Sufism is older than Islam. Sufis are typically Arabic but their faith
traces its roots back to Abraham. The religion most similar to Sufism
would be Sikhism. In fact the Sikh history has several Sufis as their
saints. The foundation was Prophet Abraham. Ishmael, who was the first son of
Abraham from Hagar
, Sarah's handmaiden. Since his wife Sarah didn't believe they would
have a child when she was in her eighties and gave her husband
permission to have a son with her concubine. But later after Sarah gave birth to her own son, Isaac, tension arose
between the two women. According to exegesis, God told Abraham to
listen to Sarah, who said that both Hagar and Ishmael should be taken
out of their household and into the desert. Abraham took Hagar and Ishmael to the desert himself, where he left
them and returned to his household. In the desert, the young Ishmael
cried with thirst. His mother searched for water, which resulted in
her running seven times between the Safa and Marwah hills, before God
helped them by making spring water gush forth from the Zamzam well,. Ishmael is mentioned closely with his father Abraham: in their attempt
to set up the Kaaba in Mecca.. Ishmael is further mentioned alongside
the patriarchs who had been given revelations.
The testifying their faith in the narrative of the near-sacrifice of
Abraham's son, This knowledge was passed on from master to disciple
throughout the centuries. Abraham's legacy to his son Ishmael was the school of spiritual
knowledge based on self realization as the door toward understanding
the path to oneness with God. Before the time of the prophet the
discipline was simply called the understanding. The understanding was
based on God's Law." Centuries and centuries later, these mystics who still practiced the
teachings of Abraham sought to learn more about the teachings of a
prophet named Muhammad. The history of Sufism records that during the lifetime of the Prophet
Mohammed, fifteen centuries ago, there was a group of pious
individuals from different Arabic nations who were guided by this
ancient understanding. These individuals sought for the direct
experience of the Divine. As they became companions of the Prophet,
they were people of principles practicing certain disciplines and
meditations for the sake of purification, the realization of Divine
love, and the understanding of reality. They were the Lovers of God
who sought union with Him through losing the limited self in His
Divinity (fana), and remaining alive in that Reality (bagha). These individuals met on the platform, or suffe, of the mosque where
Prophet Mohammed used to pray in Medina, Arabia. They would meet there
almost every day to discuss the ways to inner knowledge, the truths of
revelation, and debate the meanings of the revelations of the prophet
Muhammad. This was long before the Koran was ever written. The Koran was written after the death of the Prophet. The secret
teachings of the Sufis were never included in the Koran. The platform
of that mosque in Medina became the first gathering place of one of
the most influential groups in the history of mankind's spiritual
civilization. They were called AHLE SUFFE, the People of the Platform. These individuals brought to Islam the spiritual practice based on
knowledge of the self, and thus free of the trappings of tradition and
superstition, knowledge of the inner heart apart from the customary
beliefs of their contemporary society as well as those of future
civilizations. It is from this group that all the schools of Sufism that have ever
existed owe their origin, for by pursuing the path of unsullied inner
knowledge they were the founders of Sufism, and the binding link
between its subsequent developments. Avoiding proselytizing among the
multitude, their gatherings were held in private, open only to true
seekers of reality. Instead of preaching in public, these pious
individuals were searchers for truth, not performers of oratory. After the Prophet passed away, each of the people of SUFFE returned to
his homeland to instruct students upon the path of inner knowledge. History shows that within a century or two their style of self
understanding and discipline were introduced by their students to
nations as diverse and widely separated as Persia, India, Indonesia,
Syria, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and North Africa. Their teachings were based on individual understanding and direct
experience, not just on particular texts or rote learning. In this
manner their fundamental teachings have been preserved in their style
up to the present, instead of withering away into the empty formula of
scholasticism. Through this process of distribution, different schools and orders of
Sufism gradually emerged from the single original group of suffe at
Medina. Their practices differ from one another in emphasis and
doctrine, but all legitimate Sufi schools trace their ultimate origins
back to the ancient teachings of Abraham.
