Sufism - what is it? Mystic-ascetic movement in Islam. direction of classical Muslim philosophy. Fundamentals of Sufi teaching
History of Sufism
Sufism does not and never had a beginning, and it never emerged as a historical phenomenon. It has always existed, because light has always been the inner essence of man. In its highest manifestations, this light can be called the knowledge of God, divine wisdom - Sufism. Sufism has always been practiced, and its heralds were people of the heart; so it also belongs to the founding masters like everyone else.
Tradition says that the first prophet was Adam, which means that the first person on earth already possessed wisdom. Among the human race there have always been those who passionately pursued wisdom. They searched for people of the spirit who had retired into solitude and, serving them with reverent devotion, learned wisdom from them. Few could understand what the divine chosen ones taught, but the greatness of their personality attracted many. And the people said to the prophet: "We will follow you, we will serve you, we will believe in you and we will never follow another".
And the saints answered them: "My children, we bless you. Do this; do that. You should live in this way, and not otherwise". And they gave people commandments and laws that could instill meekness and humanity in them. This is how religions were born.
But over time, the truth was lost. The desire to dominate has increased, followed by an overzealous attitude towards one's community and prejudice towards others; so wisdom was gradually lost. The religion established itself, though not without difficulty, but the world at that time and in that stage of development was such that it could not accept Sufism. His followers were ridiculed, despised and persecuted; they had to hide from the world in seclusion and mountain caves.
When Christ came, the Sufis were among the first to heed his teachings, and in the time of Muhammad, the Sufis from Mount Jafa were the first to respond to his call. One of the interpretations of the origin of the word "Sufism" connects it with the name of Mount Jafa. It was Muhammad who opened the way for the Sufis to Arabia, where they had numerous followers - including Siddique and Ali.
From there, Sufism penetrated into Persia. However, wherever the Sufis expressed their free views, they invariably suffered from the attacks of the dominant religion. Poetry and music remained the only outlet. It was the great Sufi poets - Hafiz, Rumi, Shams of Tabriz, Saadi, Omar Khayyam, Nizami, Farid, Jami and others - who transmitted the wisdom of Sufism to the world.
Rumi's creations are so majestic that whoever reads and understands them will gain knowledge of the entire world philosophy. In the sacred gatherings of the Sufis, the chanting of his poems is part of the worship service. The fates of the Sufis are admired for their piety and humanity.
The art of Sufism reached its perfection in India, which is very for a long time was a country of the highest spirituality. For Hindus, mysticism was a science and the main goal of life. So it was in the time of Mahadeva and later, in the time of Krishna. Once in this fertile soil, the grain of Sufism gave a wonderful color, and many great talents - for example, Khwaja Moin-ud-din Chishti - became his followers. Music was an important part of their life and spiritual practice. These Sufis perfected the art of devotional worship, idealization, their consciousness was able to free itself from the fetters of the outer plane of being.
Translators and admirers of Persian poets, while praising them, often make the same mistake - they do not pay tribute to their predecessors. It turns out that these poets created everything from scratch and did not inherit anything from the past. But Persia, surrounded by Greece and Egypt, Arabia and India, adopted the ideas of Plato and Socrates, the teachings of Hinduism and Buddhism, especially their poetry and philosophy. Everything in the world is in one way or another influenced by all other phenomena, so it would be a mistake to say that Sufism originated in Persia and never existed before; the existence of Sufism in the time of Muhammad and even earlier is undeniable, as is the fact that the prophet willingly talked with the Sufis and consulted with them. Over time, Sufism has been nourished by many religions and has in turn influenced many of them. Although only a tiny part of the ancient written heritage has survived, and even this small part has been almost completely destroyed by erroneous interpretations, we can still discern traces of ancient Sufism.
In ancient times, the Brotherhood of Purity - Safa was founded. His main goal was this: know yourself and you will know God. These brothers, knowing their own nature, were Sufis, because Sufism is the doctrine of self-knowledge.
Sufis and yogis can understand each other, because there is only one difference between them: yogis are more striving for spirituality, and Sufis - for humanity. The yogi thinks it is better to be God; the Sufi thinks that one should be human, because if only one spirit is left in someone, he is always in danger of falling - our body tends to fall. The Sufi believes that since our body has needs and desires, we must satisfy them; he believes that a person can receive from life everything that is in his power to receive, but if something is beyond his strength, there is no need to be upset. But there is no essential difference between a yogi and a Sufi. There are no differences in wisdom, or if there are any, they are only differences of form.
Joy is in unity; not in a single spiritual or material sphere, but in both of them. Why does a person cross his arms? Because where there is a couple, there is joy in the union. Man has two eyes; when they are closed, joy comes. When the breath passes through both nostrils, the mystic goes into ecstasy. Why do people shake hands? Why are they happy to be hugged? Why do people yearn to associate with a scholar or a sage? Because one soul attracts another and connects with it. Joy is not in spirituality alone, but in the unity of the spiritual and the material.
It is not good to be completely animal; and being entirely an angel is not fruitful either, because we are created with the body of an animal that needs to eat, drink, and sleep, and that has feelings and a thousand needs. We should come to terms with the harmless of our animal qualities and discard the dangerous ones. There is nothing wrong with eating and drinking, but tearing food off someone else's plate when it is on our plate is what is bad.
The central theme in the life of a Sufi is the freedom of the soul. The great Persian Sufi poet Rumi said: "The soul on earth is imprisoned and remains in it as long as it lives on earth". Realized or not realized by the person himself, in everyone there lives an acute longing of the soul, striving to escape from captivity, to break the fetters that bound it. The answer to this impulse should be the acquisition of spirituality.
There are two types of Sufis: rind and salik.
First, rind, beautifully embodied in Fitzgerald's translation of Omar Khayyam:
O my beloved, fill the cup
Which will cleanse today
From the regrets of the past and the fear of the future.
Well, tomorrow I can be myself, with yesterday's seven thousand years *.
* From the creation of light.
It implies the following: take the best from the current moment; living in the present moment, you will see eternity most clearly. But if your gaze is obscured by the world of the past and the world of the future, you no longer live in eternity, but in a limited world. In other words, one must live not in the past and not in the future, but in the eternal. It is here and now that we can try to comprehend happiness, which is the attainment of the freedom of the soul.
