Quora Answer: How Would You Describe Sufism?

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “How would you describe Sufism?” 

Sufism, known as taswawwuf or ‘irfan, is the science of Islamic spirituality.  Just as an accredited scholar of fiqh, jurisprudence, is known as a faqih, jurist; the master of this science is known as a Sufi.  The schools of practice are known as thuruq, the singular being thariqa’. 

According to the Mufti of Baghdad, and one of the great scholars of Islam, Shaykh Muhyi ad-Din Abu Muhammad ibn Abu Swalih ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani (q.s.), the Sufis have four interpretations for their names.  These names are given on account of what they represented to those who knew of them and their ways.  He said that when some had looked at the exterior and seen the woolen garb of which they became famous for wearing, they were called after the Arabic word for wool, “swuf”.  Others looked at their way of life, free from the anxieties of the world, at their submission, and they called them “Sufi” after that state which in Arabic is “swafah”.  Another group noticed the purity of their hearts and the sincerity of their worship, and named “swafi” which means ‘pure’ in Arabic. Still others took note that they were the people of the first row or “swaff”, the ahl asw-swaff. 

The earliest written use of the term “Sufi” is in reference to a student of Imam Ja’far ibn Muhammad asw-Swadiq (q.s.), Shaykh Abu Musa Jabir ibn Hayyan al-Kufi (r.a.) in the 2^nd century after Hijrah.  The doctrine of taswawwuf as espoused by Shaykh Bayazid Thayfur ibn ‘Isa al-Bisthami (q.s.) is summarised thus: follow the Qur’an and the sunnah; always speak the truth; free the heart from hatred; avoid forbidden food; and shun innovation in religion.