Sufism, non Muslim Sufism, Secular Sufism, Sufism as spiritualism and mysticism

[یاسمینه]

Ok. It is your point of view. You also know mine. Do we need to convince each other to our versions? At least I do not have such need

[یاسمینه]

Plus for me religion is something to be more experienced that discussed like a scientific issue.

[RevolutionThroughReason]

The problem is that we live here in the virtual world and you do not know at all whether I have Ijaza from a Sheikh or not but still after reading my few lines you make such a big claim and tell such a flagrant lie that I do not have the Ijaza! Dont you feel a little burden on you conscience when you tell such a white lie with out knowing me personally! How come you I am not connected to any silsila or tariqa? Did I tell you anywhere that I am not

If you are not a Sufi how come you can criticize my comments which at least I base on my claim being a sufi my self. Sufism is a state of mind, its an experience, its direct knowledge, its a way of life and behaviour. its an intuitional phenomenon, its not books, references , encyclopedia or a lot of reading. Please experience it then come and comment.

How can you say Sufism is this and that and sufis should do this and that while you your self say that you are not a sufi. Let a sufi to correct me and educate me and remove my pit falls. I should not listen to a non sufi at least on sufism. And never from one who just trying to catch few words in my comments and then base his claim about my personality on reading a word in my posts. I am losing the respect I had for you.

I used the word pride, not arrogance. I am proud not arrogant or haughty. I am a meek, humble , down to earth person but I do not need to tell the world I am this or that. Once you said I am not a sufi at least I had to tell my attachment with Sufism and my love for it whose one manifestation is pride.

I am not here to ask people to vote in my favor. I always avoid personal involvement with other members. Its a place for me to share and to learn. I do not have any agenda or getting followers. I am happy where I am. I am not marketing any ideology. At least sufism is not for using it as a vehicle for marketing.

On oriental ism we can have further discussion some where else but no one can ignore the role of orientalists in discovering our own culture, language and religion.

I have my personal experience that when studying Pashto as a language and literature I found only and only orientalists who have done a real work on Pashto. I did not find a single Pashtun or Muslim author who have written on the origin of Pashto grammar, linguistics and history. The same can be said of even Arabic. Even on history of Arabs we refer to the books of orientalists.

On Sufism except the few master pieces of original texts like kashf, masnavi , ghunya etc we do not have good work on sufism except that of orientalsits.

Well while I'm not a Sufi; I have read their literature abundantly, I know their objectives and what they teach, what they emphasize. I can tell you are not from any Tariqa because your views contradict all the Turuq which are established. For example when you mentioned Kashful Mahjub, I was able to quote statements from Kashful Mahjub which contradict your opinions. Yet you keep merely making statements which you have no evidence or support for. When you mentioned Rumi; I showed statements by Rumi that actually disprove and warn against people who try to misrepresent his statements as implying it is not based on obedience to Qur'an and following Muhammad(saw). I know you use the word pride; BUT even Pride is SHUNNED by them, because Pride is product of NAFS and anyone who does Tazkiyah Al-Nafs can't have pride of any sort.

See it is because you are NOT a Sufi that you're unaware of Good Works of Sufism; What about Mishkat Al Anwar or Risala Qushairi or Ibn 'Arabi's Futuh Al Makkiyah or Maktoubat Rabbani or Altaf Al Quds? There are many good books of Sufism. If you have to resort to Orientalist books to learn about Sufism that means you have not done enough study of Sufism, Just because you are ignorant about the Islamic Heritage of knowledge doesn't mean that the Islamic Heritage of knowledge is not there. In fact Even when it comes to Arabic Grammar, even the Western Scholars have to go to Zamakhshari's Al-Kashhaf or Lisan Al Arab. These are not Orientalist books.

Now when it comes to Pashto you may need more Western scholarship since there are very few credible sources of Pashto among Pashtuns since it only became a written language in the last few hundred years.
Also a Sufi never calls himself Sufi a Sufi calls himself "Salik" because Sufi is an esteemed state to be but Sufism teaches total humility, so they call themselves Salik as someone who is always seeking, never attained. A person who says they're "meek and humble" is not meek or humble because, part of being Meek and Humble is never to claim the prestige of piety for oneself. Sufism is ultimately about experiences But the Authentic Sufis wrote books, and papers and encyclopedias for a reason So that help people know the difference between Who is a Fake Sufi trying to misrepresent Sufism and who is legitimate. So when you say "Sufism is about experiences" You're really just saying what the Authentic People have said not your own experiences.