This main topic creativity of Sufi poets, who can be called rinds. Their lives are not bound by so-called principles, unlike the lives of the orthodox. They are free from all fanaticism, all dogmas and prescriptions that weigh on humanity. But at the same time, these are people of high ideals and perfect morality, deep thinking and a very developed consciousness. They lead a life full of freedom in this world-captivity, where everyone living is a slave.
Among the Sufis there are saliki who meditate and think ethically while living according to right principles. Life teaches them, directs them to the right path, and they remain in piety and self-denial. The path of the Salik is to understand the essence of religion - any that a person can profess - and follow it in his own way. Salik uses the same religious concepts as orthodox, and participates in the same ceremonies, but for him they have a different meaning. Each line of scripture has a special meaning for the Salik, because he sees it in a special light.
All lofty and refined thoughts about God, man and life can only be understood in connection with the evolution of man, which is why those Sufis who are called Saliks first of all accept some religion and through it come to harmony with other people, and then find in this religion, true wisdom and interpret it.
For the most part, Sufi literature is written in such a way that a person who is not familiar with its inner, underlying meaning can be discouraged. If we take the verses of Hafiz, we will notice that there is hardly any mention of God in them. If we turn to poetry Omar Khayyam, which is so highly valued by the Western world, we will see that he always writes about the same thing: about wine, about the beloved, about the cup and solitude. Someone will ask: "What is the spirituality in all this? He only talks about wine and a goblet! If this is spirituality, I pity humanity!" Yes, there is little piety expressed in these verses. And in the poetry of Jami there is no piety and piety at all, just as they are not in the verses of hundreds of other Sufi poets - great sages and mystics. They believed that having once been known as spiritual people, they would always be forced to appear as spiritual people, look like spiritual people, speak like spiritual people, and they feared that their freedom would be lost on this path, and they themselves would be known as hypocrites.
Sufism
There are three main philosophical traditions in the East: Sufism, Vedanta and Buddhism. The teachings of Sufism were expounded by the prophets of Israel: Abraham, Moses, David, Jonah and others, Zarathustra, Christ, Muhammad; these and other prophets were from the lands of Syria, Arabia, Persia, Egypt and from the territory of present-day Turkey and southeastern Russia.
Sufism is an ancient teaching of wisdom, humility, which gave rise to many cults of a mystical and philosophical nature. Its roots lead to ancient tradition which existed in Egypt and became the source from which all the other schools of initiation came. Sufism has always represented this tradition and continued its path in the realm of silence and peace.
In India, the teachings of Sufism are divided into four schools:
1. Naqshbandiya, in which the main role is played by symbolism, rituals and rituals.
2. Qadiriya, who taught wisdom on the basis of the Islamic religion of the East.
3. Suhravardiya, taught the mystery of life, revealed through metaphysical knowledge and practices of self-control.
4. Chishtiya, representing the spiritual ideal in the field of poetry and music.
These four branches gave rise to numerous sprouts that penetrated into Arabia, Turkey, Palestine, the Tatar lands, Russian Turkestan, Bukhara, Afghanistan, India, Siberia and other regions of Asia.
In each school, the goal remains the same, only the methods of achieving it change. The highest goal of any Sufi school was and remains the achievement of that perfection that Jesus Christ preached and about which the Bible says: "... be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect." The method of Sufism is always basically the same - getting rid of one's "I". But which "I"? Not the real, but the false "I", on which a person depends and on the basis of which he considers himself to be someone different from others. Having given up this false "I", he allows his true Self to manifest itself in visible world. The Sufi method allows the soul of a person to open up, the true Self - the eternal one, to which all forces and beauty belong.
Sufism realized that the images of Ahuramazda and Ahriman personify the principle of good and the principle of evil. One may find them also in the words of Christ or in the Qur'an, as well as in the Zend-Avesta. He understood what is behind the ideas about angels, came to the idealization of God and the Teacher, as the bearer of the divine mission. It can be called Jewish mysticism, if we neglect the influence that Christianity had on it. It can be called Christian wisdom, if we neglect the influence of the wisdom of Islam. It can be called an internal component of Islam, if we neglect the influence of other philosophical systems, such as Vedanta and Buddhism. That is why Sufism is so comprehensive, perfect and universal.
Sufi worship of nature was born under the influence of the teachings of Zarathustra.
His tendency to sacrifice is the lesson of Abraham.
He owes his miraculous power to Moses.
Warning of impending dangers, he represents Noah - the greatest sentinel of the past.
His rejection of asceticism goes back to Solomon, and sacred music is reminiscent of the songs of David.
The desire for self-sacrifice is based on the example of Christ; in humanity, the impact of the personality of Muhammad is visible.
That is why the Sufi is the disciple of every teacher, the follower of every religion, who knows wisdom in all its aspects. That is why, despite his spiritual achievements, he remains open to the world.
Many people say, "We only believe in Moses or Christ." Others claim to believe only in the Vedas or other ancient scriptures. But for a Sufi it doesn't matter who said this or that; the essence of what was said is important. If he finds truth in the words of Zarathustra, he accepts it; if he encounters truth in Kabbalah, then he accepts it. He recognizes the word of Christ and the Bible, he sees the truth in the Koran. He accepts Vedanta - among the Sufis there were greater students of Vedanta than many Hindus. In all scriptures he sees one.
Dara, Aurangzeb's brother, was one of the first foreigners to study the Vedas and helped spread the knowledge contained in them. During the reign of Akbar, Christian churches, Jewish synagogues and Muslim mosques were built in his lands - and he visited them all. This is a convincing proof of his Sufi views. When the great poet Kabir died, Hindus and Muslims began to challenge each other for the right to see him on his last journey. The Hindus wanted to cremate the body, while the Muslims wanted to bury it. Both of them claimed that he belonged to their faith. The Sufi sees the truth in every faith. He will never say that this or that religion is not his. Both Hindus and Muslims visit the tombs of great Sufi saints, such as the tomb of Khwaja Moin-ud-din Chishti in Ajmir.
The Sufi sees truth in all its forms. If someone suggests that a Sufi go to a Christian church and offer prayer, he will do it willingly. If someone else invites him to the synagogue and asks him to pray like the Jews do, he will be perfectly prepared for it; and being among the Muslims, he will perform prayer with them. In a Hindu temple he sees the real God, the living God instead of an idol; and the Buddhist temple inspires him, not blinds him with idolatry. And yet the true mosque of the Sufi will be in his heart, in which lives the Beloved, the one who is equally worshiped by both Muslims and infidels.
