THE ELEMENTS OF SUFISM
(Excerpts Only)

By: Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri

Chapter 10
The role of the Sufi

As we study the history of the spread of Islam throughout the last fourteen centuries, we find that, generally speaking, most of the Muslim rulers did not regard favorably the ways and practices of the Sufis. One obvious reason for this is that it is because the Sufis tried to check the un-Islamic way of life led by many Muslim rulers. Also, where the Sufis were successful in calling people to Islam, as was the case in Muslim Spain, it meant that there was a reduction in revenue to the government, since the new Muslims were no longer subject to certain taxes. Furthermore, with the usual zeal of the newly converted, they possessed greater clarity in recognizing and not tolerating the un-Islamic behavior of the rulers.

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..., Islam also spread as a result of the exemplary life led by Muslims, especially traders, who traveled and lived among non-Muslim populations. In the Far East, for example, Islam spread primarily through the Muslims and Arabs who traded there. In one incident, an Arab horse breeder in China raised and sold superior horses at a price lower than that demanded by the local breeders. When the Emperor investigated the complaints coming from the local horse-breeders, the Muslim defended himself by showing the Chinese ruler that his actions were of benefit to the entire community. Was he not adding to the wealth of the society by allowing more people to buy a better breed of animal at a price which they could afford? Furthermore, due to his skill and knowledge and his simple lifestyle, he was able to sell them at a lower profit and was quite content with his share. It is said that the ruler recognized the nobility and wisdom of the man's actions and accepted the Islamic way of life.

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Whenever there has been an opportunity to revolt against corrupt governments, the real Sufis have done so, and not always under the banner of Sufism. During the last three hundred years, the members of the Naqshbandi Order have played a most active political role. There are today active Naqshbandi movements in Russia. One heroic uprising was led by Imam Shamil from the Russian province of Kazakhstan not very long ago. The Naqshbandi Sufis also played a significant role during the Independence movement in India prior to 1947. The circles of the Naqshbandi Sufis were strong, and they fought as Muslim soldiers in protest against British rule in India.

The Sufis lead a unified way of life and therefore they are concerned with the inner as well as the outer control of rulership. Thus it is ignorant on the part of those who say that the Sufi movement is an esoteric movement, and thereby attempt to relegate Sufism as being solely a way of life of retreat and monastic existence. This is not to say that there are not Sufis who primarily lead solitary existences due to particular circumstances or personal inclination. In normal circumstances, however, a Sufi is constantly driven to share the knowledge and light with which he has been gifted with others who deserve it. So a real Sufi is a person who has not wasted a single moment in following the divine prescription which is described in the Qur`an:

We have sent you as a witness and as a bearer of good news and as a warner and as one inviting to God Alone by His permission and as a light-giving torch. (Qur`an 33:45-46)

The difference between a prophet or a messenger and a Sufi or spiritual master is that a prophet or messenger receives divine communication directly from God, whereas a spiritual master receives it through the prophetic light. A prophet or messenger may also receive divine inspiration through other means, such as dreams or visions. The Prophet and Messenger of God, Muhammad, received communications through a direct means from God, which was the Archangel Gabriel. There is yet another mode of divine communication, which is called inspiration, which can be experienced by a receptive person.

The true Sufis have always followed the guidance of the Qur`an and the way of the Prophet Muhammad and have always understood that their vocation in this world is to witness the divine reality, to give the good news, and to guide people in the name of God to light upon light. They have always known the true path of Islam.

Sufism is the heart of Islam and is always at its best when it is not confined within any ethnic situation, when it is not Arabic Sufism, or Indian or Berber or Andalusian or Persian Sufism. ...

It is the original Islamic way of life which the true Sufis have always followed, transcending any ethnic, tribal or linguistic bias. They have followed the primal pattern of innate nature, which is the prophetic way, and which is to lead a life in accordance with the outer Islamic Law and to guide people to achieve the inner spiritual goal of self-fulfillment and contentment through self-enlightenment. Just as the way of Islam became a social reality and blossomed round the Prophet Muhammad, so it has always been given fresh life by the true Sufis, both in the places where Islam has been long established, and in the places where Islam is only just now arriving, for the price which they have to pay to receive the enlightenment which they desire is to teach people the primal way of original Islam.