The Basics standards of Sufism from ALL the Authentic Sufi Schools which are in UNANIMOUS agreement

a.) Sufi must advocate following Shari'ah
b.) Sufi must follow the Shari'ah
c.) Sufi must not seek material wealth
d.) Sufi must seek spiritual goals and only does worldly things JUST for sustenance ONLY himself/family etc and guide others But never any more than that. Not to be "successful"
e.) Sufi prefers seclusion to mixing with others or socializing; but is involved only in guiding society
f.) Sufi does not worry about things like Nationalism/Ethnicity
g.) Sufi honors all of the Authentic 'Urafa

but you have focus on Ethnicity/Natonalism, you're against following Shari'ah and say that people who do not follow Shari'ah can be Sufis; you're very focused on material standards of success, also you do not advocate Shari'ah in fact you separate Shari'ah from society. You also disparaged Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi ; but he is apart of the Naqshbandi Golden Chain and honored by ALL the Sufi Turuq. So if you are shunning ANY of the Aunthentic 'urafa, it means you're not from the Ahl Al- Tasawwuf.

No one ever said that only Ibn 'Arabi and Rumi can be Sufis; but to be a Sufi you have to follow Certain Standards and the Standards for Sufis is Shari'ah. WITHOUT that, NO ONE can be a Sufi.

[faye]

The issue is appeal. A muslim will die on the name of his prophet but other may abuse his name. I am atatched to sufism and Osho like masters for the last many years so I have found an appeal there. You might have not got that chance so these things do not appeal to you. Its natural.

There are muslims who call sufis as non Muslims and there are non Muslims who call them selves sufis. You and I cannot tell them you are not Sufis. We should also understand the difference of gnosis(marifa) and just belonging to sufism. I am not a master but I am a sufi. I am a Muslim but I am not the authority on Islam. There are millions of Muslims who are unable even to read or understand Quran but they are Muslims. Similarly by one practice of meditation or a wazifa or a tazkya you can become sufi but not aarif or master.

We should demystify sufism. Only Ibne Arabi or Jilani or Rumi are not sufis. Every body can become sufi by adhering to its basic principles. Its a relaxed world without the restrictions of knowledge, religion, race or language. Islam and sufism are not synonymous.

everything i read about sufism connects it to belief in the qu'ran and following the teachings of muhammad the prophet. if someone is not a muslim then i do not see how you can call them sufis just because they do some sufi style practices.
i learned buddhist style meditation, but i am not a buddhist. i do yoga but i am not a hindu.

[Badlun]

badlun, i am sure people who are truly spiritually oriented are not interested in any label, if they are not following a specified religious ideology and practices.
i believe in an intelligent creator and other worldly experiences (beyond the 'proofs' of science) but i don't have any specific practices connected to a religion and i don't need a tag, ie: sufi.

Yes no need of a tag on an indivisual level but Sufism can play an important role to diminish the menace of Wahabism and Taliban. Thats why we need to have an identity on collective level.

Here is a great piece of writing which says
Feisal Abdul Rauf of the Cordoba Initiative is one of America’s leading thinkers of Sufism, the mystical form of Islam, which in terms of goals and outlook couldn’t be farther from the violent Wahhabism of the jihadists. His videos and sermons preach love, the remembrance of God (or “zikr”) and reconciliation. His slightly New Agey rhetoric makes him sound, for better or worse, like a Muslim Deepak Chopra. But in the eyes of Osama bin Laden and the Taliban, he is an infidel-loving, grave-worshiping apostate; they no doubt regard him as a legitimate target for assassination.

For such moderate, pluralistic Sufi imams are the front line against the most violent forms of Islam. In the most radical parts of the Muslim world, Sufi leaders risk their lives for their tolerant beliefs, every bit as bravely as American troops on the ground in Baghdad and Kabul do. Sufism is the most pluralistic incarnation of Islam — accessible to the learned and the ignorant, the faithful and nonbelievers — and is thus a uniquely valuable bridge between East and West.

