Sufism Is All about Loving Humanity and Discovering One’s Own Self to Understand God Almighty
By
Ghulam Ghaus Siddiqi, New Age Islam
22 March 2023
The
Concept of Loving God And Loving Creatures Among the Sufis of the Mazhab-e-Ishq
Main
Points:
1.
Sufis
advocated for loving God, His prophets and Humanity
2.
Baba
Farid preferred to receive a needle instead of a knife since his purpose in
life was to unite people rather than divide them.
3.
The
Sufis of the Mazhab-e-Ishq developed the traditional divisions between
"real love," which is directed towards Allah, and "metaphorical
love," which is directed towards creatures.
4.
The
Sufis looked for the Divine inside humanity.
5. The Sufis of the Path of
Love always prioritised spiritual experience over theoretical understanding,
seeking the Divine inside their own being.
6. The Sufis hold that the
core of hatred is to despise the sin, not the sinner.
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Sufis
advocated for loving God, His prophets, and all people in general. The Sufis
believed that while doing prayers and observing fasts were significant
components of faith, people needed to go further and serve and love all living
things.
For
example, we could relate a story about Baba Farid Ganj-e-Shakar. Once a man
visited Baba Farid, and attempted to give him a knife. The Sufi saint told him
that he preferred to receive a needle instead of the knife since his purpose in
life was to unite people rather than divide them (Sui Ki Tarah Journey Ke
Liye Dunya Mein Hoon, Chhuri Ki Tarah Kaatne Ke Liye Nahi).
The
books on Sufism give descriptions of a number of Sufis who have chosen to be
identified as adherents of the Religion of Passionate Love [Mazhab-E-Ishq].
In Islamic thinking, the word "Mazhab" was used in a
variety of contexts. The meaning of "path" was what the Sufis of the Mazhab-e-Ishq
had in mind when they employed this phrase. This phrase, the Mazhab-e-Ishq,
is also translated as the "Creed of Love" and the "Religion of
love."
The
Sufis prioritise passionate love as the primary method of contacting Allah
Almighty when they follow the Path of Love. These Sufis developed the
traditional divisions between "real love," which is directed towards
Allah, and "metaphorical love," which is directed towards creatures,
made by earlier Sufis, and at times they dissociated themselves from it.
Their
understanding of love was more nebulous and even mysterious, and they aimed to
investigate the numerous nuances of its manifestations. They discussed the
Divine in their studies of love by using well-known images that had originally
been established in the context of human love.
These
Sufis spoke about the Divine (and humanity) with a special interest, if not
obsession, with beauty (Jamaal), the most important manifestation
of the Beloved. This frequently led them to believe that certain people were
Divine manifestations (Tajalli), though not in the sense of
incarnations, which they rejected as Hulul. They would also
observe numerous signs of the Divine in the natural world. A rose may serve as
a reminder of the Divine Splendour, and a loved one's beauty mark may serve as
a reminder of the Divine Unity.
The
Sufis looked for the Divine inside humanity. They identified the Path of God,
from God to God and as being distinct from the typical travel from this world
to the Hereafter (Inna Lillahi Wa Inna Ilayhi Raji'un) (Qur'an
2:156). Its ultimate goal cannot be discovered in either this world or
paradise. The path of the seeker lies within himself or herself; it cannot be
found merely by intellect and what the seeker knows and observes. According to
the Qur'an, "Do they not consider in their own selves (Fi Anfusikum
Afala Tubsirun)," one must look within oneself. [Qur'an 51:21] The
Sufis of the Mazhab-e-Ishq have focused much of their attention
on this inner path of love.
The
Sufis of the Path of Love always prioritised spiritual experience over
theoretical understanding, seeking the Divine inside their own being. It is
crucial to remember that they did not intend to eradicate theoretical
knowledge; in fact, they have left behind some of the most comprehensive
theoretical works in Islamic history. Instead, they sought to emphasise that,
in the end, it is one's own personal experience—not merely academic
knowledge—that will lead one along the path. According to 'Ayn al-Quzat (d.
1131) the taste of honey in the mouth, not the word honey is what makes it
sweet.
A
striking element of the Mazhab-e-Ishq may be the willingness of
the Sufis to admit that many people's adherence to Islam has evolved into
something more ritual than personal realisation. As a result, they have devised
strategies to exhort people to rise above their "metaphorical Islam"
and achieve a greater level of God-realization.
