In recent times more than ever, especially as Islamic modernists make Sufism the scapegoat for the technological and industrial backwardness of the Muslim nations, Sufism has been accused of "unorthodoxy". These accusations arise out of a lack of understanding, for Sufism, as the inner dimension of the religion which carries it, is necessarily completely orthodox; it could not be otherwise, and Sufis are the most fervent of Muslims.

This does not mean that there are not or never have been, deviant manifestations, for that is inevitable; but in itself, Sufism is necessarily orthodox because it exists within and depends upon the framework of exoterism, although it ultimately surpasses it; as such, it is not always understood by purely theological thinkers. But the charges of un-orthodoxy were in fact laid to rest by Imam al-Ghazali (rali) (d.505/1111), who was at once jurist, theologian, and Sufi. In his person and his writings he bridged the gap between the outer and the inner, for those for whom such a gap had appeared to exist. Of his own turning to Sufism Imam al-Ghazali (rali) speaks in al-Munqidh min ad-Dalal:

Then I turned my attention to the Way of the Sufis. I knew that it could not be traversed to the end without both doctrine and practice, and that the gist of the doctrine lies in overcoming the appetites of the flesh and getting rid of its evil dispositions and vile qualities, so that the heart may be cleared of all but Allah; and the means of clearing it is dhikr Allah and concentration of every thought upon Him.

Now, the doctrine was easier to me than the practice, so I began by learning their doctrine from the books and sayings of their Shaykhs, until I acquired as much of their Way as it is possible to acquire by learning and hearing, and saw plainly that what is most peculiar to them cannot be learned, but can only be reached by immediate experience and ecstasy and inward transformation.

I became convinced that I had now acquired all the knowledge of Sufism that could possibly be obtained by means of study; as for the rest, there was no way of coming to it except by leading the mystical life.

I looked at myself as then I was. Worldly interests encompassed me on every side. Even my work as a teacher - the best thing I was engaged in - seemed unimportant and useless in view of the life hereafter. When I considered the intention of my teaching, I perceived that instead of doing it for God's sake alone I had no motive but the desire for glory and reputation. I realized that I stood on the edge of a precipice and would fall into Hell fire unless I set about to mend my ways... Conscious of my helplessness and having surrendered my will entirely, I took refuge with Allah as a man in sore trouble who has no resource left. Allah answered my prayer and made it easy for me to turn my back on reputation and wealth and wife and children and friends.

In any case, after Imam al-Ghazali (rali), most of the religious authorities in Islam at all levels have been at least nominal Sufi, even Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahab (d.120/1787), the founder of Wahhabism, could not in his time avoid being affiliated at one point with Sufi turuq.

Nevertheless, any esoterism, including Sufism, will always be "suspect" in the eyes of exoterism. The raison d'�etre of esoterism is precisely the knowledge of Reality as such. This is a realisation which exoterism can only point towards but cannot attain, since it means shattering forms, and with them, exoterism's necessarily dogmatic formulations. Ibn 'Ata' Allah (rali) said, quoting the Quran 27:34 (the Queen of Sheba alluding to King Solomon): "Surely, when Kings enter a town, they destroy it", just as the oak tree destroys the corn from which it grew. The Sufis say: "To get the kernel, one has to break the shell."

An offshoot of popular devotional Sufism seeks reassurance above all in psychic phenomena, communication with spirits, or jinn, trance dancing, magic, prodigies such as eating glass, piercing the body with knives, and so forth. In psychic powers and extraordinary mental states it finds proofs of spiritual attainment. It has given rise to the European use of the word fakir (which comes from the word for an authentic Sufi disciple, a dervish, or faqir, literally a "poor one") to mean a market place magician or performer, and has attained notoriety not only among Western observers, but also in Islamic societies.

Metaphysical, or true, Sufism is a spiritual way at the heart of Islam. Its starting point is discrimination between the Real and the unreal, its method is concentration upon the Real, and its goal is the Real. In the words of a Sacred hadith: "My servant does not cease to approach Me with acts of devotion, until I become the foot with which he walks, the hand with which he grasps, and the eye with which he sees."

Bayazid al-Bistami (rali) said: "For thirty years I went in search of God, and when I opened my eyes at the end of this time, I discovered that it was really He who sought me."

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