The great Sufi saints like the 13th-century Persian poet Rumi held that all existence and all religions were one, all manifestations of the same divine reality. What was important was not the empty ritual of the mosque, church, synagogue or temple, but the striving to understand that divinity can best be reached through the gateway of the human heart: that we all can find paradise within us, if we know where to look. In some ways Sufism, with its emphasis on love rather than judgment, represents the New Testament of Islam.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/17/opinion/17dalrymple.html?_r=0

[Badlun]

Neither of these are Sufi sources; quote from actual credible and legitimately qualified Sufis please; someone who has an ijaza from a Spiritual Lineage in Sufism which goes back to either Hadhrat 'Ali (kw) or Hadhrat Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq (ra)

When my position is that Sufism can be secular and sufism can exist with Islam or without Islam then I do not need to quote a Muslim Sufi. Please read this if it makes some sense to you.

Lt. James William Graham of the British East India Company praises Sūfi doctrine for its rational faith along with its complete disregard for the ritual practice prescribed by Islamic law, i.e., the sharī‘a. Indeed, as Carl Ernst observes, Graham “saw Sufism as an attractive system precisely to the degree that it denies the law of Muḥammad and approaches Christianity.”12 According to Graham, Sufism is

that spiritual intercourse of the soul with its Maker that disregards and disclaims all ordinances and outward forms, of what sect or religion soever; such as observances of feasts, fasts, stated periods of prayer, particular kinds of meat to be eaten, ablutions, pilgrimages, and such like other rites and ceremonies which come under the head of practical worship (ismāni āmul), being the deeds of the law, in contradistinction to mental or spiritual worship (roohāni āmul), that is, as I take it to be, grace or faith. Thus, by the words of the apostle St. Paul, in his Epistle to the Romans, chap. iii., ver. 28, “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.”13
Secular Sufism: Neoliberalism, Ethnoracism, and the Reformation of the Muslim Other - Lipton - 2011 - The Muslim World - Wiley Online Library

[RevolutionThroughReason]

When my position is that Sufism can be secular and sufism can exist with Islam or without Islam then I do not need to quote a Muslim Sufi. Please read this if it makes some sense to you.

Lt. James William Graham of the British East India Company praises Sūfi doctrine for its rational faith along with its complete disregard for the ritual practice prescribed by Islamic law, i.e., the sharī‘a. Indeed, as Carl Ernst observes, Graham “saw Sufism as an attractive system precisely to the degree that it denies the law of Muḥammad and approaches Christianity.”12 According to Graham, Sufism is

that spiritual intercourse of the soul with its Maker that disregards and disclaims all ordinances and outward forms, of what sect or religion soever; such as observances of feasts, fasts, stated periods of prayer, particular kinds of meat to be eaten, ablutions, pilgrimages, and such like other rites and ceremonies which come under the head of practical worship (ismāni āmul), being the deeds of the law, in contradistinction to mental or spiritual worship (roohāni āmul), that is, as I take it to be, grace or faith. Thus, by the words of the apostle St. Paul, in his Epistle to the Romans, chap. iii., ver. 28, “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.”13
Secular Sufism: Neoliberalism, Ethnoracism, and the Reformation of the Muslim Other - Lipton - 2011 - The Muslim World - Wiley Online Library

These are bogus commentaries without any evidence or basis to support them. There is no such thing as secular Sufism; None of the Sufi Turuq have expressed any such ideas. This is just a fabricated concept using misrepresentation of both Secularism which is a Political idea of separation of Church and State with Tolerance of Sufism. They're two different things. In fact Soviet Union was secular but intolerant to religion. So that is evidence Secularism has nothing to do with Sufism.


If you have no references from Actual Sufis; then youre presenting fraudulent and false material.

[Badlun]

We have a difference of approach. You search sufism in books and I follow this

"A Sufi need not be a Mohammedan. A Sufi can exist anywhere, in any form – because Sufism is the essential core of all religions. It has nothing to do with Islam in particular. Sufism can exist without Islam; Islam cannot exist without Sufism. Without Sufism, Islam is a corpse. Only with Sufism does it become alive.

Whenever a religion is alive it is because of Sufism. Sufism simply means a love affair with God, with the ultimate, a love affair with the whole. It means that one is ready to dissolve into the whole, that one is ready to invite the whole to come into one’s heart.

