Islamic mysticism has a rich Sufi tradition made famous by Rumi and the legendary whirling dervishes. How does this relate to traditional Islam?
The mystical tradition within Islam, which eventually grew into Sufism, was shaped by unique cultural, political and historical factors which blended with traditional Muslim doctrine, rites and practices. Factors such as increasing piety and asceticism, literary movements, international relations all shaped the emergence of the Sufi sector. This overview will trace the development of mystical tendencies and the historical contexts and influences that influenced this development and introduce some influential figures.
The history of the High Caliphal Islamic kingdom, beginning around 650 AD, was marked by an emphasis on the study of the Quran and the hadith (the words of the Prophet). Political dissent within the kingdom had recently led to the division of the ummah (community) into distinct factions for the first time. This new trend of diversification within the kingdom set the stage for more changes, and eventually, an emergent mystical tradition. In other words, the original dissent of the Shi'ites, beginning with the death of Ali (cousin of the Prophet Muhammad) in 661, paved the way for further diversification in what had once been a united ummah.
One emergent and dominant Shi'ite group, in particular, the Twelver Shi'ites, held that extreme piety was one of the necessary virtues for an imam to hold. Imams of this lineage believed themselves to suffer due to the base nature of humanity and the world. Leaders were seen as martyrs by the Twelver Sh'ites, suffering at the hands of their own misled people. Out of this need for extreme piety came an early ascetic movement. One of the earliest ascetics, al-Hasan al-Basri presented the idea of living one's mortal life in preparation for the afterlife. The material world, according to al-Basri's sermons, was to be distrusted, and, he taught, one should carefully avoid sinning.
Another early ascetic, the legendary Rabi'a (717 - 801) also marks a theological change in the development of mystical Islam. Rabi'a makes two important contributions. Firstly, she is one of the earliest known pre-Sufis to refer to God primarily in terms of a love relationship, deemphasizing a fear relationship. In emphasizing a love relationship, Rabi'a insisted that she acted not out of fear of God or fear of divine punishment but rather out of pure love.
Meditation, such as the constant meditation proscribed by Ibrahim ibn al Adham (? - 777) , was also important to the development of Sufism. For those who took seriously to constant meditation on the Quran and the name of God, personal withdrawal from society was a necessary repercussion. Literally constant meditation also led to the shirking of other personal duties, desires, comforts and necessities.
But it wasn't until the movement of the Islamicate kingdom's capital to Baghdad in 762 AD that mysticism truly began to develop and spread. Just like our urban centers today facilitate the spread and congregation of new ideas, with the establishment of Baghdad as the new political and cultural center many proto-mystics congregated into one geographical locale thus allowing for the true growth and formalization of the Sufi mystical sect.
Just as devout piety let to asceticism, the constant mediation proscribed by Al-Adham and the influences of those such as Al-Basri and Rabi'a soon grew into more esoteric and mystical themes. The theme of love in mysticism can be demonstrated by Al-Nuri (? - 907), who taught in Baghdad in the late ninth century. Through emotive ecstasy, illogical actions, trance, erotic poetry and transcendence of traditional morality, Al-Nuri developed the ideal of a direct relationship with and experience of Divinity. Further, Al-Nuri emphasized the role of divine love in the relation between man and God. God was construed as man's lover, and man God's. This was a passionate and erotic love, comparable to the Greek and Christian eros. This direct knowledge of God was in direct opposition to the traditional teachings of the Quran. Al-Nuri was, not surprisingly perhaps, persecuted.
Al-Hallaj (858-922), who taught in the late ninth and early tenth century, wandering from the Khurasan to Mecca, was a particularly innovative and controversial figure who perhaps did more to expand and spread Sufism than any other individual and furthered the mystical, mysterious and ostensibly illogical aura surrounding the Sufi ways. He was alleged to have mystical powers and was accused of sorcery. In going beyond the perceptible and logical realm and proclaiming such incomprehensible utterances such as, "I am the divine Truth," al-Hallaj pushed the limitations of Sufi mysticism and isolated himself spiritually even from his fellow mystics by the extremities of his convictions and acts.
Later Islamic dynasties led a widespread effort to translate texts into Arabic. This allowed for the international exchange of ideas. Muslims were exposed to the ideas of the neo-Platonic school of thought, which posited a monotheistic creative power mediated by the form of the divinity. Exposure to such ideas shaped the religious creativity of the early proto-mystics. Similarly, the Persian poets, such as Rumi, adopted mystical and love themed poetry as a literary manifestation which gradually influenced its actualization, though these Persian poets became prolific later, in the thirteenth century, and are thus more indicative of ways that Sufism became popularized and tell us less about its origination.
Although clearly Sufism was shaped by a number of factors, it was not a purely innovative development. The Quran provided a foundational structure for many of the beliefs and practices of the early mystics. In the search for esoteric and mystical gnosis or inner meaning ('ilm al batin), it was the Quran and the hadith which provided the source of exoteric and perceptible knowledge ('ilm al-zahir), which must be devoured for hidden meanings. Sufism was a genuine attempt to go beyond the professed and apparent literal meaning of the text; an attempt to experience the spiritual state which had inspired the sutras. 'Ilm al-zahir, the ostensibly knowable, was not wrong in the Sufi mind, but 'ilm al batin, the esoteric knowledge, was believed to be superior.
