Sufi Islam

Question 1

who is hayy b Yazqan (Yaqdhan)

Answer 1

12th century tale. (6th). A man who lived on an island without human contact for 50 years. He unravelled the mysteries of the metaphysical world with his own head. Through contemplation he attained enlightenment essentially,

Question 2

who was asal

Answer 2

a guy who had grown up on another island with people, and knew the Truth too.

Question 3

Who wrote this tale

Answer 3

Abu Tufayl in Morocco in 581/1185.

Question 4

Who was salaman

Answer 4

The friend of Asal, representing the majority of sincere believers, fiathfully following commandments within society, content to await salvation etc.

Question 5

what was the ascetic

Answer 5

aka the zahid, “inner-worlding”, trying to go back to temperance, modesty, contentment with the divine offers etc. with temperance, came the avoidance of even hallal things, because they were potentially enjoyable.

Question 6

what was the first two centuries of Sufi like

Answer 6

individual piety. “turning the heart away from things to the Lord of things”
knowledge of the eternal by means of contemplation - like buddhism.
mystical sufi groups, healers etc.

Question 7

What is sufism?

Answer 7

“sufism is not composed of practices of sciences but it is morals”
it was psychological withdrawal, not physical.
“esoteric” - inner dimensions, the spiritual path that asal and hayy took.

Question 8

what is tariqah

Answer 8

it means path, meaning a paththat is leading off the main highway of shari’ah.

Question 9

what is the light symbolism in sufism?

Answer 9

there is a light verse in the Sunnah i think,

Question 10

what is dhikr?

Answer 10

remembrance of allah, repeating hadith qudsi, things that allah is to have said.

Question 11

what are the station or states of Sufism

Answer 11

Repentance (struggle against the lower soul), Complete trust (peaceful soul), adn final state of Fana (love, or Ma’rifa)

Question 12

Al-Ghazali on suffism

Answer 12

Esoteric interpretation as a necessary component of the exoteric.

Question 13

What does divine friendship mean?

Answer 13

Sort of like “saints”, but because there is no church or preisthood in islam you cant really canonize particular individuals -
they are less like “saints”, and more like “guides”, or elders (shaykhs).
“Wali” -means friend.

Question 14

what is a sufi brotherhood.

Answer 14

Coming from the followers of Ibn Karram in 255/869, sort of like the master-disciple relationship, there would be a purposed meeting place called a khanqah.

Question 15

spiritual genealogies

Answer 15

sort of like an isnad, but called a chain/silsila, its the chain of authority that guarantees the soundness of the masters teachings and practice

Question 16

What would sufi brotherhoods entail?

Answer 16

much like frats.
- regulation for dhikr practices (reciting allahs words to feel it in your heart)
- regulations for clothing, and eating etc.

Question 17

The most well known early sufi brotherhood?

Answer 17

The Qadiriyyah - spread out very far, to indonesia and west africa.

Question 18

Sufi Leaders

Answer 18

Many would have some sort of lore about converting wrongdoers, and performing miracles

Question 19

Why was sufi so spread out?

Answer 19

likely because stories had appeal among the masses, and that the human sympathy in Sufism touched more hearts easily that believing in arcane debates of jurists and theologians, or some remote Allah.

Question 20

The Chisthtiyyah

Answer 20

A sufi brotherhood in India. from the 5th/11th century.
Integration of Chisti Muslims with Hindu ideas (even though they were extremely different religions).
Chisti willingness to adopt yogi, and sages. Much poetry came from this interaction.

Question 21

The Shadhiliyyah

Answer 21

They were also concerned with the exoteric dimension of Islam. But, you didnt have to identify yourself, meaning ppl from all classes involved themselves in this.

Question 22

The Unity of Being debate

Answer 22

Ibn Arabi - do you become one with Allah, or not, because he is one essence? All things exist within God.