It knows no formality. It is not confined by any dogma, doctrine, creed or church. Christ is a Sufi, so is Mohammed. Krishna is a Sufi, so is Buddha. This is the first thing I would like you to remember: that Sufism is the innermost core – as Zen is, as Hassidism is. These are only different names of the same ultimate relationship with God".
Sufi Stories Osho Sufi Stories, Sufi Tales Sufi Stories of Osho

[Friend]

Badlun is a deviated guy from the straight path. He teaches us Islam and at the same time he denies the basic teachings of Islam. What I see is Toramana and Badlun is actually one guy with two different names.

[Badlun]

Whatever is the answer, the following question shows that Sufi tariqas do admit non muslims to their fold

I live in Brazil and would like to know, may be Sufi without being a Muslim? I am a Muslim, but I saw that members of the Naqshbandi Haqqani tariqa in Brazil are very different from the ones I’ve met in Istanbul. Most of them are not Muslims, do dhikr with men and women in the same space, women do not cover themselves in addition to wearing the way you want it or not. But when he asked for the shaikh who represents the tariqa here he said, no and that the person may be Sufi but not a Muslim. I was shocked by this response. Then the tariqa Naqshbandi Haqqani is the group of Idries Shah and Omar Ali Shah, or is this just something from that Shaykh here? Jazakallahu Khayr

Haqqani Sufi but non-Muslim | eShaykh.com

[Badlun]

Here you have a lot of references(from Muslim Sufis too) where it is proved that Islam is not necessary for Sufism.

Non-Islamic Sufi Organizations and Schools in the West

In addition to the various Islamic Sufi orders that now have centers in the West, a number of non-Islamic Sufi organizations have arisen in the West. These groups teach various Sufi doctrines and practices but -- in contrast to nearly all Sufi orders in the Muslim world -- have disconnected their teachings from Islam. Hence followers of these groups are generally not Muslims. Adherents of such schools often assert that Sufism pre-dates Islam and thus in prinicipal is universal and independent of it. The following Sufi groups and teachers have a non-Islamic view of Sufism:
Sufi Order International, formerly the Sufi Order in the West, founded by Hazrat Inayat Khan, who was succeeded by his son Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan (link fixed 22 Sept. 2005), who has recently been succeeded by his son, Pir Zia Inayat Khan. An essay in which he expresses his perspective on Sufism in contrast to the more traditional Islamic orms is The Paradox of "Universal Sufism". See the short biographies of each of the shaykhs of the Sufi Order International (the above links were fixed on August 20, 2002). Visit the Shrine of Hazrat Inayat Khan as well as the shrine ofNizam al-Din Awliya, which is in the same area in New Delhi, India. (Link fixed 5 November 2007). See as well the online collected works of Hazrat Inayat Khan (fixed 5 November 2007).
International Sufi Movement (formerly described at International Sufi Movement (link fixed 20 August, 2005)) is also derived from Inayat Khan and is headed by another of his sons, Hidayat Inayat Khan. Somewhat more detailed is the biography of Hidayat Inayat Khan. (Link fixed, November 23, 2001.)
Sufi Ruhaniat International (originally named "The Sufi Islamia Ruhaniat Society" (SIRS) was established by Murshid Samuel Lewis (1896 - 1971), a disciple of Hazrat Inayat Khan. Murshid Sam, who was particularly active in San Francisco during the height of the "hippie era," created the Dances of Universal Peace, which became popularly known as "Sufi Dancing." (Links fixed Oct. 12, 1999 and Nov. 23, 2001)
Mevlevi Order of America, founded by Jelaluddin Loras, son of the main force behind the spread of the Mevlevi Order in the West, Suleiman Hayati Dede.
Idries Shah was a Sufi teacher and prolific author who passed away in 1996 [the biographical material at the previous link was apparently much of the basis of the Obituary of Idries Shah (apparently offline October 22, 2002) published in the London Telegraph (December 7, 1996). See also the brief but illuminating remarks about Shah by Doris Lessing the well-known writer and student of Shah]. Through his writings, Idries Shah was arguably the single most important influence in popularizing Sufism (in a non-Islamic form) in the West. See the brief discussions of some of his works at ISHK Books (Fixed, October 10, 1999) and Doris Lessing's Review of Shah's book The Commanding Self (The London Times, May 5, 1994) as well Lessing's more comprehensive and hypertext linked The Sufis and Idries Shah People familiar with his work maintain the site Sufi Studies Today.
Omar Ali-Shah is a Sufi teacher and writer similar in orientation to his late brother Idries Shah. (Link fixed, February 6, 2001.)
The Golden Sufi Center was established in various cities in the U.S. and around the world in order to disseminate the teachings of the Naqshbandiya-Mujaddidiyya Sufi Order (in a non-Islamic form) as taught by Irina Tweedie and Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee.
Sufi Foundation of America (link fixed November 23, 2001, offline for a while, then online October 12, 2003) is centered in New Mexico (U.S.) and headed by Adnan Sarhan, a Sufi originally from Baghdad, who is a master of drumming and Middle Eastern dance. Healing various addictions is a major aspect of his work.
Sufism Reoriented is a non-Islamic Sufi organization that takes Meher Baba as its focus and regards him as the avatar (God in human form). This article deals with its current spiritual leader (murshida) Carol Weyland Conner, who succeeded Dr. James MacKie as the organization's head. (Written by Nivedita Sharma and online at Boloji.com, but published originally by Women's Feature Service, March 31, 2003.) David Berry, a devotee of Meher Baba, provides a "Baba lover's" view of Sufism in his article What is Sufism?.
Sufism, Sufis, and Sufi Orders: Sufism's Many Paths