These
Sufis do not encourage individuals to abandon their religion or advocate a
"spirituality" that is distinct from particular religious doctrines
and practises. Instead, they would invert symbols that many Muslims represented
"lesser" beliefs. The Sufis of the Mazhab-e-Ishq assert
that Islam, or "Submission," is the true path that connects people to
God Almighty. According to them, God Almighty considers a path that does not
result in insight (aagahi) to be just as bad as infidelity.
The
Sufis won the hearts of the people by adhering to the Holy Prophet's teachings,
which served as an example for them in performing humanitarian services. They
attracted admirers from various racial and religious backgrounds because of
their love of creation.
According
to Hazrat Sheikh Khawaja Usman Haruni, when someone offers a thirsty person
water, all of his sins are pardoned and it is as if he has just left his
mother's womb. He will thereafter be designated as a martyr. He further said,
"Whoever offers food to the hungry, Allah will fulfil thousand of his
wishes, save him from the fires of Hell, and create a dwelling for him in
Paradise. (Majlis 10, Annesul Arwaah, Mashmoola Hasht Behesht)
In
his Maktoobat-e-Sadi, Hazrat Sheikh Sharafuddin Yahya Muniri states:
“Serving
and helping others has many benefits and is a manifestation of submission to
the All-Powerful God. The benefits of humanitarian service cannot be attained
through other forms of obedience. One benefit is the passing away of the
rebellious self (Nafs), which formerly enjoyed living under the control of the
mind. Humility and modesty come into play. Morality, decorum, and civility
begin to emerge. It encompasses both Tareeqah and the Sunnah. Man's
internal and external representations both become more refined and enlightened.
These benefits are exclusively available to those who participate in the
humanitarian service programme.”
The
book also discusses several approaches to approaching God. Someone questioned a
revered saint. The saint replies that every particle in the universe is a
pathway to God. We have achieved our goal by upholding it and transferring it
to our offspring since it is the only one that comes close to or is more
successful in providing comfort to God's creatures. The saint states that serving
others is the highest and most important kind of obedience, even if the Sufi
society engages in unfathomable words, acts, and worship. (Maktoobat-e-Sadi,
Discourse 71)
According
to the Sufis of the Mazhab-e-Ishq, the Path of Love leads to the
Path of God Almighty. In actuality, the Mazhab-e-Khuda, which
might be translated as "the way of God," is the way of love. Humanity
can only reach the Divine via love.
They
asked Husayn Mansur [Hallaj]: “Which path are you on?”
He
said: “I am on God’s path.” (Ana ‘Ala Madhhab Rabbi ).
[Ayn
al-Quzat Hamadani, Tamhidat , 22]
The
following Quranic verse could be interpreted as the ocean into
which all Sufis of the "Path of Love" have dove for ages in search of
pearls:
God
Almighty has said: “He loves them, and they love him.” [Qur’an 5:54]
One
can even contend that the entire mystical love in Islam is a mirror of the
verse mentioned above. It is not a coincidence that the first thing mentioned
in this verse is God's love for people. The only appropriate human response to
God's love is love itself.
The
Sufis had a deep intellectual disagreement over the relationship between the
love of God and the love of Creation. Many early Sufis, including Dataa
Hujweri, felt that the word "Ishq" should not be used
to describe humanity's love for the Divine. It is preferable to use words like
"Mohabbat" instead. Some Sufis, like Ruzbihan Baaqli,
who wanted to stop the term "Ishq" from being used to
describe both divine and human love, claimed that human love served as a kind
of "ladder" that led to the [higher] Divine Love.
The
love for creation (which would obviously include love for and among humans) has
been relegated to the status of "metaphorical" [Majaazi]
love by later Sufis and many modern academics of Sufism (Majaazi).
The Sufis of the Mazhab-e-Ishq dissociated themselves from the
aforementioned categorizations and declared that the love of God is an Ishq
that would embrace all of His creations.
The
Sufis hold that the core of hatred is to despise the sin, not the sinner. This
suggests that while you should despise the fault of the sinner, you shouldn't
despise the sinner themselves because they are human beings who deserve
respect.
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A regular columnist with
NewAgeIslam.com, Ghulam Ghaus Siddiqi Dehlvi is a classical Islamic scholar
with a Sufi background and an English-Arabic-Urdu Translator.
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-ideology/sufism-humanity-self-god-almighty/d/129371
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