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Dr. Alan Godlas, University of Georgia, Sufism's Many Paths , 2000, University of Georgia: http://www.uga.edu/islam/Sufism.html Nuh Ha Mim Keller, "How would you respond to the claim that Sufism is Bid'a?", 1995. Fatwa accessible at: http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/nuh/sufism.htm Dr. Zubair Fattani, 'The meaning of Tasawwuf', Islamic Academy. See: http://www.islamicacademy.org/html/Articles/English/Tasawwuf.htm A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a f (), though some adherents of the tradition reserve this term only for those practitioners who have attained the goals of the Sufi tradition. Another name used for the Sufi seeker is dervish.

Sufism arose among pious Muslims as a reaction against the worldliness of the early Umayyad Caliphate (661-750 CE). The Sufi movement has spanned several continents and cultures over a millennium, at first expressed through Arabic, then through Persian, Turkish and a dozen other languages. Michael Sells, Early Islamic Mysticism, pg. 1 uruq "Orders", either Sunn or Sh in doctrine, trace their origins from the Islamic Prophet Muhammad through his cousin Al, or from Abu Bakr.

This can be conceived in terms of two basic types of law ( fiqh ), an outer law concerned with actions, and an inner law concerned with the human heart. The outer law consists of rules pertaining to worship, transactions, marriage, judicial rulings, and criminal law  what is often referred to, a bit too broadly, as shariah . The inner law of Sufism consists of rules about repentance from sin, the purging of contemptible qualities and evil traits of character, and adornment with virtues and good character. Muhammad Emin Er, Laws of the Heart: A Practical Introduction to the Sufi Path, Shif Publishers, 2008, ISBN 978-0-9815196-1-6 To enter the way of Sufism, the seeker begins by finding a teacher, as the connection to the teacher is considered necessary for the growth of the pupil. The teacher, to be genuine, must have received the authorization to teach ( ijazah ) of another Master of the Way, in an unbroken succession ( silsilah ) leading back to Sufism's origin with the Prophet Muhammad. It is the transmission of the divine light from the teacher's heart to the heart of the student, rather than of worldly knowledge transmitted from mouth to ear, that allows the adept to progress. In addition, the genuine teacher will be utterly strict in his adherence to the Divine Law.

To reach the highest levels of success in Sufism typically requires that the disciple live with and serve the teacher for many, many years. For instance, Baha-ud-Din Naqshband Bukhari, considered founder of the Naqshbandi Order, served his first teacher, Sayyid Muhammad Baba As-Samasi, for 20 years, until as-Samasi died. He subsequently served several other teachers for lengthy periods of time. The extreme arduousness of his spiritual preparation is illustrated by his service, as directed by his teacher, to the weak and needy members of his community in a state of complete humility and tolerance for many years. When he believed this mission to be concluded, his teacher next directed him to care for animals, curing their sicknesses, cleaning their wounds, and assisting them in finding provision. After many years of this he was next instructed to spend many years in the care of dogs in a state of humility, and to ask them for support. Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani, Classical Islam and the Naqshbandi Sufi Tradition , ISBN 9781930409231 As a further example, the prospective adherent of the Mevlevi Order would have been ordered to serve in the kitchens of a hospice for the poor for 1,001 days prior to being accepted for spiritual instruction, and a further 1,001 days in solitary retreat as a precondition of completing that instruction. See Muhammad Emin Er, Laws of the Heart: A Practical Introduction to the Sufi Path , Shif Publishers, 2008, ISBN 978-0-9815196-1-6, for a detailed description of the practices and preconditions of this sort of spiritual retreat.

His writings, especially al-Futuhat al-Makkiyya and Fusus al-hikam, have been studied within all the Sufi orders as the clearest expression of tawhid (Divine Unity), though because of their recondite nature they were often only given to initiates. Later those who followed his teaching became known as the school of wahdat al-wujud (the Oneness of Being).