traces its roots back to Abraham. The religion most similar to Sufism
would be Sikhism. In fact the Sikh history has several Sufis as their
saints. The foundation was Prophet Abraham. Ishmael, who was the first son of
Abraham from Hagar
, Sarah's handmaiden. Since his wife Sarah didn't believe they would
have a child when she was in her eighties and gave her husband
permission to have a son with her concubine. But later after Sarah gave birth to her own son, Isaac, tension arose
between the two women. According to exegesis, God told Abraham to
listen to Sarah, who said that both Hagar and Ishmael should be taken
out of their household and into the desert. Abraham took Hagar and Ishmael to the desert himself, where he left
them and returned to his household. In the desert, the young Ishmael
cried with thirst. His mother searched for water, which resulted in
her running seven times between the Safa and Marwah hills, before God
helped them by making spring water gush forth from the Zamzam well,. Ishmael is mentioned closely with his father Abraham: in their attempt
to set up the Kaaba in Mecca.. Ishmael is further mentioned alongside
the patriarchs who had been given revelations.
The testifying their faith in the narrative of the near-sacrifice of
Abraham's son, This knowledge was passed on from master to disciple
throughout the centuries. Abraham's legacy to his son Ishmael was the school of spiritual
knowledge based on self realization as the door toward understanding
the path to oneness with God. Before the time of the prophet the
discipline was simply called the understanding. The understanding was
based on God's Law." Centuries and centuries later, these mystics who still practiced the
teachings of Abraham sought to learn more about the teachings of a
prophet named Muhammad. The history of Sufism records that during the lifetime of the Prophet
Mohammed, fifteen centuries ago, there was a group of pious
individuals from different Arabic nations who were guided by this
ancient understanding. These individuals sought for the direct
experience of the Divine. As they became companions of the Prophet,
they were people of principles practicing certain disciplines and
meditations for the sake of purification, the realization of Divine
love, and the understanding of reality. They were the Lovers of God
who sought union with Him through losing the limited self in His
Divinity (fana), and remaining alive in that Reality (bagha). These individuals met on the platform, or suffe, of the mosque where
Prophet Mohammed used to pray in Medina, Arabia. They would meet there
almost every day to discuss the ways to inner knowledge, the truths of
revelation, and debate the meanings of the revelations of the prophet
Muhammad. This was long before the Koran was ever written. The Koran was written after the death of the Prophet. The secret
teachings of the Sufis were never included in the Koran. The platform
of that mosque in Medina became the first gathering place of one of
the most influential groups in the history of mankind's spiritual
civilization. They were called AHLE SUFFE, the People of the Platform. These individuals brought to Islam the spiritual practice based on
knowledge of the self, and thus free of the trappings of tradition and
superstition, knowledge of the inner heart apart from the customary
beliefs of their contemporary society as well as those of future
civilizations. It is from this group that all the schools of Sufism that have ever
existed owe their origin, for by pursuing the path of unsullied inner
knowledge they were the founders of Sufism, and the binding link
between its subsequent developments. Avoiding proselytizing among the
multitude, their gatherings were held in private, open only to true
seekers of reality. Instead of preaching in public, these pious
individuals were searchers for truth, not performers of oratory. After the Prophet passed away, each of the people of SUFFE returned to
his homeland to instruct students upon the path of inner knowledge. History shows that within a century or two their style of self
understanding and discipline were introduced by their students to
nations as diverse and widely separated as Persia, India, Indonesia,
Syria, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and North Africa. Their teachings were based on individual understanding and direct
experience, not just on particular texts or rote learning. In this
manner their fundamental teachings have been preserved in their style
up to the present, instead of withering away into the empty formula of
scholasticism. Through this process of distribution, different schools and orders of
Sufism gradually emerged from the single original group of suffe at
Medina. Their practices differ from one another in emphasis and
doctrine, but all legitimate Sufi schools trace their ultimate origins
back to the ancient teachings of Abraham.