Today the task of the Sufi Movement is to establish a better understanding between individuals, peoples and races, as well as to help those who seek to find the truth. Its main position is to affirm the awareness of the divinity of the human soul; This is what the Sufi teaching is for.
Misunderstanding exists not only between East and West, or between Christians and Muslims who passed on the experience of Sufism to the West, but between Christians themselves as well as between people in general. Sufism as a school came from the East to the West, but Sufism as a message came to earth from above. In this sense, Sufism belongs neither to the East nor to the West. Sufi esoteric teaching is based on the tradition of the ancient school of Sufism, which has existed throughout different historical stages, but the Sufi Message has its own tradition. It is more than school: it is life itself; it is the answer to the prayer of all mankind.
Sufism is a religion, if one wants to learn from his faith; it is philosophy, if one wishes to learn wisdom from it; it is mysticism for him who seeks to be led by him in the unfoldment of his soul. And yet he himself is above all these things. He is the light, he is the life that nourishes every soul and elevates the mortal to immortality. He is a message of love, harmony and beauty. This is a divine message. This is the message of the age, and the message of the age is the answer to the call of every soul. This message, however, is not in words, but in the divine light and energy that heals souls, giving them the peace and peace of God.
Sufism is neither deism nor atheism, since deism means belief in a God who is unattainably far away in heaven, and atheism means existence without belief in God. The Sufi believes in God. Which God exactly? In God, from whom he himself came, God in himself and around him; as the Bible says, we live, move, and have our being in God. Such a teaching is the teaching of Sufism.
The Sufi believes in God as the ideal Self, within authentic life, as the collective Consciousness, and also as the Lord of both worlds, the Lords of doomsday, the Inspirer of the straight path, as in Him from Whom everything came and to Whom everything will return.
There can't really be multiple religions; there is only one. There cannot be two truths and there cannot be two rulers. As there is only one God and one religion, so there is only one ruler and one truth. Vulnerable point man always lies in the fact that he considers only that which is familiar to be true, and the fact that he is not accustomed to hear or think about anything frightens him. Like a traveler lost in a foreign country far from home, the human soul wanders among phenomena and things that are not familiar to it. But the path to perfection means rising above the borders, striving to such a height, from where the eye can no longer discern the borders of individual countries or continents, but sees the whole world. The higher you climb, the more spacious the horizon becomes.
A Sufi does not prescribe principles to anyone, but it is not like in ordinary life, where not having principles means being a very sinful person. Some wonder: how can one follow the teachings of Sufism if it does not have certain norms and principles. The answer is simple: what is good for one person may be quite bad for another. It is very good for someone to be a monk and sit all day in a church or mosque, but for someone it is not good - he may need to go to cafes and restaurants and understand the meaning of the experience gained there.
In the East, in a place where d "should express respect, people cover their heads with a hat or turban, while in the West, in the same cases, you should take off your hat, that is, everything is done exactly the opposite. In the East, before entering a Hindu temple, a mosque or other sacred building, shoes must be taken off, in the West it is not allowed to go to church barefoot If the Brahmins had to wear heavy shoes - such as those worn by Europeans, they would become sick, they would constantly suffer from fatigue, their shoes should be light and simple so that it can be taken off and put on without problems.The prescriptions of each religion were given in accordance with a certain time and place.
People fight endlessly for principles; they declare that they are firmly in favor of such and such principles, and that these principles make them better than people who adhere to other standards. But for the Sufi there is no good or bad here; his only moral is to be kind to others. That's what the world can never understand, because humanity always wants principles and wants someone to tell them what is good and what is bad. But we see things as good or bad depending on our point of view, which means that this is what should be educated in the first place. The Sufi fills everything with spirituality, no matter what he touches. He sees only unity and harmony. The religion of the Sufi is only love, so the prescriptions of other religions are nothing to him. He leaves the struggle for principles to those who are unable to see beyond the narrow confines of their own ideas.
When the word "philosophy" is uttered, a person immediately recalls the philosophy of Vedanta, say, or Plato and Aristotle. These and other philosophers studied the physical universe, matter; they figured out how spirit becomes matter, and comprehended metaphysics. But in their philosophical systems we will find neither worship of the ideal nor genuine self-forgetfulness, while in Sufism we encounter the idealization of God.
These Sufis believe in the help of every kind of worship; but even idolatry will not make a Sufi become a kafir, an unbeliever, because besides the idol, he also worships everything else at the same time. The world may appear to be worshiping an idol, when in reality it is worshiping God in everything. An idolater is one who says: "This is God, and that is not God; God is in this idol, but God is not in you."
The Sufi also has his idol, but it is a living idol. Once on the street of Hyderabad I met a fakir. He turned to me: "Hey, murshid, how to get there?" I was studying philosophy at the time and thought: "He called me a murshid; he must have seen some greatness in me!" But then I heard him ask the policeman: "Hey, murshid, is this the way to such and such a house?" - and realized that he says "murshid" to everyone. When I asked my murshid for an explanation, he replied that the fakir is at the stage of fana-fi-sheikh, when the student sees his murshid in everything and everyone. One who has reached this stage learns from everything, from every creature, old or young, stupid or wise, even from a cat, from a dog, from a tree, from a stone. And a person who is able to see God in only one single object, and not in all things and beings, this is who the idolater is. And only then does a person see God in everything, he really sees God.
Sufism is a philosophy among religions and a religion among philosophies. In the circle of religions, it is presented as philosophy due to the freedom of thought characteristic of Sufism; among philosophical systems, it seems to be a religion due to the Sufi idealization of God, dedication and worship to him. Others called these people Sufis, they themselves did not give themselves any name. They were free and pure from definitions, from names and labels, from isolating individuality, and therefore the world called them Sufis, from the root saf, which in Arabic means "pure".
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Sufism, originally originating in Iraq (Basri school), became especially popular in Khorasan, from where its ideas and practice spread throughout Central Asia. The Baghdad school of Sufism also enjoyed significant influence.
Between the 8th and 10th centuries, "professional" Sufis appeared, indulging in ascetic and mystical practices, while at the same time continuing to practice their usual craft. They were called "fakirs" (in Arabic - beggars) and "dervishes" (the same in Persian). Fakirs and dervishes often lived in special monasteries called "khanaka", "ribat", "zawiya" and "tekke" and were usually built near the graves of saints and mosques. In the cities, the Sufi communities were closely associated with the guilds of artisans. Such monasteries were headed by spiritual mentors (in Arabic - sheikhs, in Persian - pira), who enjoyed indisputable authority among their murid students.
