What is Tasawwuf?

One path, two names

Tasawwuf is the Arabic and Urdu word; Sufism is the English one. Both name the same thing: the inward side of Islam, which aims at knowing Allah and not only knowing about Him.

A knowledge that purifies the soul

Khwaja Shamsuddin Azeemi defines Tasawwuf as a knowledge that brings purity to the soul and brings the created close to the Creator (p. 35). The one who travels this path is given inner states and insights, comes to perceive Allah with the inner eye, and is honoured with nearness to Him.

His teacher, Qalandar Baba Auliya, described Tasawwuf as the practices which, alongside the outward acts of worship, lead to knowing the soul (p. 35). Prayer, fasting and good deeds purify the body and conduct; reflection turns the attention inward, until a person becomes aware of their own spirit. Because the spirit comes from the command of Allah (Quran 17:85), to know it is to glimpse something of the Whole.

Its four foundations

The book names four foundations: love, the oneness of God (tawhid), God-consciousness (taqwa) and knowledge of the self (irfan-e nafs) (p. 35). It sums up the teaching of the Quran in one line: Allah is One, without partner, and He loves His creation.

• "He is the First and the Last, the Outward and the Inward, and He knows all things" (Quran 57:3).

• "Allah is with those who are mindful of Him and those who do good" (Quran 16:128).

• "Those who believe are deeper in their love for Allah" (Quran 2:165).

Tasawwuf, the author writes, is an ocean of love, and love is the way to what is sought (p. 36).

The law and the path go together

Tasawwuf does not stand apart from the Shariah. The book explains the relationship with an example (p. 37). Two people live in a kingdom and both obey its laws, so both are good citizens. One of them, however, is also close to the king. Both are good; the one who is close has the higher rank.

In the same way, the person of the Shariah prays, avoids wrongdoing and asks forgiveness for mistakes. The Sufi does all of this too, and also longs for nearness: in prayer he becomes aware that Allah surrounds everything and is "nearer than the jugular vein" (Quran 50:16).

Purifying the self

The working method of Tasawwuf is tazkiya-e nafs, the purification of the self (p. 38). The Quran names it among the tasks of the Prophet ﷺ: "He it is who raised among the unlettered a Messenger from among themselves, reciting His verses to them, purifying them, and teaching them the Book and wisdom" (Quran 62:2). The opening verses of Surah al-Muzzammil, about rising at night, reciting the Quran with care and devoting oneself wholly to the Lord, give the guiding principles. The friends of Allah built the practice of Tasawwuf on these verses, and every practice given to a seeker follows Allah and His Messenger ﷺ (p. 39).

How it is practised

The book's list of practices includes (p. 39):

1. remembrance of Allah, with praise and glorification;

2. concentration, searching and reflection (tafakkur);

3. building a connection with Allah in prayer;

4. fasting to come closer to Allah;

5. God-consciousness that grows out of a purified self;

6. meditation (muraqaba): withdrawing attention from everything else to search within;

7. mastering anger, and growing in forgiveness and pardon.

The soul of religion

"Tasawwuf is the soul of religion," the author writes (p. 65). Religion gives a person the conviction that Allah sees them, keeps them on the straight path and teaches equality and fairness. Tasawwuf turns that conviction into lived experience.

Based on Khwaja Shamsuddin Azeemi, Ahsan o Tasawwuf (Khwaja Shamsuddin Azeemi Research Society), pp. 35–39 and 65.