Imam Birgivi, The Path of Muhammad , WorldWisdom, ISBN 0941532682 From the traditional Sufi point of view, the esoteric teachings of Sufism were transmitted from the Prophet Muhammad to those who had the capacity to acquire the direct experiential gnosis of God, which was passed on from teacher to student through the centuries. Some of this transmission is summarized in texts, but most is not. Important contributions in writing are attributed to Uwais al-Qarni, Harrm bin Hian, Hasan Basri and Sayid ibn al-Mussib, who are regarded as the first Sufis in the earliest generations of Islam. Harith al-Muhasibi was the first one to write about moral psychology. Rabia Basri was a Sufi known for her love and passion for God, expressed through her poetry. Bayazid Bastami was among the first theorists of Sufism; he concerned himself with fan and baq , the state of annihilating the self in the presence of the divine, accompanied by clarity concerning worldly phenomena derived from that perspective. For an introduction to these and other early exemplars of the Sufi approach, see Michael Sells (ed.), Early Islamic Mysticism: Sufi, Qur'an, Mi'raj, Poetic and Theological Writings , ISBN 978-0809136193.

The most recent version of the Risla is the translation of Alexander Knysh, Al-Qushayri's Epistle on Sufism: Al-risala Al-qushayriyya Fi 'ilm Al-tasawwuf (ISBN 978-1859641866). Earlier translations include a partial version by Rabia Terri Harris ( Sufi Book of Spiritual Ascent ) and complete versions by Harris, and Barbara R. Von Schlegell.

This became the mainstream position among Islamic scholars for centuries, challenged only recently on the basis of selective use of a limited body of texts. Ongoing efforts by both traditionally-trained Muslim scholars and Western academics are making Imam Al-Ghazali's works available in English translation for the first time, Several sections of the Revival of Religious Sciences have been published in translation by the Islamic Texts Society; see http://www.fonsvitae.com/sufism.html.

Therefore the notion of a "formalization of doctrine" in Sufism is not strictly correct.

In many places, a lodge (known variously as a zaouia , khanqah , or tekke ) would be endowed through a pious foundation in perpetuity ( waqf ) to provide a gathering place for Sufi adepts, as well as lodging for itinerant seekers of knowledge. The same system of endowments could also be used to pay for a complex of buildings, such as that surrounding the Sleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul, including a lodge for Sufi seekers, a hospice with kitchens where these seekers could serve the poor and/or complete a period of initiation, a library, and other structures. No important domain in the civilization of Islam remained unaffected by Sufism in this period. Victor Danner - "The Islamic Tradition: An introduction." Amity House. February 1988.

Alan Godlas of the University of Georgia. http://www.uga.edu/islam/Sufism.html http://www.sulthaniya.com/almurshid1.html A number of Westerners have embarked with varying degrees of success on the path of Sufism. One of the first to return to Europe as an official representative of a Sufi path, and with the specific purpose to spread Sufism in Western Europe, was the Swedish-born wandering Sufi Abd al-Hadi Aqhili. The ideas propagated by such spiritualists may or may not conform to the tenets of Sufism as understood by orthodox Muslims, as for instance with G. I. Gurdjieff and Shawni. On the other hand, American- and British-born teachers such as Nuh Ha Mim Keller, Hamza Yusuf, and Abdal Hakim Murad have been instrumental in spreading messages that conform fully with the normative tenets of Islam.

This approach entails strict adherence to the way of the Prophet Muhammad, in the understanding that this wont, or sunnah , proposes a complete devotional spirituality adequate to those without access to a master of the Sufi way. Muhammad Emin Er, al-Wasilat al-Fasila , unpublished MS.

A concise and useful summary of this system from a living exponent of this tradition has been published by Muhammad Emin Er. Muhammad Emin Er, Laws of the Heart: A Practical Introduction to the Sufi Path , Shif Publishers, 2008, ISBN 978-0-9815196-1-6 Sufi psychology has influenced many areas of thinking both within and outside of Islam, drawing primarily upon three concepts. Ja'far al-Sadiq (both an imam in the Shia tradition and a respected scholar and link in chains of Sufi transmission in all Islamic sects) held that human beings are dominated by a lower self called the nafs , a faculty of spiritual intuition called the qalb or spiritual heart, and a spirit or soul called ruh . These interact in various ways, producing the spiritual types of the tyrant (dominated by nafs ), the person of faith and moderation (dominated by the spiritual heart), and the person lost in love for God (dominated by the ruh ).

Frager was a trained psychologist, born in the United States, who converted to Islam in the course of his practice of Sufism and wrote extensively on Sufism and psychology. See especially Robert Frager, Heart, Self & Soul: The Sufi Psychology of Growth, Balance, and Harmony , ISBN 978-0835607780.

