What is tasawwuf?

[*noor]

Assalaamu alaikum

What is tasawwuf and what's the difference between tasawwuf and sufism?

[salman]

Assalaamu alaikum

What is tawassuf and what's the difference between tawassuf and sufism?

salamu `alaykum

There is no difference between Tasawwuf and Sufism, except linguistically some use the latter whereas others the former to refer to a specific science.

If you recall the narration of Gibril regarding Islam, Iman and Ihsan then you will notice that just as fiqh is the science of Islam, `aqida the science of Iman, tasawwuf is the science of Ihsan.

The goal of this science is to actualize the state of "to worship Allah as if you see Him", which was how the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) defined Ihsan. It is a systematic way of purifying the self of all except the rememberance of Allah so much so that the final condition of man will be complete rememberance of Allah at all times, with every breath. This was the state of the Messenger of Allah, the state we aim for, and the state which tasawwuf allows us to try and reach, at some level.

Wasalam
Salman

[*noor]

Jazakallah brother for your reply

If anyone else has a more detailed explanation for someone who is new to all this that would also be appreciated.

[ursis]

Assalamu'alaikum,

http://www.tasawwuf.org/basics/what_tasawwuf.htm

[Ansari_UK]

Asalaam Alaikum Sister

The following link should help you:

http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.a...ID=3623&CATE=1

&

http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.a...=1763&CATE=126

The first link has the exact same question as you but to scholars & the second is from Imam Ghazali(rahiamhu Allah)- The spiritual giant known as "Hujjatul Islam" (the proof of Islam)

[*noor]

JazakumAllah all for your help

[muslim786]

www.masud.co.uk has some very good information on all aspects of Islam. Especially stuff on madhabs and tassawuf.

[tilmeedh]

Oh yeah, and for audio introductory lessons on Tasawwuf, click here.

[jinnzaman]

Shaykh Uthman Dan Fodio's Definition of "Tasawwuf"

[celt islam]

Tasawwuf or Sufism is not esoteric Islam. Tasawwuf is the science of the path to Allah. Tasawwuf is the science of conforming the path of Islam through the direct experience of the Real instead of through the tongue or learning from books. This implies the abandonment of any theology. Tawhid is not theo-logical. In this sense Tasawwuf is the protector of Tawhid: La ilaha illallah. [ there is no god , only ALLAH . ]

The Muslim affirms: La halwa wa la quwwata illa billah.[ There is no power and no strenth except ALLAH ] It implies that there are not two forces in the universe. There is only Allah. It is typical of the esoteric theology to say that the world is divided into two forces fighting each other; the good verses the evil or the darkness versus the light or the truth versus the false. "Haqq [Truth ] is fighting Batil [ false ]" - this is a typical dualist statement. But it is impossible. Batil, "falsity", cannot stand against Haqq, because there are no two powers except in the imagination of the mushrikun[ idol worshpers ]. And yet how many modernist books come with this deviating cosmology proper to the mushrikun.

La halwa wa la quwwata illa billah also means that there is one source of power. Allah lends us His power and veils it from us with our limitations. Therefore we are the source of our own tribulations. We are only obstacle to the establishment of Islam. All the means are available to us. From this comes tawakkul: hasbunullahu wa niamal wakil, "Allah is enough for us and He is the best Guardian". Tawakkul is trust in Allah. It is the food of the faqir. It strengthens the faqir like the zuhud weakens the "I", and it is one of the praiseworthy qualities which everybody must acquire. Allah says, "Whoever relies on Allah, He is enough for him." Its reality is confidence and calmness in the heart and the realization that the sustenance of your physical body is by Allah alone. It is not by anyone other than Allah, and it is not by any of the debris of this world nor by any other cause.

What will help us towards this is to remember Allah that Allah guarantees us provision, and His knowledge and power are perfect, and that He is detached from creation and far remove from forgetfulness and from incapacity.

Shaykh Ibn Ataillah wrote in his book The Abandonment of the Management of Affairs: "Entrusting our affairs to Allah is also a very important quality to acquire. In Quran, Allah relates that the believer among Pharaoh's people said: "I have entrusted my affair to Allah." Its reality is our desire for Allah to preserve us from all that has danger in it and against which we have no security. What helps us in that is to remember our own incapacity, on the basis of which we abandon our selves to Allah."

Without this understanding people end up paralysed. But with it the Muslims is free to be a slave, that is, to obey in a way without barriers. The problem of trying to obey without understanding is that you can only do what you can. You can only move at the speed of your own misfortune and limitations. But to obey Allah while trusting Him is to abandon all sense of practical limitations, and to embark on the achievement of what Allah has ordered us to do. We obey Him not according to our deeds, but we obey Him according to what He has commanded us. We abandon the idea of being practical and we enter into the swift way of being slave. Obedience only takes place with understanding.

Tasawwuf is the light and the heart of the Deen, and without it our understanding of the Shariah is superficial. Tasawwuf enhances our possibilities because it gives wisdom and light to every situation in life: it enlightens us in difficulty and guides us in ease. Tasawwuf is not being a passive, docile consumer in this society with enlightened evenings and weekends. Tasawwuf is the transformation of your heart so that you realize that you are in charge of Dunya, and dunya is not in charge of you. It allows us to understand that what Allah has ordered is possible, and it shows us the path to achieve our highest goals fisabilillah. Tasawwuf allows us to understand that the deeds of the heart are more powerful than the deed of the limbs. Tasawwuf renders all other knowledges subject to the highest knowledge which is La ilaha illallah. With Tasawwuf we realize that knowledge of Allah is above every other knowledge. Tasawwuf allows us to taste La halwa wa la quwwata illa billah. Those who are touched by this knowledge becomes different people and to them there are no barriers and no fears other than Allah. These are the people we want to create.

SHAYKH ABDAL-QADIR AS SUFI :[scottish sufi master] says ; "Gnosis is the highest knowledge of ALLAH possable to man and woman , it is to directly witness the light of the names and attributes of ALLAH manifested in the heart ."