11.) Do
Sufi teachings embrace pantheism?
The short
answer to this question is no. Pantheism rests on a confusion between, and conflation of,
the Essence and the realm of Divine Attributes.
The Sufis
always have maintained that there is a distinction which must be maintained between
Creation and the One Who has made such Creation possible. Creation is a manifestation of
the play of Divine Attributes, while the One Who has made such manifestation possible is
beyond all Attributes, descriptions and circumscription.
One cannot
reduce God down to that which Divinity gives expression to through manifestation. Yet,
pantheism is the doctrine that God can be regarded as synonymous with, and contained by,
such manifestations.
The Sufis
never have advocated anything remotely similar to pantheism. The doctrine of Tawhid, or
Oneness of Being, is a unity of manifestation and not a unity which claims that Creation
is co-extensive with Dhat or Divine Essence.
(Back to FAQs Menu)
|
