves around a transformative journey of the soul, often expressed through concepts like Fana (annihilation) and Baqa (subsistence). These stages represent a progressive dissolving of the self and a rebirth into a deeper divine awareness:

Fana' fi al-Shaykh (Annihilation in the Shaykh)

This is often the initial stage where the disciple (murid) annihilates their ego and personal will in submission to their spiritual guide (shaykh or murshid). The purpose is not to idolize the shaykh but to surrender one's selfish desires and learn discipline, obedience, and spiritual etiquette. Through the guidance of the shaykh, the seeker begins to unlearn the self and prepare for deeper realizations.

Fana' fi al-Rasul (Annihilation in the Messenger)

At this stage, the seeker becomes fully absorbed in the love, character, and example of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). The disciple's heart becomes aligned with the prophetic qualities—mercy, truthfulness, patience, humility—and their thoughts and actions begin to reflect the spirit of the Prophet. This stage also includes intense love and longing for the Prophet, often expressed in devotional poetry and song, usually holding mehfi-e-sama (qasidas, naats, qawwalis).

Fana' fi Allah (Annihilation in God)

This is the peak of the annihilation process. The seeker loses all sense of self, ego, and even the awareness of their own existence, experiencing only the presence of God in the imagination of his/her shaykh. This moment is sometimes described as a spiritual death, where the ego is completely extinguished and only the Divine remains. In this state, the illusion of separation between the soul and God dissolves.

Baqa' bi-Allah (Subsistence with God)

After annihilation comes baqa, which means to live on—but now, not as the old self, but as a soul infused with Divine presence and purpose. The seeker re-emerges into the world, but with a transformed consciousness. They act, speak, and think not out of ego or desire but in accordance with God's will. This state is the hallmark of the true saint  (wali), who serves others while remaining anchored in Divine awareness.

The Journey in Essence

These stages reflect the gradual emptying of the self (nafs) and the filling of the heart with Divine light (nur). Sufism sees this as a deeply personal journey, usually taken under the guidance of a living spiritual teacher, and nurtured through practices like dhiker (remembrance), sama (listening to sacred music), muraqaba (meditation), and service to others.

Sufism does not reject the outer forms of Islam (Sharia), but rather seeks to complement them with haqiqa (truth) and ma'rifa (gnosis). It's a path of love, devotion, and inner transformation.

4. Conclusion: Sufism as an Antidote to Extremism

While dualistic monotheism can lead to rigid, exclusionary interpretations, Sufism’s emphasis on divine immanence and inner transformation offers a more holistic, peaceful path. By recognizing God’s presence within and beyond the self, Sufism dissolves the ego-driven divisions that fuel extremism.

The modern sufism failed to evolve its cultural carrier and doctrine like other ritualists; it became another way of ritualism of old religious custom rather than transforming itself into a new horizon, but in the domain of Music, storytelling using songs as tools some tried successfully to cultivates the new ways to put the message through;  express love to God rather than recycling the old religious customs of copy cat.

The songs "Mein Nhin Boldi, Mere Wich Mera Yar Bolda" (Humaira Arshad) and "Parde Mein Rehne Do" (Asha Bhosle) echo a deep spiritual truth, Sufi truth traditions: human love is a mirror of divine love. When the lover sees the Beloved’s face in their beloved, they are, in essence, witnessing the reflection of God’s beauty.

How beautifully Humaira Arshad, through her song, 

interpreted the love "Ranja Ranja Kerdi Main Aap

Ranja Hoi"

"Main Nai Boldi Meri Wich Mera Yaar Bolda" reflects surrender—when the lover’s voice fades, only the Beloved (God) speaks. Why was Heer not able to imagine in the image of Ranja, the image of the holy Prophet, to reach the desired destination, the fellowship of God, rather than a Pir? The theory of Ishq haqiqi and Ishq majazi is untenable for me. This put us back on a dualistic track, not oneness. If the theory is that you cannot have an imagination to fall in love without an image of someone, then why is it only a religious figure needed, not her or his own beloved in physical form? Pir is a physical form, not metaphysical like the Prophet and God, and this is based on Genesis 1:26-28 and Quran 50:16. Love is the ultimate source of creation, but sometimes it becomes a problematic because when it violates the social norms and rules, would lands into the hot water of fitna/conflicts.

The Pires of today are outdated, irrelevant, and a source of deception, corruption, cheating, and so much so that they erode human dignity in the name of spiritual favour. 

Is this not an insult to human dignity

The love of partners could be the source to reach God, rather than going out and looking for a human source (Pir) to lead the path to God, in this day and age. In my honest opinion, it is misleading to the public in the name of sufism or spirituality, and stories keep occupying the space of both print and electronic media of cheating and deceiving under the name of piri-muridi.

Rabia Basri, Ibn Arabi, and Rumi taught: Love any being, but know it is a reflection of the One.

Human love, when pure, and I am of the view that love is always pure, which is not pure is not love but pretenders, which is by and large the most Sufi sects at the present time, becomes outdated and doesn't represent the essence of historical sufism. Love is a sign of divine attraction. But when love is trapped in the illusion of human intermediaries (fake pirs, so-called "spiritual guides"), it becomes idolatry. 

True lovers can see God in the face-image of his/her own beloved rather than the face-image of the Sheikh, to transcend into the holy Prophet for the ultimate destiny to God as a fellowship of God. A husband can love his wife, and a wife can love his husband - very simple. To become a wife-beater at home yet visiting Pirs in the hope of reaching God is another fake religious drama and psychological illness which requires visiting a doctor rather Pir. 

"He who knows himself knows his Lord." – Hadith (Ibn Arabi’s interpretation).

How beautifully the Quran 2:30-39 is interpreted.

In storytelling, using song as the means, Asha Bhosle's in her song "Parde Mein Rehne Do," interprets the Quranic verses (Surah Al-Baqarah 30-39) that describe how humans were given divine knowledge and beauty, symbolized by Adam’s superiority over angels. Here again, the prostrate was to human, not God; therefore, in the modern understanding of sufism, both the physical path of life and the metaphysical path - a beloved is sufficient. There is no truth that the human in physical form transforms spirituality into another human or into his murids.

Thus, the battle between these two visions of monotheism is not just theological—it shapes whether Islam is practiced as a religion of love and unity with God or one of division and conflict within its own social intercourse.