Most characteristic features the practices of the early Sufis and ascetics were reflection on the meaning of the verses of the Koran, strict adherence to its instructions and the sunnah of the Prophet, repeated additional prayers, vigils and fasts, rejection of everything worldly, piety in Everyday life, rigorism, a scrupulous distinction between what is permitted and forbidden, refusal to cooperate with secular authorities, relying on the will of God, the cult of poverty, labor to meet the minimum necessities of life with the distribution of the rest of the income to the poor, repentant moods, satisfaction with one's earthly share, patience and humility.
Sufis are distinguished by a deep analysis of the subtlest experiences of a person, a keen attention to their inner awareness of religious truths. We find these traits already in one of the founders of Sufism - al-Hasan al-Barsi (VIII century), the creator of the doctrine of "hearts and thoughts" and human intentions. In the statements and sermons of the disciples and followers of al-Hasan al-Barsi Rabah ibn Amr, Rabi and al-Adawiya, ad-Dawani (the end of the 8th - the beginning of the 9th century), motives of disinterested love for God, the desire to get closer to him, appeared. Since that time, these motives have become hallmark Sufi thought, giving it a pronounced mystical connotation. Representatives of Sufism gave a detailed description of mystical "states" (ahwal) and "stations" (maqamat). The internal transformation of the Sufi was considered as a "path" (at-tarik), passing through which he is spiritually cleansed of "worldly filth" and draws closer to the deity. In the doctrine of “intentions”, the emphasis was on the sincerity and disinterestedness of the Sufi, in connection with which methods of self-control were developed. A Sufi, argued al-Haddad (died 873), should not be outwardly different from the people around him. On the contrary, if those around him condemn him for the sins he commits, he should only rejoice at this, for the scolding and condemnation of the crowd is a sure evidence that he is on the right path. After all, all the prophets and saints, whose true intentions were unknown to the mob, were subjected to scolding and condemnation. The social base of early Sufism was predominantly townspeople: small traders, artisans. People with a theological education, as a rule, acted as theorists of "Sufi science". The most important element Sufism already at an early stage was the mastery of its theory and practice under the guidance of a sheikh or pir, without which the murid risked becoming, according to popular belief, the devil's disciple. The largest Sufi mentors and ascetics, who became famous for their knowledge of theosophy and piety, began to be called "saints" (wali) or "divine poles" (aktab, singular - kutb).
At the end of the 10th - beginning of the 11th century, when the popularity of Sufism increased sharply and the number of its followers increased, works were written, the authors of which developed the main provisions of the "Sufi science". At this time, classical manuals on “Sufi science” appeared, from which the works of al-Sarraj at-Tusi (died in 988), al-Kalabazi (died in 990 or 995), Abu Talib al-Makki (died 990), as-Sulami (died 1072), al-Hujwiri (died between 1072 and 1076-77), al-Ansari (died 1089) and others. Biographies of the early Sufis were also compiled. The appearance of classical works on Sufism by al-Kusheyri dates back to the same time.
The ambiguity of Sufism is due, in our opinion, to the fact that the Sufi teaching about the direct communication of the believer with God contributes to the religious zeal of the masses. It is not for nothing that “prayer” and “asceticism” are singled out as the foundations of Sufi theory and practice. Apparently, one should not overestimate the dismissive attitude of Sufism towards a number of Sharia prescriptions in the early stages of its development, since the reaction to such facts from the majority of the Sufis themselves was very negative. The basis of the rapprochement between Sufism and Sunni dogmatism was irrationalism. mysticism, which is integral part any religion, did not separate, but rather brought it closer to traditionalism (Salafism). Not without reason, one of the systematizers of Sufism, the famous poet Abdallah al-Ansari and such a major theorist as Abd al-Qadir Jilyani (died in 1166) were regarded as ardent opponents of kalam.
It should be borne in mind that in Sufi practice, the leadership of the Sufi sheikh and following his example in life was mandatory. Therefore, one should not overestimate the so-called rejection of intermediaries between God and the believer, attributed to "heretical" Sufism.
It must be taken into account that there is no church institution in Islam, and therefore the significance of the doctrine of direct communication between the believer and God, that is, the denial of the idea of mediation, which is of fundamental importance, for example, in Christianity, is not essential for the realities of Islam. The anti-Abbasid position of Sufism is largely due to dissatisfaction with the social order, corruption and money-grubbing of the rulers and their associates. They proceeded from the idealized norms of the social life of the Medina state of the time of the Prophet Muhammad. Their teaching on the equality of people before God largely reflected the Islamic traditional ideas of mutual assistance of all members of the community, the requirement addressed to the wealthy to help the poor, the categorical prohibition of "riba" - usurious interest, a call for justice, etc. The social criticism of Sufism is based on the religious-utopian doctrine of the reorganization of society, which, first of all, was associated with religious and moral self-improvement. Ultimately, asceticism and mysticism became the answer to the injustices of this world. The mystical concept of being alone with a god was seen as aimed at achieving a "better" and "just world". Orientation to the individual existence of a person led to the creation of many psychological systems that have in mind the self-improvement of a person.
Culture in Sufism
Already in the 9th-10th centuries, a peculiar public organization Sufis.
The passage of the tariqah required special knowledge, without which a person who tried to achieve the highest spiritual insights could pay dearly, losing his health and mind. Therefore, already in the early epochs, a custom was established according to which one who wished to follow the path of spiritual quest chose a spiritual mentor who bore the title of sheikh or pir (old man), a person who had already passed the tarikat. A person who enters under the leadership of a sheikh was called a murid, ar (wishing) - in essence, he subdued his will to the sheikh. First, the murid went through a series of tests, then the murid did many ascetic exercises, fasted, stayed awake at night, read the Koran, spent forty days in meditation and prayer, being completely alone. The sheikh rebuilds the murid's thinking into figurative, symbolic thinking and begins to develop in him again the perseverance and will that can overcome any obstacles. In turn, the sheikhs, being engaged in experimental psychology, developed in themselves such properties as reading thoughts, the ability to induce a hypnotic state in the murid, etc. Such properties caused a huge increase in the authority of the sheikh and contributed to an increase in the number of his followers. When the sheikh saw that he could not teach the murid anything new, he gave him permission (ijaz), which gave the murid the right to gather students and continue the work of his teacher. Great importance Sufis attributed the achievement of an ecstatic state, which was considered a special Divine favor, therefore, it is not surprising that in their circles already in early era intensively searched for means that could contribute to the induction of ecstasy. One of these means was soon recognized as the most effective. It was music, instrumental and especially vocal, combined with the artistic word. Listening to music was put into practice by a number of sheikhs and was called sama" (arab.