[randolph85]

^

so basically, sufism which was created in the middle east by muslims who curse those who try to detach the ideology from islam are inferior to white bread american "sufis" who in the modern era detach sufism from islam?

what kind of joke is this?

the likes of rumi and others would call you a kaffir for associating this "secular sufism" with that which they practiced in the past and using their names for validating this hilariously ridiculous ideology.

[RevolutionThroughReason]

Here you have a lot of references(from Muslim Sufis too) where it is proved that Islam is not necessary for Sufism.

Non-Islamic Sufi Organizations and Schools in the West

]

no;you just regurgitated the same sources from another page ; Meher Baba is not from any official Sufi lineage; he is not considered an Authentic Accredited Sufi, in fact NO one in the Sufi Brotherhoods/Sisterhoods knows of him outside of his public publicity stunts.

The only crediible sounding name here is Jelaluddin Loras, BUT even he is not legitimate because he went against the teachings of Jalaluddin Rumi so he is no longer apart of the Genuine Mevlevi order.

remember Rumi says

I am the slave of the Quran while I still have life,
I am dust on the path of Muhammad, The Chosen One,
If anyone interprets my words in any other way,
I deplore that person and I deplore his words. — Rumi

So This man cannot be a Mevlevi according to Rumi's statement.

Pir Inayat Khan , Meher Baba and so on; these are Fake Sufism they don't belong to any legitimate order; these men just heard the word Sufi and started to pretend to fool naive people

Anyone i that doesn't preach Shari'ah as the foundation is not an actual Sufi.

[faye]

so, badlun, you appear to be saying that some folk have taken the name of sufism and defined it as the belief in compassion, separate from it's origins and need for the belief in the teachings of the qu'ran.

[Badlun]

Well while I'm not a Sufi; I have read their literature abundantly, I know their objectives and what they teach, what they emphasize. I can tell you are not from any Tariqa because your views contradict all the Turuq which are established. For example when you mentioned Kashful Mahjub, I was able to quote statements from Kashful Mahjub which contradict your opinions. Yet you keep merely making statements which you have no evidence or support for. When you mentioned Rumi; I showed statements by Rumi that actually disprove and warn against people who try to misrepresent his statements as implying it is not based on obedience to Qur'an and following Muhammad(saw). I know you use the word pride; BUT even Pride is SHUNNED by them, because Pride is product of NAFS and anyone who does Tazkiyah Al-Nafs can't have pride of any sort.

See it is because you are NOT a Sufi that you're unaware of Good Works of Sufism; What about Mishkat Al Anwar or Risala Qushairi or Ibn 'Arabi's Futuh Al Makkiyah or Maktoubat Rabbani or Altaf Al Quds? There are many good books of Sufism. If you have to resort to Orientalist books to learn about Sufism that means you have not done enough study of Sufism, Just because you are ignorant about the Islamic Heritage of knowledge doesn't mean that the Islamic Heritage of knowledge is not there. In fact Even when it comes to Arabic Grammar, even the Western Scholars have to go to Zamakhshari's Al-Kashhaf or Lisan Al Arab. These are not Orientalist books.

