What is Sufism?

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What is Sufism?

• Ahmed Mirza M.D.
• Naqshbandiya Foundation for Islamic Education
  (www.nfie.com )

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In The Name of God,Most Compassionate,Most
Merciful
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Greetings of Peace

• Assalam-o-Alaikum
• Peace be with you

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Al-Fatiha-Opening Surah

• In the Name of God,the Compassionate,the Merciful
• The Owner of Day of Judgement
• Thee we worshipinThee we seek refuge
• Guide us upon the straight path
• The path of those to whom Thou art gracious
• Not of those upon whom Thine anger has fallen,
• Nor of those who are stray
• Amin

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Terminology

• Tasawwuf
• Islamic Spirituality
• Sufism
• Islamic Mysticism
• Esotericism
• Tazkiya
• Purification of the heart
• Ihsan
• Perfection and excellence
• Most Beautiful

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SufismTerminology

• Ilm-al-Yaqin
• Knowledge of Certainty
• Ain-al-Yaqin
• Vision of Certainty
• Haqq-al-Yaqin
• Essence of Certainty

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Terminology (contd.)

• Shariah
• Islamic law
• Tariqah
• Sufi path, Way
• Marifah
• Gnosis
• Haqiqah
• Truth, Reality

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Origin of Sufism

• Safa
• Purity- to purify the heart
• Saff
• The First Rank
• Ashab-us-Suffa
• Companions of the bench
• Suf
• wool

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What is Tasawwuf(Sufism)?A.Godlas

• What is Tasawwuf? Good character and awareness of
  God.Thats all Tasawwuf is. And nothing more
• .What is Tasawwuf? Love and affection.It is the
  cure for hatred and vengeance. And nothing more
• What is Tasawwuf? The heart attaining
  tranquility which is the root of religion. And
  nothing more.

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What is Tasawwuf(Sufism)?A.Godlas

• What is Tasawwuf? Concentrating your mind,which
  is the religion of Ahmad (pbuh). And nothing
  more.
• What is Tasawwuf? Contemplation that travels to
  the Divine throne.It is a far-seeing gaze. And
  nothing more.
• Tasawwuf is keeping ones distance from
  imagination and supposition.Tasawwuf is found in
  certainty. And nothing more.

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What is Tasawwuf(Sufism)?A.Godlas

• Surrendering ones soul to the care of the
  inviolability of religionthis is Tasawwuf. And
  nothing more.
• Tasawwuf is the path of faith and affirmation of
  unitythis is the incorruptible religion. And
  nothing more.
• Tasawwuf is the smooth and illuminated path.It
  is the way to the most exalted paradise. And
  nothing more.

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What is Tasawwuf(Sufism)?A.Godlas
I have heard that the ecstasy of the wearers of
woolcomes from finding the taste of religion.
And nothing more. Tasawwuf is nothing but
shariat.It is just this clear road. And nothing
more.

•  

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FoundationQuran Sunnah

• One cannot be a Benedictine without being a
  Christian or a Sufi without being a Muslim. There
  is no Sufism without Islam.
  William Stoddart

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Foundation

• He who practices Sufism without learning
  Islamic Law (Shariah) corrupts his faith, while
  he who learns Islamic Law without practicing
  Sufism corrupts himself. Only he who combines the
  two proves to be true.
  
  Imam Malik

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Shariah(Law)Tariqah(Way)

• Shariah consists of 3 parts,Knowledge(ilm),Deed
  s(amal)Sincerity(ikhlas)Until all 3 are
  realized,Shariah cannot be fulflled. When Shariah
  is fulfilled,the pleasure of God Almighty
  resultsthis is superior to all forms of
  happiness.The Shariah is gaurantor of all
  happiness both in this worldhereafter.Tariqah is
  servant of Shariahperfects the
  Sincereity(Ikhlas). Ahmad Sirhindi (d.1624)

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That inimitable symphony, the very sounds of
which move men to tears ecstasy
Pickthal
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Shariah,Tariqah,HaqiqahLaw,Way,Experience

• Shariah is my words
• (aqwali) ,
• Tariqah is my my actions
• (amalie),
• Haqiqah is my interior states
• (ahwali)
• 
  
• Hadith
• Shariah (Law),Tariqah (Way)and Haqiqah(Experience)
  are mutually interdependent

