Essays on Sufism

ISLAMIC SUFISM

Introduction There has been a profound link between the art and the spiritual depth of humans because the true form of art is assumed to be a reflection of the various thoughts, beliefs, and emotions existent in the spirit of the individuals. Religion is a definite medium to address all the above three aspects of humans and therefore, religion has an equally significant impact on the artworks as well. Like all the other prominent religions of the world, Sufism (Islam) is highly capable of reflecting the core facets of spiritual refinement, precision, and profundity in its art forms. The ...

Overview of Sufism

Sufism, simply put, is Islamic mysticism. Sufism is also popular by the name Tasawwuf in the Arab world. It is essentially a movement of the followers of Islam in pursuit of discovering celestial veracity and love by way of the direct encounters that they seek to have with God. Sufism evolved out of Islam, precisely between the 8th and 9th centuries C.E., in the form of a frugal movement. This ascetic movement was given the name Sufism due to the coarse wool garments that denotes their denunciation of worldly pleasures. Conventionally, the Sufis were also known to have taken ...

Sufism is a process of purifying one's heart from immoral behaviors and character by full dedication to worship of God (Anṣārī and Hishâm 166). It is also disregarding the worldly pleasures such as wealth and prestige. Sufism entails seeking the pleasure of God, self-love, peace, and harmony with God's creation. Sufism also demands one to wear attires that are attributable to the beauty of prophets and saints. There are different ways that people use to attain the Sufism spiritual progress. They include adhering to the guidance, advice, and instructions of Sheikh or his representative, performing and ...

The period between the 9th century and 14th century marked a period in the history of the Islamic world where a scientific, economic and cultural flourishing was witnessed. This is a period where scholars from various parts of the Islamic world were tasked with the responsibilities of gathering and translating all the of the world’s classical knowledge into Arabic. At this time also, the Muslim world became a major intellectual Centre for science, medicine, and education. But of great impact was the introduction of paper as the learning system which saw a revolution as now individuals could make ...

The Shi`i century roughly corresponds to the period between 945 and 1500 C.E. Muslims stretched their territories from Asia all the way to al-Andalusia in Europe (Ullmann 8). This is an era that saw the end of Muslim influence that had prevailed for nearly two centuries. But despite this being the overall feeling, this historical episode did not necessarily translate to the direct decline of the ideas of the Muslim community. The economic and political changes at the time resulted in Shi`i uprising, increasing their intellectual influence. This uprising was fueled by a want to see their ...