What is a Sufi?

excerpts from the teachings of Hazrat Inayat Khan

 

The following quotes have been selected from the teachings of Inayat Khan to help describe the meaning of Sufism and being a Sufi.

If anybody asks you, "What is Sufism? What religion is it?", you may answer, "Sufism is the religion of the heart, the religion in which the most important thing is to seek God in the heart of mankind."

from The Religious Gathekas by Hazrat Inayat Khan

What is Sufism? It is... the art through which the music and symphony of life can be preserved, and through which man can enable himself to become the proper servant of God and humanity

from The Sufi Message of Hazrat Inayat Khan, The Art of Being, Part I

Sufism cannot be called deism, for the Sufi does not consider God as an entity separate from oneself. Neither can it be called pantheism, because the Sufi not only sees the immanence of God in nature, but also realizes God’s Essence in the infinite... The Sufi is not an atheist, for the Sufi denies neither God nor God’s Messengers.

To the question, "Are you a Christian?", "Are you a Muslim?", "Are you a Jew?", the Sufi’s answer would be ‘yes’ rather than ‘no’, for the Sufi opposes no religion but sympathizes with all. In fact Sufism cannot be called a religion, for it does not impose either belief or principle upon anyone, considering that each individual soul has its own principles best suited for it, and a belief which changes with each grade of evolution.

Sufism is not an intellectual philosophy, because it does not depend merely upon cold reasoning, but develops a devotional tendency in one. Sufism cannot be called occultism, for the Sufi does not give any importance to the investigation of phenomena; seeing the brevity of life, a Sufi deems that a worthless pursuit: the Sufi’s aim is God alone

from Gathekas for Candidates, by Hazrat Inyat Khan (unpublished)

Sufism, as a religious philosophy of love, harmony, and beauty, aims at expanding the soul of man until the realization of the beauty of all creation enables him to become as perfect an expression of divine harmony as possible. It is therefore natural that the Sufi Order should stand foremost as a spiritual power in the East, and that it is rapidly becoming recognized in the West.

Many Sufi saints have attained what is known as God Consciousness, which is the most all-inclusive realization of the meaning of the word 'good' attainable by man. Strictly speaking, Sufism is neither a religion nor a philosophy; it is neither theism nor atheism, but stands between the two and fills the gap.

from The Sufi Message of Hazrat Inayat Khan, Spiritual Liberty

 

The Origin of Sufism

The germ of Sufism is said to have existed from the beginning of the human creation, for wisdom is the heritage of all; therefore no one person can be said to be its propounder. It has been revealed more clearly and spread more widely from time to time as the world has evolved.

Sufism as a brother/sisterhood may be traced back as far as the period of Daniel.

We find among the Zoroastrians, Hatim, the best known Sufi of his time. The chosen ones of God, the salt of the earth, who responded without hesitation to the call of Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Mohammed, were Sufis, and were not only simple followers of a religion but had insight into divine knowledge. They recognized God’s every messenger and united with them all.

Before the time of Mohammed they were called Ekuanul Safa, Brothers of Purity, but after his coming they were named by him Sahabi Safa, Knights of Purity. The world has called them Zoroastrian, Christian, Jewish, or Islamic mystics, and the followers of each religion have claimed them as their own. For instance, a Christian would claim that Saint Paul was a Christian and a Muslim that Shams Tabriz was a Muslim. In reality Christ was not a Christian nor was Mohammed a Muslim, they were Sufis.

from Gathekas for Candidates, by Hazrat Inyat Khan (unpublished)

 

Objectives of Inayat Khan's Teachings

In the early 1900's, Hazrat Inayat Khan came to America to begin to spread the timeless Sufi message in a manner appropriate for the times. An early Sufi Order advertising flyer beautifully defined the objectives of his teachings as:

1) To establish a human brotherhood with no consideration of caste, creed, race, nation or religion. Differences produce disharmony and cause all miseries in the world.

2) To spread the wisdom of Sufis which has been until now a hidden treasure, it being the property of mankind which does not belong to a certain race or religion.

3) To attain that perfection where mysticism remains no more a mystery,  which relieves the disbeliever from ignorance and the believer from falling victim to hypocrisy.

4) To harmonize the East and West in music, the universal language, by an exchange and revival.

5) To bring forth Sufi literature which is most beautiful and instructive in all aspects of knowledge.

from a Sufi Order flyer... circa 1918

 

The present-day Sufi Movement is a movement of members of different nations and races united together in the ideal of wisdom; they believe that wisdom does not belong to any particular religion or race, but to the human race as a whole. It is in this divine property which mankind has inherited; and it is in this realization that the Sufis, in spite of belonging to different nationalities, races, beliefs, and faiths, still unite and work for humanity in the ideal of wisdom.

from The Sufi Message of Hazrat Inayat Khan, The Unity of Religious Ideals, Part VI