Sufism is occasionally accused of being outside the realm of Shari‘a. Discuss this issue, referring to changes in the attitude towards Sufism at different times in early / medieval Islamic History

Résumé du document

Sufism is a trend of Islam that puts the stress on experiencing God, by trying to find direct and intimate knowledge of God. The etymology of the Arabic word "suf" which means "wool" because of the garments worn by the first Sufis, is a good illustration of the ascetism they adopt to purify their soul and prepare themselves to the ultimate goal of this path: annihilation and continuance in God.

To follow the tariqa, the path to God, Sufis have to pass by stations and states and to perform some practices that are not mentioned in the Shari'ah that does not say anything about Sufism. As a result, the new concepts and attitudes introduced by Sufis have sometimes been criticized as unorthodox and occasionally in early Islam, even the very premises of Sufism were rejected as outside the realm of Shari'ah. It is thus is legitimate to wonder if these allegations were founded, especially considering the fact that after the 11th century Sufism became considered as central to Islam.

To discuss the question of the compliance of Sufis to Shari'ah, we need to study the behaviour of Sufis, the allegations against them and the way they replied to them. But we also need to consider the complexity of the Shari'ah itself, whose the bases (i.e. the Qur'an, the Sunnah, the consensus and analogy) have given rise to different interpretations. I am going to demonstrate that: 1/ Sufism is born as a way for Muslims to be more respectful of the Sunnah and is based on Qur'anic verses, as a result it respects the main bases of Shari'ah. 2/ If some concepts or utterances of early Sufis have been considered as contrary to the Shari'ah, we should not forget that the flexibility of Shari'ah permits to integrate these concepts. 3/ There has been a watershed in the 11th century, essentially thanks to Al-Ghazali, which has led Sufism to be considered as central to Islam.

Extraits

[...] Moreover, both the stations and the states of the path are grounded on the Qur'an. For instance the state of proximity is based on the verses ”when my servants question you concerning Me, I am near” (2:186)[14] and the state of love is based on the verses” God will soon bring men whom He will love and who will love (5:54)[15]. So we can argue that Sufism has a fundamentally Qur'anic character, and in this extent, respects the first basis of the Shari'ah. [...]

[...] However, this became a turning point for Sufism that started to become discredited. In fact, what has really led to tensions between Sufism and Shari'a- mindedness was the behaviour of the “drunken” Sufis. Early intoxicated Sufis (in ecstatic state, by opposition to the state of sobriety in which Sufis can control their mind and actions), uttered some sentences during their ecstatic state that was considered as totally heretic. Al-Hallaj, the most famous Sufi of the 9th century, was executed for uttering publically am the truth”[17]. [...]

[...] To sum up, to my mind, if attacks on Sufism occurred, it is because Sufism relies a lot on the esoteric meaning of the sources and has an important inside freedom, but in fact, it gives a real spiritual dimension to Islam. Indeed, it remains clear that Sufism is mainly based on the Qur'an and the Sunnah. As a result, Sufis finally managed to demonstrate that Sufism was not outside the Shari'ah because Muslims always have to uphold the Shari'ah before experiencing it, but moreover they demonstrated that only Sufism permits the ultimate experience of Islam and deepens the true meaning of Islamic Law[32]. [...]

[...] He showed that Sufi mystical and ascetical practices are respectful of the Shari'ah by elucidating their meaning and moderated the views of some Sufis; for instance by explaining in the Niche for Lights that after the “drunken state”, Sufis realize that there was no real union[29]. But I think that what really made the difference was how he showed that Sufism was the real path toward the reality of Islam and that it gives a moral force to Muslims and deepens the understanding of the Shari'ah. [...]

[...] XIII, pp. 8809- 8825 William Shepard, Introducing Islam, Routledge (Chapter: The path to God, Sufism and wisdom), p153 Peter J. Awn, Sufism, Encyclopaedia of Religion, Vol. XIII, pp. 8809- 8825 Peter J. Awn, Sufism, Encyclopaedia of Religion, Vol. XIII, pp. 8809- 8825 Peter J. [...]