The consensus among Sufi scholars is that the seeker cannot self-diagnose, and that it can be extremely harmful to undertake any of these practices alone and without formal authorization.

The traditional scholars of Sufism hold it as absolutely axiomatic that knowledge of God is not a psychological state generated through breath control. Thus, practice of "techniques" is not the cause, but instead the occasion for such knowledge to be obtained (if at all), given proper prerequisites and proper guidance by a master of the way. Furthermore, the emphasis on practices may obscure a far more important fact: The seeker is, in a sense, to become a broken person, stripped of all habits through the practice of (in the words of Imam Al-Ghazali words) solitude, silence, sleeplessness, and hunger. See in particular the introduction by T. J. Winter to Abu Hamid Muhammad al-Ghazali, Al-Ghazali on Disciplining the Soul and on Breaking the Two Desires: Books XXII and XXIII of the Revival of the Religious Sciences , ISBN 978-0946621439.

To engage in dhikr is to practice consciousness of the Divine Presence (some would say "to seek a state of godwariness") according to a variety of means. Some types of dhikr are prescribed for all Muslims, and do not require Sufi initiation or the prescription of a Sufi master because they are deemed to be good for every seeker under every circumstance. An example of a formula of dhikr requiring no special permission is given by Hakim Moinuddin Chisti in the final chapter of The Book of Sufi Healing , ISBN 978-0892810437.

And thus he is to turn his full consciousness towards God Most High while saying three times: Ilah anta maqsd wa-ridka matlb   my God, you are my Goal and Your good pleasure is what I seek. Then he brings to his heart the Name of the Essence  Allh  and as it courses through his heart he remains attentive to its meaning, which is Essence without likeness. The seeker remains aware that He is Present, Watchful, Encompassing of all, thereby exemplifying the meaning of his saying (may God bless him and grant him peace): Worship God as though you see Him, for if you do not see Him, He sees you. And likewise the prophetic tradition: The most favored level of faith is to know that God is witness over you, wherever you may be. Muhammad Emin Er, Laws of the Heart: A Practical Introduction to the Sufi Path , ISBN 978-0-9815196-1-6, p. 77.

Therefore, the Sharia (traditional Islamic law) and the Sunnah (customs of the Prophet) are seen as crucial for any Sufi aspirant. One proof traditional orders assert, is that almost all the famous Sufi masters of the past Caliphates were experts in Sharia and were renowned as people with great Iman (faith) and excellent practice. Many were also Qadis (Sharia law judges) in courts. They held that Sufism was never distinct from Islam and to fully comprehend and practice Sufism one must be an observant Muslim.

Sharda highlights these unsurprising similarities by stating that: "After the fall of Muslim orthodoxy from power at the centre of India for about a century, due to the invasion of Timur, the Sufi became free from the control of the Muslim orthodoxy and consorted with Hindu saints, who influenced them to an amazing extent. The Sufi adopted Monism and wifely devotion from the Vaishnava Vedantic school and Bhakti and Yogic practices from the Vaishnava Vedantic school. By that time, the popularity of the Vedantic pantheism among the Sufis had reached its zenith." S. R. Sharda, Sufi Thought In recent decades there has been a growth of non-traditional Sufi movements in the West. Examples include the Universal Sufism movement, the Golden Sufi Center, the Sufi Foundation of America, the neo-sufism of Idries Shah, Sufism Reoriented and the International Association of Sufism. Rumi has become one of the most widely read poets in the United States, thanks largely to the translations published by Coleman Barks.

Sufism is not Islam: A Comparative Study ISBN 8186030352 http://www.exoticindiaart.com/book/details/IDE944/ This being said, there are Islamic Sufi groups that are open to non-Muslim participation.

The arrangement of the book seems to have been inspired by Sufism. Its ten sections correspond to the ten stages through which the Sufi had to pass in order to attain that true and passionate love of God which is the aim and goal of all ethical self-discipline.

In the ninth gate, Baya directly quotes sayings of the Sufis, whom he calls Perushim . However, the author of the ovot ha-Levavot did not go so far as to approve of the asceticism of the Sufis, although he showed a marked predilection for their ethical principles.

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