Page 1 - Chapter One:
"Nowadays in the West, the name [Sufism] has become better known, but its reality has
become far more obscure than it ever was in the Islamic world. The name is a useful label,
but the reality will not be found in definitions, descriptions, and books. If we do set
out looking for the reality, we will always have to keep in mind that the divide between
our own times and the times of Ali ibn Ahmad Bushanji - when the various phenomena that
came to be named ‘Sufism’ were just beginning to have a shaping effect on
Islamic society - is so deep and stark that it may be impossible to recover anything more
than the dimmest trace of it."
Commentary:
Contrary to what the author states above, the name "Sufism" is not a
useful label. In fact, it is quite misleading since it suggests that the reality to which
this name is making reference is just another "ism" like: socialism, communism,
capitalism, and so on.
The reality being
referred to is not a conceptual system. It is not a theoretical system.
This reality is a
precious dimension of Being. It transcends whatever label one wishes to attach to it,
because all such labels are the products of discursive processes that fall far short of
the reality to which reference is being attempted.
There also is a sense in
which the author is not quite correct when he says this "reality will not be found in
definitions, descriptions, and books." While one can acknowledge that this reality
cannot be circumscribed by any given definition, description or book (with one exception),
in point of fact, this reality shines through the written and spoken words of many
spiritual luminaries across the ages.
This reality envelopes
and permeates everything which such luminaries do. Consequently, whenever one comes across
the sayings, teachings, and writings of these individuals, one’s heart tends to be
attracted by the perfume of this reality as it emanates and radiates from their words.
Furthermore, the clear
exception to what the author maintains above (i.e., that this reality will not be found in
books) is the Qur’an which is the uncreated Word of God. Allah says of the
Qur’an: "We have neglected nothing in the Book" (6:38), and it is a book
whose woof and warp are expressions of the Reality in question.
Of course, the author may
have had in mind just "normal" books which are written by mortal human beings.
Even here, however, the author is not quite correct because, depending on whom one is
discussing, this reality can be found - albeit in a limited form of manifestation - within
the works of various spiritual luminaries whom God has graced with the talent and
understanding to communicate certain facets of this reality to other individuals.
In the quote with which
this current Commentary began, the author claims that the differences between the
times of Ali ibn Ahmad Bushanji and our own may be so great that one might not be able
"to recover anything more than the dimmest trace" of that reality. Once again, the
author is mistaken.
The author’s claim
seems to imply that the reality in question once was, but cannot be found now, except,
perhaps, through the dimmest of traces left behind in original source material. The
author’s claim seems to suggest that one must come to understand the way things were
in ancient times in order to be able to get even a fleeting glimpse of the reality being
sought.
Yet, what makes a human
being, human - namely, an innate capacity to be receptive to the reality in question - is
universal. It is not a function of times, per se, even if some ages may give a brighter
indication of the presence of this reality than do other ages.
The practitioners of this
reality have always taught that one merely needs to look within, in the right way, and, if
God wishes, one will come to realize the overwhelming presence of this reality. This inner
potential is something that both transcends times, as well as points to a common bond
shared by all those individuals who sincerely aspire to seek the realization of this
reality to the best of their God-given capacities to do so.
Finally, the author
maintains that the time of Ali ibn Ahmad Bushanji was a period "when the various
phenomena that came to be named ‘Sufism’ were just beginning to have a shaping
effect on Islamic society". This, too, is incorrect - and in several ways.
A "phenomenon"
is something which is visible or directly observable, and while the reality in question
may have given rise, from time to time, to the bubbling forth of certain kinds of visible
phenomena, the reality to which reference is being made cannot be reduced to a set of
phenomena. Somewhat like an iceberg, the reality in question lies almost entirely beneath
the visible surface - at least relative to most observers.
Secondly, the reality in
question was not "just beginning to have a shaping effect on Islamic society"
during the times of Ali ibn Ahmad Bushanji. This reality was hard at work, so to speak,
during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). In fact, this reality
was active during the life of all 124,000 Prophets, beginning with Adam (peace be upon
him).
True Islamic society is
this reality made manifest in the lives of its practitioners within such a society. As
such, one must make a distinction between Muslim society and Islamic society, since the
former does not always permit the latter to be established.
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