hear). Sama" for the Sufis is the sound that changes internal state listener (Sharkhi Taarruf. 1351). Sama" is the flight of the human soul towards its original foundation, which the traveler succeeds only through real, inner ecstasy. Among the Sufi authorities there were different opinions regarding the permissibility of participation in sama", but, summarizing everything, we can say that doing sama" is only allowed those who have a good heart and mortified flesh. Those who are deprived of these signs should engage in prayer and fasting. Later, dance joined the sama. Itself was used not only at meetings of the dervish community, but also at the so-called "majlis" (open meetings). In addition, speaking at the majlis in front of the broad masses of the people, sheikhs actively used parables, fairy tales, folk anecdotes. Such conversations captivated the listeners, at the same time, the sheikhs brought the theoretical base they needed to the story, the parable, interpreted it in relation to the main topic of their sermon, and ensured that the interpretation they needed became the main interpretation of the parable for the widest possible circle.
Thus, Sufi literature begins to emerge, which, ultimately, goes back to the Majlis. Since the main theme of Sufi poetry was the fixation of Hal or mystical illumination, the most feature which is short duration, non-susceptibility to logical definition, the sayings of some Sufis begin to take on the form of a special abstruse language, and, often, to an outsider, not a Sufi, remain incomprehensible. Special dictionaries of Sufi poetic terms are being created. It is believed that the mystical effect of the seven stories of Khoja Nasreddin studied in the correct sequence, the authors of which are Sufis, is so great that it is enough to prepare the student for insight. Despite the heterogeneity and branching of the teachings of Sufism, two directions are usually traced in it: extreme and moderate. Ghazali and Junayd, who believe that a Sufi should not go beyond the Sharia, all his statements and deeds should comply with the instructions of the Koran and the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad, belonged to the moderate. The extreme supporters of Sufism are the Sufis, who stand on the position of "wadhati wujud" (the unity of being), who consider Truth (God) and nature in unity. “What was before everyone and will always be; It has the transparency of water, but it is not water; This is the essence without a cover, which only for minds that are unable to comprehend, puts on a cover. O Creator of all forms, which, like a wind through, flows through all forms, not frozen in any. "
Sufism proceeds from the idea that the universe consists of 7 "realms of existence". We are talking about the multidimensionality of space.
The subtlest spatial dimension, which the Sufis call Zat, is the Abode of God in the aspect of the Creator. The Creator and all the diversity of His Creation (in Sufi terminology - Sifat) form the Absolute. The Creator permeates the entire Creation with His Love.
The multidimensional human organism, being similar in its structure to the multidimensional structure of the Absolute, can reveal in itself more subtle "kinds of being". This is done through a process of self-knowledge and self-improvement.
Thus, only through the comprehension of one's true essence can a person achieve a direct perception of God and gain unity with Him. This is very succinctly expressed by one of the hadiths of the Sunnah, which says: "Whoever knows himself, he will know God." On final stages such comprehension, the individual human consciousness merges with the Divine Consciousness. This ultimate goal is described in the Sufi tradition as the highest state of consciousness Baki-bi-Allah (Eternity in God). In the Hindu and Buddhist traditions, this term corresponds to - Kaivalya, Mahanirvana, Moksha.
Sufism is based on love.(mahabba, hubb). Sufis even sometimes speak of their teaching as a "hymn of Divine Love" and call it tassa-vuri - "love-vision". Love is seen in Sufism as the force that leads to a constant increase in the feeling of inclusion in God. This process leads to the understanding that there is nothing in the world but God, who is both the Loving and the Beloved.
One of the basic tenets of Sufism- "Ishk Allah, Mabut Allah" ("God is Loving and Beloved").
A truly loving Sufi gradually sinks, sinks and dissolves in the Creator - in his Beloved.
The perception of God as the Beloved comes from direct, immediate experience. Sufis describe it as follows. When a person travels a certain distance along the Path of Love, God begins to help the seeker much more actively, drawing him to His Abode. And then a person begins to feel the reciprocal Divine Love more and more vividly.
Let us follow how such love, leading to God, develops, based on the ideas of Jalal-ad-Din Rumi.
It happens:
1) through the development of emotional, heartfelt love for everything most beautiful and harmonious in the world;
2) through active, sacrificial, love-service to people;
3) then - through the expansion of the circle of this love to all manifestations of the world without differences; Sufis say about this: "If you make a distinction between things that come from God, you are not a person of the spiritual Path. If you think that a diamond will exalt you, and a simple stone will humiliate you, then God is not with you";
4) this developed love for all the elements of Creation is redirected to the Creator - and then a person begins to see, according to Rumi, that "the Beloved is in everything."
Obviously, this concept of Love is identical to those presented in the Bhagavad Gita and the New Testament: the same basic milestones, the same accents. True love is considered in Sufism, as well as in the best spiritual schools of Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, as the only force that can lead to God.
Sufi attitude towards worldly activities
Sufi sheikhs often live in the world, doing the most ordinary mundane activities. They can run a shop, a workshop, a smithy, write music, books, etc. This happens because the Sufis are convinced that there is no need for complete solitude, hermitage - in order to go to God.
They argue that in worldly activities there is nothing that separates from God, if you do not become attached to its fruits and do not forget about Him. Therefore, at all levels of spiritual ascent, a person can remain included in social life. Moreover, it is she who, in their opinion, provides great opportunities for improvement. If we consider each life situation as an educational one, you can communicate and even live side by side with the most "terrible" and depraved people, be subjected to the most rude influences - and not suffer from it, on the contrary, maintain constant cheerfulness and serenity, improving through these social contacts offered by God.
Training in Sufism
As for murid students, Sufi sheikhs emphasize that not everyone who would like to become a Sufi can become one, not everyone is ready to accept the Sufi teaching. Sufis say that nothing can be taught to anyone: you can only show the Way, but everyone must go through it himself. Therefore, if a candidate for disciple does not yet possess the ability to use the teaching for his spiritual development, there is no point in teaching, teaching spills like water into sand.