Now when it comes to Pashto you may need more Western scholarship since there are very few credible sources of Pashto among Pashtuns since it only became a written language in the last few hundred years.
Also a Sufi never calls himself Sufi a Sufi calls himself "Salik" because Sufi is an esteemed state to be but Sufism teaches total humility, so they call themselves Salik as someone who is always seeking, never attained. A person who says they're "meek and humble" is not meek or humble because, part of being Meek and Humble is never to claim the prestige of piety for oneself. Sufism is ultimately about experiences But the Authentic Sufis wrote books, and papers and encyclopedias for a reason So that help people know the difference between Who is a Fake Sufi trying to misrepresent Sufism and who is legitimate. So when you say "Sufism is about experiences" You're really just saying what the Authentic People have said not your own experiences.

The Basics standards of Sufism from ALL the Authentic Sufi Schools which are in UNANIMOUS agreement

a.) Sufi must advocate following Shari'ah
b.) Sufi must follow the Shari'ah
c.) Sufi must not seek material wealth
d.) Sufi must seek spiritual goals and only does worldly things JUST for sustenance ONLY himself/family etc and guide others But never any more than that. Not to be "successful"
e.) Sufi prefers seclusion to mixing with others or socializing; but is involved only in guiding society
f.) Sufi does not worry about things like Nationalism/Ethnicity
g.) Sufi honors all of the Authentic 'Urafa

but you have focus on Ethnicity/Natonalism, you're against following Shari'ah and say that people who do not follow Shari'ah can be Sufis; you're very focused on material standards of success, also you do not advocate Shari'ah in fact you separate Shari'ah from society. You also disparaged Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi ; but he is apart of the Naqshbandi Golden Chain and honored by ALL the Sufi Turuq. So if you are shunning ANY of the Aunthentic 'urafa, it means you're not from the Ahl Al- Tasawwuf.

No one ever said that only Ibn 'Arabi and Rumi can be Sufis; but to be a Sufi you have to follow Certain Standards and the Standards for Sufis is Shari'ah. WITHOUT that, NO ONE can be a Sufi.

Please be honest with your own self. If you what is sufism then you must know that you cant understand it by mere reading books of sufism. I mentioned the name of Kashful Mahjoob that I have read this book. I said nothing else about the book but you in your own imagination supposed that I agree with all the contents of the book. Reading is one thing and believing in that material is another. I read your posts but it does not mean I also agree with that.

Rumi was a Muslim and a sufi at the same time. As a Muslim he believed in Islam but as a sufi he has ideas which are universal in nature. He talks of love for all and his audience is the mankind not only Muslims. As said here
Rumi and Visions of Humanity

Some may find it surprising that “the most popular poet in America” is, in fact, one of the greatest mystics of Islam.
His work moves beyond constrictions of religion or dogma and transcends national, cultural and religious boundaries. Rumi combines the intellect of a Plato, the vision and enlightened awareness of a master teacher such as a Christ or a Buddha, and the immense literary gifts of a Shakespeare.

The term is tazkiya nafs not killing nafs. You can clean your self but can remain proud of something. Yes arrogance is bad. A sufi is a normal person. Can be proud of something or some one. This is human. Sufi is not from some other world or for some other world.

I have read some books of Muslim Sufis including Maktoobat e Rabbani and I am a Muslim Sufi. My point is that I do not restrict sufism only to Muslims. A non Muslim can equally join Sufism in any form. I do not believe that one must belong to a special branch or Tariqa of Sufism as one can be a Muslim without joining any sect.

On Arabic or Pashto originally we have few books written by Arabs or Pashtuns but majority of the good books are written by the orientalists. One should not be stingy not to give this credit to them. Similarly on secualr sufism naturally the good books should come from non Muslims. ITs a new concept and those who are expert on this will write.

A sufi need not to shun the world. This is not the era of asceticism or rihbanyat. A sufi may have material wealth and can be a sufi. A sufi can be nationalist or secular or non believer in a particular dogma. This is what I want to explain here that sufi is not some one celestial but any one can be a sufi if he or she wants and observes few basic personality features like be spiritual in approach not always looking for material gains.

Can you please prove from Quran or an authentic hadith that the term shariat exists in Islam? This is a later day innovation and is not a pillar of Islam. Islam has five pillars and code of ethics. Where come Shariat in this categorization.