Sufi philosophy
Sufi philosophy includes the schools of thought unique to Sufism, the mystical tradition within Islam,[1] also termed as Tasawwuf or Faqr according to its adherents.
[1] It has been suggested that Sufi thought emerged from the Middle East in the eighth century CE, but adherents are now found around the world.
Sufi philosophy, like all other major philosophical traditions, has several sub-branches, including cosmology and metaphysics, as well as several unique concepts.
Sufism in the Muslim world emerged and grew as a mystical,[3] somewhat hidden tradition in the mainstream Sunni and Shia denominations of Islam,[3] state Eric Hanson and Karen Armstrong, likely in reaction to "the growing worldliness of Umayyad and Abassid societies".
[4] Sufism was adopted and then grew particularly in the frontier areas of Islamic states,[3][5] where the asceticism of its fakirs and dervishes appealed to populations already used to the monastic traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christianity.
Sufis were highly influential and greatly successful in spreading Islam between the 10th and 19th centuries,[3] particularly to the furthest outposts of the Muslim world in the Middle East and North Africa, the Balkans and Caucasus, the Indian subcontinent, and finally Central, Eastern, and Southeast Asia.
[3] Some scholars have argued that Sufi Muslim ascetics and mystics played a decisive role in converting the Turkic peoples to Islam between the 10th and 12th centuries and Mongol invaders in Persia during the 13th and 14th centuries, mainly because of the similarities between the extreme, ascetic Sufis (fakirs and dervishes) and the Shamans of the traditional Turco-Mongol religion.
In this metaphor, al-Arabi compares an object being reflected in countless mirrors to the relationship between God and his creatures.
The cosmological plan, explains creation by successive emanation of worlds, as taught by Plotinus[15] In Islamic Sufi terminology, these are also known as "Tanzalat-e-Satta" (6 steps).
After Husayn ibn Ali, Abu Saeed Mubarak Makhzoomi was the one who discussed these levels in his Arabic book called Tohfa Mursala.
[16] Drawing from Qur'anic verses, virtually all Sufis distinguish Lataif-as-Sitta ("the six subtleties") as: Nafs, Qalb, Sirr, Ruh, Khafi, and Akhfa.
The transient nature of such states is contrasted with the more abiding quality of a maqām (station), i.e. a stage along the spiritual path.
While they are auspicious signs, the sālik is exhorted not to be diverted by their charms but to remain steadfast in seeking God alone through love and knowledge.
Baqaa, which literally means "permanency", is a term in Sufi philosophy which describes a particular state of life with God and is a manzil or abobe that comes after the station of fanaa.
Ihsan is the goal or aim of Sufi practices and is achieved when a seeker surrender and submit himself completely to the will of Allah.
