Sufi Poetry and the Reformation of Society

[Toramana]

Sufiyana Shaeree aw da Muashere Islahصوفیانہ شاعری او د معاشری اصلاح (Sufi Poetry and the Reformation of Society), by Dr. Yar Muhammad Khattak Maghmoom, Peshawar, Bayan Publications, 2010, 211 pages.

The first Sufis were mystics who believed that self-discipline and meditation can lead to a direct and personal experience of God. They wore simple cloaks made of wool (Suf in Arabic), which was sometimes coloured to indicate their identity with the self-renunciation of the ancient dervishes who devoted their lives to serving humanity.

Across the centuries many people have increasingly been attracted to emotional and personal ways of knowing God through mysticism. Numerous mystic orders with millions of adherents are to be found predominantly in Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Turkey and Arabia, and also elsewhere. But not all Sufis have been accepted by......

http://www.edwardes.edu.pk/index.php...desk&Itemid=66

[emkhan]

Some people are propagating sufism for their own liberal and secular agendas. so be aware of them.

[ScimitarXEdge]

Sufis were responsible for most of the Islamic Revolutionary movements

Hassan Al Banna was a Shadhili Sufi

Shaikh Abdul Qadir Juzairi was a Shadhili Sufi

Shaikh Shamil Daghestani was a Naqshbandi

Sayyid Jamaluddin Al-Afghani was said to have been influenced by Qadiri Sufism


yes these days many people try to hijack the more lofty aspects of Sufism to justify their deviant lifestyles and behaviors; but true Sufism is about reforming the Soul and the Mind to adhere to the Ultimate Truth.

[faye]

i would like to read the book mentioned. i will order it through the library. i am very interested in amore universal outlook to peace, understanding and compassion.

[Toramana]

Faye, this book is in Pashto language...

[faye]

ohh. maybe it will get translated to english or someone can suggest another book along those lines.

[Badlun]

If you want to save Islam from complete annihilation then the only way out is promoting Sufism and annihilating Salafism.
Good article on this issue in the Economist April 9th -15th 2011 in the context of Islamism in Russia.

[emkhan]

A sufi will not never quote hadees or Quranic verse but his own created ideas like the followers of budhmat.
They never struggle for a system of justice and equality

[graveyardofempires]

If you want to save Islam from complete annihilation then the only way out is promoting Sufism and annihilating Salafism.
Good article on this issue in the Economist April 9th -15th 2011 in the context of Islamism in Russia.

is that a threat?

[king-zazai]

plz who ever is a sufi or against ahl sunnah wa jama'h then this should clear the dust plz watch its an amazing lecture you will benfit inshallah

YouTube - Reality of Sufism -by Abu Hasnayn Murtaza Khan

[Aryob]

Nothing against sufis but that's not the path i'd like to adopt. I'll follow whatever is in the Quran and Hadeeth. Meditation/Mysticsm??? that's something Pakistani media, curriculum and government is supporting and that is why most of us are so fascinated by them. I think the only sufi that i have respect for is Hamza Yusuf but the extremist who meditate by dancing around in the masjids are absolutely wrong.

[شمله ور خراساني]

Nothing against sufis but that's not the path i'd like to adopt. I'll follow whatever is in the Quran and Hadeeth. Meditation/Mysticsm??? that's something Pakistani media, curriculum and government is supporting and that is why most of us are so fascinated by them. I think the only sufi that i have respect for is Hamza Yusuf but the extremist who meditate by dancing around in the masjids are absolutely wrong.

Do you have respect for Hamze Useless because he mocks the people of Afghanistan by saying that armed opposition against American agression in Muslim countries is useless effort?

Or do you respect Hamza Useless because he promotes distorted interpretation of Islam based on Hinduism?

Or maybe you respect him for the fact that he claims that Muslims should become pacified subdued introvert people and allow everyone to occupy their lands and use their wealth?

[Mujib]

We should beware of intellectuals and others who portray Sufism (Tasawwuf) as a form of mysticism outside Islam. Such people are often university trained and have no experience of study and discipline at the hands of a true Sufi shaykh. Their misrepresentation of Sufism is a disservice and is just as harmful as the opposite extreme that rejects and attacks Sufism. Sufism is an Islamic science (`ilm) and is governed by the Qur'an and Sunna. This is a point Sufi masters stress again and again. Rahman Baba (ra) says of the path of the Sufis (Dervishes):

If anyone looks at the deeds of the dervishes:
He will come to respect the dervishes.

On that path he will find God and the Prophet;
The one who walks the path of the dervishes.

I have not read Dr. Yar Muhammad's book and so I cannot comment on it, but the review posted above misrepresents Sufism. For example,

Yar Muhammad’s study is based on sixteen Pukhtoon poets, of which the best known is Rahman Baba, who lived in the seventeenth century possibly near to Peshawar. These poets proclaimed that a direct and personal relationship with God is preferable to religious, ritualistic and abstract forms of worship.

Worship (`ibada) is part of having a personal relationship with God and is part of the path by which one attains yaqin and ihsan. One cannot be a Sufi without following the Qur'an and Sunna. Rahman Baba (ra) says, "Those who have accepted the religion of Muhammad / Are heaven-bound"; and, "Muhammad is the guide of the lost, / The walking stick in the hand of the blind." Mawlana Rumi (ra) says:

I am the servant of the Qur'an as long as I have life.
I am the dust on the path of Muhammad, the Chosen one.
If anyone quotes anything except this from my sayings,
I am quit of him and outraged by these words.

Thus the worship of any natural thing is worship of Allah because

This is the antithesis of Islam and Sufism. Monotheism is the foundation of Islam, and Sufism is at the heart of Islam. The poem of Rahman Baba (ra) quoted above is a poem in praise of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace); as much as Rahman Baba (ra) praises the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), he says, reiterating the concept of monotheism, "Do not consider him God. He is truly a man. / All good qualities are really his."

[Catya Sher]

Hamza Useless, that's clever !
Does he speak out against any resistance to NATO in Afghanistan?
Is that it?
I think he is not useful on many levels, except to the political
agenda of some forces...

[Mujib]

Sufis were responsible for most of the Islamic Revolutionary movements

Hassan Al Banna was a Shadhili Sufi

Shaikh Abdul Qadir Juzairi was a Shadhili Sufi

Shaikh Shamil Daghestani was a Naqshbandi

And Salahuddin al-Ayyubi (ra) and Sultan Muhammad Fatih (ra). And Shaykh `Uthman dan Fodio (ra) and Shaykh `Umar Tal (ra). And every great scholar in the history of Islam.

Beauty and art in Islam are the fruits of the people of Sufism. Whether it is the art of poetry, the art of calligraphy, or the art of architecture, it is the product of Sufi hands. It is this beauty and the beauty of conduct and character that attracts non-Muslims to Islam. The enemies of Sufism produce no beauty and their conduct turns people away.