The readiness of a person to perceive the teachings is determined by the sheikh. Moreover, provocative methods are often used for this. Those who aspire to become disciples are placed in various situations, sometimes harmless conversations are imposed on them in order to determine their level of development. If a student candidate shows promise, then the sheikh, observing him for some time, determines his individual characteristics and the extent to which the teaching can be perceived by a novice adept. In accordance with this, certain tasks are set for the murid for the entire period of study and the sections of the teaching necessary for him are given.
Having determined the specifics of the student's spiritual development, the sheikh can send him to other orders, brotherhoods, training centers. The neophyte begins to move from sheikh to sheikh - and so he gradually comprehends and assimilates the program. After a long and versatile training, the murid again appears before his first sheikh. He gives him the final "internal cutting", "internal polishing" and then - the so-called ijaza (permission) to continue the tradition of the sheikh and preach the teachings.
The sphere of Sufi teaching includes both the esoteric side and the exoteric side, i.e. murids improve not only ethically, intellectually, psychoenergetically, but also master techniques, comprehend the secrets of that worldly craft, art, which the sheikh owns. This subsequently helps them in life.
Stages in Sufi learning
The initial stage of spiritual practice - Sharia (law) - is associated with strict observance of all religious prescriptions. Preliminary passage of Sharia is a prerequisite for entering the path of spiritual perfection.
Actually esoteric training begins at the next stage - tariqa (path, road). The passage of the tarikat is associated with the development of a number of steps-maqams.
In ethical terms, the maqams of the tariqa suggest a fundamental reassessment of values. They are associated with the identification of one’s own vices and repentance (tauba), abstinence from the forbidden (zuhd), the strictest discretion in distinguishing between what is permitted and what is not permitted (vara), and the rejection of non-spiritual attachments and desires (faqr). Murid also learns patience (sabr), "swallowing bitterness without expressing displeasure."
The constant memory of death, the realization of its inevitability leads the murid to a number of rethinking. Including - to the appearance of careful attitude to the time left on Earth. Thinking about death is a powerful tool in dealing with unwanted habits and attachments. Al-Ghazali said: "When you like something in the worldly and attachment is born in you, remember death."
At the stage of the tarikat, intensive intellectual work is also carried out. Sheikhs constantly offer students new topics for reflection, talking with them about the basics of the teachings. Murids get acquainted with a variety of literary sources, rich parable material, learning stories etc.
As the murid passes through all the stages of this stage, he acquires an infinite desire to achieve unity with the Creator and enters the state of reed, defined by the Sufis as "calmness in relation to predestination", i.e. in a state of serenity, complete calm about what is happening.
Those who have successfully passed the maqams of the tarikat are given the opportunity to go further along the path of marefat - meditative comprehension of God. At this stage, further ethical "polishing" of the ascetic takes place, there is a constant improvement of his love (in various aspects), wisdom and strength. Having passed this stage, the Sufi really comprehends the multidimensionality of space, the "illusory nature" of the values of material existence, gets a living experience of communication with God. As an arif (knower), he may be ordained as a sheikh.
SUFISM
SUFISM
(arab. at-tasavvuf) - a mystical-ascetic trend in Islam. The word "Sufi" goes back to the Arab. the word "suf" (coarse wool). Sufis originally referred to those Muslim mystics who wore clothes made of coarse wool as a form of self-denial and penance. The main components of S. are considered to be asceticism and. S. as a broad ideological trend embraced literature (poetry), (music), philosophy, history, and folk culture. The principle of "universality" was one of the main ones in S. A Sufi could be a representative of almost any religious trend in Islam, a supporter of any law school, a peasant or an artisan, a warrior or a scribe, a representative of the nobility. Therefore, among the Sufis there are such subtle psychologists as Mukhasibi (. 857); world famous writers and poets: Abdallah al-An-sari (d. 1089), Sanai (d. c. 1190), Farid ad-din Attar (d. c. 1220), Jalal ad-din Rumi (d. c. 1273); notable authorities of Sunni Islam: al-Ghazali, Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 1328); philosophers: as-Suhrawardi and Ibn Araba. S. does not always coincide with the personal stories of the Sufis themselves, who turned to S. and then "left", broke with him, powerless to change the course of his development. Not belonging to any of the countries, but spreading from Gibraltar to the Indus, S. turned out to be a whole era in the development of literature and philosophy of the countries of the Muslim East. The time of the beginning of the spread of S. - lane. floor. 8th century, the apogee of its heyday in different regions of the Near and Middle East is dated differently. The period of its formation - 8-10 centuries. - characterized by sharp criticism of the existing order and the dominant ideology. 11th c. - period widespread S. from the Nile to the Euphrates, the era of its systematization. One of the first who tried to formulate a holistic doctrine S. was al-Kusheyri (d. 1072). During this period, the socio-religious orientation of the current S. receives a systematic doctrinal design. In the 12th century S. becomes popular in all areas of society. It is not uncommon for Sunni authorities to contact S.; Sufi orders begin to form. According to the principles of the teachings of the famous Sufi Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani (d. 1166), the Qadariyya order was created. Sufi literature was born (Sanai, mind. 1190). 13th-15th centuries - the heyday of the Sufi orders, in particular the Mevleviyya order, which is based on the principles of the famous poet Jalal ad-din Rumi. The beginning of the flourishing of Sufi literature is also associated with the name of Rumi.
This period is generally characterized by a conciliatory position towards the ruling dynasties. However, a kind of "social alienation" continues to exist, which is especially clearly seen in Sufi literature. Sufi practice also involved a withdrawal from real life, a passive approach to the world. People who turned to S. believed that the worldly is devoid of beauty and joy, justice and freedom, that a person’s capabilities are extremely limited, therefore, one should abandon worldly affairs and embark on the path of asceticism and searches “ better world". They deeply felt the nature of "evil" and raised it to an ahistorical power. They gave criticism and denial of all earthly significance. The interpretation of evil and human suffering as inevitable on this earth led to the idea of searching for the "true peace of love". Since in real earthly conditions it is impossible to implement the social ideal of "the dominance of love and goodness", the "righteous" was transferred to heaven. The heavenly one replaced the earthly one.
