Quora Answer: Are Sufis & Dervishes the Same?

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ 

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “Are Sufi and dervishes the same thing?” 

The term “Sufi” is one of the most misunderstood terms in Islam.  Even those who claim to follow Sufi orders mistakenly call themselves Sufis, which is a great presumption.  According to 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. 

When some had looked at the exterior and seen the woolen garb of which they became famous for wearing, they were called thus after the Arabic word for wool which is “swuf”.  The garb is to symbolise humility by leaving that which is ostentatious. But even that garb may be a veil for those who have humbled themselves may become proud that they are humble. 

When others looked at their way of life, free from the anxieties of the world, at their submission, at their peace of mind; they called them “Sufi”, after that state which, in Arabic, is “swafa’”.  For surely Allah (s.w.t.) is the Best of Planners.  And those who remember the Planner cannot be in a state of continual distress. 

سُوۡرَةُ الرّعد

ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَتَطۡمَٮِٕنُّ قُلُوبُهُم بِذِكۡرِ ٱللَّهِ‌ۗ أَلَا بِذِڪۡرِ ٱللَّهِ تَطۡمَٮِٕنُّ ٱلۡقُلُوبُ (٢٨) 

Those who believe, and whose hearts find satisfaction in the remembrance of Allah: for without doubt in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find satisfaction. (Surah ar-Ra’ad:28) 

Another group noticed the purity of their hearts and the sincerity of their ‘ibadah.  And they were the “Pure Ones”, and thus named “Sufi” from “swafi”, which means “pure”, in Arabic.  They have been purified of the Self.  When the Self is absent, the Divine is Present; the Divine is Inherent. 

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 s 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.  This is not new term, and neither are the practices of the Sufis anything new since they are all from Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.).  These are not the people of shara’, the law; they are the people of wara’, caution.  They have moved beyond the Path of the Law to the Path of Caution.  The doctrine of taswawwuf and Islam as espoused by Quthb al-‘Arifin, Shaykh Bayazid Thayfur ibn ‘Isa al-Bisthami (q.s.) is thus: Follow the Qur’an and the sunnah; always speak the truth; free the heart from hatred; avoid forbidden food; and shun innovation.  As such, a Sufi is someone who has attained ma’rifat, gnosis, and found the Divine Presence.  These people are few and far between.  Everyone else is either a “murid”, “student”; or “muhib”, “inclined”. 

The term “dervish” is derived from the word “faqir”, which means “indigent”, through the Persian “darvis”, which means the same thing.  However, within the context of taswawwuf, Sufism, a dervish is a person who has overtly renounced the world, and availed themselves to the Mercy and Generosity of Allah (s.w.t.).  A dervish may be a Sufi, as in a follower of the Path, or he may not.  A Sufi may be dervish, or he may not.  However, within the context of taswawwuf, all Sufis are, in reality, dervishes, because their hearts have no attachment to the world.