Sufism

Definitions and Origins Sufism

Sufism is an English term, developed by British Orientalists in India in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It is derived from the Arabic word tasawwuf, a verbal noun meaning “to become like wool” or “to resemble wool.” The term Sufi (an adjectival form of “Suf,” meaning wool) was probably first coined referring to ascetics in Baghdad who wore wool garments to express their austerity. The word Sufi also implies that wool is pliable and can take many forms, rendering the spiritual aspirant like wool in the hands of God. The term can also be linked to other Arabic words and phrases, including safa’ (“purity”), safwa (“elite”), and ahl al-suffa (“the people of the bench,” i.e., close companions of Prophet Muhammad). The first records of the term Sufi are from the eighth century, although it was not widely used parlance until the ninth century.

Etymology, however, is only of secondary importance when compared with prescriptive meanings of Sufism. Most important, definitions of Sufism are primarily teaching tools. Sages of the early Sufi movements often defined the path didactically: “Sufism is that you should not possess anything nor should anything possess you;” or “Sufism makes you die to yourself and makes you live in Him” (Nicholson, 1914, pp. 33–34). As teaching tools, definitions of Sufism from the tradition's great teachers signify the importance of transcending a purely mental understanding of the spiritual path, placing emphasis on the heart, the locus of spiritual receptivity. Thus, like other disciplines in the Islamic sciences, there has always been a sense that Sufism cannot be understood through books alone. Even if books do complement the process, it is paramount to learn from a teacher and gain understanding through gnosis and prayer.

...