The Sufi doctrine of the believer's direct communion with God contributed to the religious zeal of the masses. It is not for nothing that "" and "asceticism" were singled out as the foundations of Sufi theory and practice. Apparently, one should not overestimate the dismissive attitude of S. to a number of Shariah prescriptions in the early stages of its development, because. to such facts on the part of the majority of the Sufis themselves was very negative. The basis of rapprochement between S. and Sunni dogmatism was. Mysticism, which is an integral part of any religion, did not separate, but, on the contrary, brought S. closer to traditionalism (Salafism). It is no coincidence that one of the systematizers, S. Abdallah al-Ansari, and such a major theorist as Abd al-Qadir Jilani, were regarded as Hanbalites and ardent opponents of the Kalam. S. for a certain time was woven into the fabric of traditionalism and was associated with the most traditional science - hadith studies, and was also associated with fiqh ( Muslim). In Sufi practice, the guidance of a Sufi sheikh and his example in life was obligatory. Therefore, one should not overestimate the so-called. mediators between God and the believer, attributed to "heretical" S. It must be taken into account that in Islam there is no in-that church and therefore the significance of the doctrine of direct communication between the believer and God for the realities of Islam is not so significant. S.'s opposition throughout its history was largely due to dissatisfaction with the social order, corruption and acquisitiveness of rulers and their associates. The Sufis proceeded from the idealized norms of the social life of the Medina state of the time of the Prophet. Their teaching about the equality of people before God largely reflected Islamic traditional ideas: mutual assistance of all members of the community, the requirement for the wealthy to help the poor, the categorical prohibition of riba (usurious interest), a call for justice, etc.
Social socialism is based on the religious-utopian doctrine of the reorganization of society, which was associated with religious and moral self-perfection. The answer to the injustices of this world was asceticism, mysticism and political. Mystical union with God was seen as aimed at achieving a "better" and "just world". Orientation to the individual person led to the creation of many psychological systems that have in mind the self-improvement of a person. Sufi mysticism also posed a danger to traditionalists.
Considering that S. is not integral and complete, it should be noted that several religious-philosophies can be distinguished in it. concepts of unity with God, for example, existential-ontological (al-Hallaj), epistemological-theoretical ( al-Ghazali), illuminative (Shihab ad-din as-Suhrawardi), the doctrine of the unity of being (Muhyi ad-din Ibn Arabi). Of course, in the worldview of the Sufis, the religious principles of worldview and worldview could not but dominate, however big role played the principles of poetic and psychological worldview. The peculiarity of S. is associated primarily with the peculiarity of the method on the basis of which the Sufis tried to solve worldview problems. They had to be allowed to cover everything in its integrity, and man - in his totality. The world, like a person, cannot be divided into parts. You can comprehend them only through intuition, insight. The originality of the method predetermined the features of philosophizing: symbolism, allegory, "secret". The originality of the method made it possible to encrypt the fullness and concreteness of life and was associated with the recognition of the dominance in the world of the irrational principle, comprehended in divine love.
Philosophy: encyclopedic Dictionary. - M.: Gardariki. Edited by A.A. Ivina. 2004 .
SUFISM
[from Arab. sufi, lit. - wearing woolen clothes (suf - wool, coarse woolen fabric, hence - sackcloth as an ascetic); according to Biru-ni, from Greek- sage (probably an artificial etymology)], mystic. trend in islam (both Shiism and Sunnism), originated in 8 V. on the territory modern Iraq and Syria. In different eras, S. was distributed from the northwest. Africa before owls. outskirts of China and Indonesia. In general, S. is characterized track. features: a combination of idealistic. metaphysics (irfan) with a special ascetic practice; the doctrine of the gradual approach of the proselyte (murid) through the mystic to the knowledge of God and the final merge with him; Means. role of mentor (murshid, feast) , the leading proselyte on the mystic. way (tarikat) until you merge with God. Hence the desire of the Sufis for intuitive knowledge, “insights”, ecstasy, achieved through special dances or endless repetition of prayer formulas, “mortification of the flesh” of the murid according to the instructions of the elder.
The foundations of S.'s teachings are laid down in 9 V. the Egyptian Zu-n-Nun al-Misri and the Baghdadian Abu Abdallah al-Muhasibi, the creator of the theory of self-observation of the ratio of a person’s actions and his innermost intentions in order to establish the highest sincerity before God (opposed to hypocrisy and ostentatious piety of the clergy). Muhasibi is credited with the teaching of hal - instantaneous illumination, ecstatic. the state of the Sufi on the path to God. School of Malamatiya (Nishapur, 9 V.) created the doctrine of combination internal cleansing with deliberate ostentatious impiety (ex. drinking), causing reproaches from outsiders, which should humble pride. Representative of the Baghdad Junayd School (mind. 909) created the doctrine of the fana-mystic. the dissolution of the Sufi in God, leading to superexistence (tank)- eternity in the absolute. Junayd proposed to consider the first stage of the mystic. ways of Sharia - general sulm. religious law, the second - the Sufi way of tarikat and the third - haqiqat - mystic. the attainment of truth in God. For Junayd, one of the foundations of Islam is tawhid - not the verbal uniqueness of God, as in theology, but the ascetic itself. the life of a Sufi in transcendent union with God. Another founder of Sufism, Abu Yazid (mind. 874) created the doctrine of the triple gradation of the consciousness of being ("I", "You", "He-self"). Abu Abdallah Hussein ibn Mansur al-Khallaj claimed the real unity of the Sufi spirit with God and exclaimed in moments of ecstasy: “I am” (i.e. God); for this he was recognized as a heretic and executed in 922. At 10-11 centuries the Sufi doctrine of tari-kat takes on a complete form, provisions appear on the "parking" on the mystical. way, about the triple gradation of true knowledge, culminating in the merging of the knower and the known (god). As a result of the reforming activities of Ghazali, S. receives a certain recognition from the orthodox Muslim clergy, which until 11-12 centuries pursued S. (although the “permissibility” of S. in Islam continues in 20 V.) . Suhrawardi develops the doctrine of (mystical insight), Ahmed Ghazali (mind. 1126) , Ain al-Quzat Hamada-ni (mind. 1132) and Ibn al-Arabi (mind. 1240) - about wahdat al-wujud (unity of being): the Sufi must "throw off the chains of multiplicity" inherent in matter, and come to unity with the absolute.
Throughout the 12 centuries of S.'s existence, various aspects of his teachings and his organizations. forms were used by various class groupings. IN con. 19 - early 20 centuries bourgeois reformers in the countries of the East and the modernizers of Islam led the fight against the Sufi orders associated with feud. reaction. IN modern conditions S. in the East continues to play quite significant. role.
