|
|
|
|
|
As stated earlier Tasawwuf or Sufism stands for Islamic mystical philosophy. The word apparently originates from suf ("wool"), the preferred fabric, because of its simplicity, for the garments of the early ascetics. It is often noted that through abjad (the science of the relationship between the numeric values of letters and their meaning) tasawwuf corresponds to the value of the words al-hikmah al-ilahiyyah ("Divine Wisdom"). It is the science of the direct knowledge of God; its doctrines and methods are derived from the Quran and Islamic revelation. The principal doctrine of the shariah which characterises Islam is the shahadah, namely the perception that "only Absolute Reality is absolutely real." This is also the central and fundamental doctrine of Tasawwuf. So despite any borrowing and influence from exterior sources, the essence of Tasawwuf is purely Islamic. Sufism is found everywhere in the Islamic world, it is the inner dimension of Islam, from which efficacy and force of Islam as a religion flows.
|
|
|
