34.) Given
that the term ‘Sufi’ is not mentioned in the Qur’an or the Hadith, what
does it have to do with Islam?
Hanafi,
Sha’fi, Hanbali, Maliki and Ja’fri are not transparently mentioned in the
Qur’an or the Sunnah either, but this does not stop Muslims from deferring to the
wisdom which is entailed in their writings or in living our lives, at least in part, in
accordance with the directives which are given in those perspectives. Furthermore, neither
the Qur’an nor the Sunnah directly address the principles on which the science of
Hadith is based, and, yet, certain collections of Hadith are accepted by the majority of
scholars while other alleged sayings and actions of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon
him) are rejected as being unreliable, unsubstantiated or false.
In any
case, too much is being made of terminology. The reality to which the word in question
(namely, ‘sufi’) alludes most definitely was taught and practiced during the
time of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). One can deny this only by approaching
the Qur’an and the Sunnah in an extremely dogmatic, superficial and ill-considered
fashion.
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