Bertels E. E., S. and Sufi lit-pa, M., 1965 (lit.) ; Petrushevsky I.P., Islam in Iran at 7-15 centuries, L., 1966 , With. 310-50; Religion and societies. countries of the East, M., 1974, With. 320-35 (lit.) ; Ritter H., Das Meer der Seele, Leiden, 1955 ; Trimingham J.S., The Sufi orders in Islam, oxf., 1971.
Philosophical encyclopedic dictionary. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. Ch. editors: L. F. Ilyichev, P. N. Fedoseev, S. M. Kovalev, V. G. Panov. 1983 .
SUFISM
The ETHICAL TEACHING of Sufism is also under the influence of the cardinal thesis about the dual unity of the world order. Man, on the one hand, is determined by the eternity side of existence, but on the other hand, he determines it himself, since, although the impact correlates with the “non-existent”, i.e., the incarnations of things that make up the semantic continuum of Truth, the non-existent is in exact accordance with the very same itself as an existing thing. The impossibility of predetermining one's own destiny becomes, therefore, only another expression for the absolute autonomy of man. The same applies to the definition of a true agent for actions performed by a person, which is connected with the problems that were vividly discussed back in the kalam (see. Action): both man and God can be called true actors with equal right, and these points of view are not only not alternative, but are necessary as conditions for one another. The foregoing refers to the consideration of the relationship between the temporal and eternity aspects of existence within one atom of time. As for even two neighboring atoms of time, not to mention more distant ones, they are not connected by causality relations, which creates a fundamental difficulty in substantiating ethics. At the same time, numerous moral maxims have been adopted and developed in Sufism that soften this “ethical nihilism” of high philosophy. In addition, in practical Sufism, especially in its mature period associated with the formation of various orders, various practices of improving the adept were developed, leading him along the “path” (tarika, also maslak) to the highest levels of knowledge. They are based on the idea of the possibility of a graduated increment of perfection as a result of the adept's purposeful efforts, thereby focusing on the process of perfection, although they have little basis in the philosophical system of Sufism itself, where the concept of a “perfect person” is rather than ethical in nature (see. Perfection).
TOLERANCE. An essential implication of Sufi philosophy is, expressed in the principle "it is impossible to worship anything but the true God." Since any thing in the eternity side of its existence is non-other in relation to the Truth, everything turns out to be in essence the worship of Truth. From this point of view, any religion is true, but at the same time obligatory condition, which does not claim exclusive possession of the truth, assuming thus. other confessions (including those that seem to exclude him, as “polytheism” excludes “monotheism”) as their own condition. This one, which has caused and still causes extreme hostility of some Muslim ideologues of traditionalists, appeals, together with the mystical component of Sufism, to the modern Western consciousness, which largely explains the popularity of Sufi ideas in the modern West.
Philosophical Sufism after Ibn "Araby developed under his decisive influence. The views of Ibn "Araby later became known as the concept of the "unity of existence" (wahdat al-wujud), which found supporters in the Sufi environment in the person of such prominent thinkers as al-Kashani ( d. 1329) and al-Jiley (1325-1428), and met with opposition from al-Simnani (d. 1336). Sufism had a great influence on Arab-Muslim philosophical thought, especially in the late Middle Ages, as well as on culture in general. Sufi ideas gained great fame thanks to the work of such poets and thinkers as Farid ad-Din al-"Attar (d. 1220), Ibn al-Farid (1181-1235), Jalal ad-Din ar-Rumi (1207-73) and others ., based on the Sufi symbolism of love, longing for the Beloved, etc. Lit .; Stepanyants M. T. Philosophical aspects of Sufism. M., 1987; Ibragim T. K. Philosophical concepts of Sufism (review) .- In the book: Classical Islam: traditional sciences and philosophy. M., 1988; Sufism in the context of Muslim culture. M-, 1989; Smirnov A. V. The Great Sheikh of Sufism (Experience of Paradigm Analysis of the Philosophy of Ibn Arabi). M., 1993; In search of hidden meaning. Sufi way of love. Spiritual teachings of Rumi. M., 1995; Nicholson R. A. The Idea of Personality in Sufism. Cambr., 1923; Idem. Studies in Islamic Mysticism. Cambr., 1967; ArberryA. 1. Sufism. An Account of the Mystics of Islam. L., 1956; Massignon L. Essay sur les origines du lexique technique de la mystique musulmane. P., 1968; Idem. The Passion ofal-Hallaj: Mystic and Martyr of Islam, v. 3. The Teachings ofal-Hallaj. Princeton (N. Y), 1982; Iwtsu T. Sufism and Taoism: A Comparative Study of Key Philosophical Concepts. Tokyo, 1983; Chittick W. C. The Sufi Path of Knowledge: Ibn al-"Arabi"s Metaphysics of Imagination. Albany, 1989; Idem. The SelfDisclosure of God. Principles of Ibn al-"Arabi"s Cosmology Albany, 1998.
A. V. Smirnov
New Philosophical Encyclopedia: In 4 vols. M.: Thought. Edited by V. S. Stepin. 2001 .
- Philosophical terminderdin sozdigі
- (from the Arabic suf coarse woolen cloth, hence the sackcloth as an attribute of an ascetic), a mystical trend in Islam. It arose in the 8th and 9th centuries, and finally took shape in the 10th and 12th centuries. Sufism is characterized by a combination of metaphysics with ascetic practice, the doctrine of ... ... Modern Encyclopedia
- (from Arabic suf coarse woolen fabric, hence sackcloth as an attribute of an ascetic), a mystical movement in Islam. It arose in the 8th and 9th centuries, and finally took shape in the 10th and 12th centuries. Sufism is characterized by a combination of metaphysics with ascetic practice, the doctrine of ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary
- (Arabic suf coarse woolen fabric in the meaning of "rags") a mystical direction in the development of Islam; an Islamic version of a mystical form of religious experience. Distribution area from north West Africa to India and Northern China, including ... ... Newest philosophical dictionary
- (from the Arabic suf coarse woolen cloth, hence the sackcloth as an attribute of an ascetic), a mystical trend in Islam. It arose in the 8th 9th centuries. S. is characterized by a combination of metaphysics with ascetic practice, the doctrine of a gradual approach to the knowledge of God and ... ... Russian history
See Tasawwuf. (