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Misconceptions

• Universal
• No organic link with Islam
• Racist Theory
• European Orientalists
• Bad Innovation
• Muslim Fundamentalists
• Islamic Mysticism
• Paranormal State
• Islamic Esotericism
• Inner Dimension without Outer
• Social Withdrawal, Opium

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Hadith Gabriel

• What is Islam? Submission,Surrender
  
• What is Iman?
  Faith,Belief.
• What is Ihsan? PerfectionExcellenc
  e
• A state of being such that when you pray you so
  adore God as though you see Him or at least
  realize inwardly that if you do not see Him, He
  nevertheless sees you.
• Ihsan means doing good and being kind to
  others.Enlightenment

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Islam,Iman,Ihsan Body, Mind,Spirit

• Islam
• Doing
• Rituals,
• Social,
• Personal
• Five Pillars
• Fiqh
• Jurist

• Iman
• knowing,
• faith,
• reason
• Articles of Faith
• TheologyPhilosophy
• Theologian,
• Philosopher

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IhsanSpirit

• Ihsan,being,actualization virtuegoodness,deepest
  awareness of selfdirect communion with Ultimate
  Reality- God.
• Developing traitsvirtues of Prophets, Adam --to-
  ---Muhammad Love,generosity,nobility,justice,since
  rity,
• forgiveness
• Tasawwuf,Sufism
• Sufi

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Goals of Sufism

• Acquire attributes of God
• Takhhaluque bi akhlaquillah
• Die before your death
• Mootoo qabla unta Mootoo
• The faithful is the mirror of the faithful
• Al-mumin mirat al-mumin
• To acquire nearness of God (Qurb)
• Practice Ihsan

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Goals of Sufism

• To achieve contented self (Nafs-ul-Mutmainna)
• To cultivate God awareness (Taqwa)
• To transform self (Tazkiya-e-Nafs)
• Removing the bad habits and acquiring the good
  manners

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SufisLove ofGodHis Creation

• All people are the children of God on earth
• Oh God! I bear witness that all Thy 
  creatures are brothersHadith 
• Why this meaningless talk about the believer,
• the kafir, the obedient, the sinner,
• the rightly guided, the misdirected, the
  Muslim,
• the pious, the infidel, the fire worshipper?
• All are like beads in a rosary.
• Abdul Quddus of Gangoh
  
• The Contribution of Indian Sufis to Peace
  and Amity.K.A.Nizami

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SufisLove of GodCreation

• Adopt the ways of God
• To reflect in ones own thought and activity
  the attributes of God.
• Higher spiritual life is nothing but service
  of humanity, It is not (chanting) the rosary,
  (remaining on the) prayer carpet or (wearing)
  coarse garments.Nizamuddin
• To identy service of God with the service of
  man
• The Contribution of Indian Sufis to
  Peace and Amity.K.A.Nizami

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SufisLove of GodCreation

• Unity of Divine Revelation.
• Say We make no difference between them
  (prophets of God) Quran378
• All these religions and faiths are branches
  of the same tree,They have sprouted from one
  and the same root.Shah Niaz Ahmad
• Learn from the eyes the way to develop,unity
  and oneness.The two eyes appear different
• but their vision is one.
• The Contribution of Indian
  Sufis to Peace and Amity.K.A.Nizami

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Words of Wisdom

• The intension of FastingPrayer is to transform
  the earthly qualities into higher qualities to
  discover the essence of Humanity within
  becoming knowledgeable of the essence of self, a
  doorway to understanding Divine,as
• Whoever knows ones self,knows ones
  GodWhoever purifies ones self for forty
  days,the spring of knowledge will flow from his
  heart onto his tongue Said the Prophet(PBUH)

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The best people are those who are useful to
others.Hadith
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Junaid Baghdadi(830-910) 'The Eight Qualities of
the Sufi'

• Liberality such as that of Abraham 
  Acceptance of his lot, as Ismail accepted 
  Patience, as possessed by Job  Capacity to
  communicate by symbolism, as in the case of
  Zachariah  Estrangement from his own people,
  which was the case with John  Woollen garb like
  the shepherd's mantle of Moses  Journeying,
  like the travelling of Jesus  Humility, as
  Muhammad had humility of spirit

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Practice PerfectionExcellence in Shariah

• DhikrSpiritual method to cleanse Heart
• Invocation,Remembrance, Mention.
• Allah,Lailaha illalah,99 Names
• Salutations on Prophet

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DhikrQuran

• Invoke the Name of thy Lord and devote thyself
  to him with utter devotion (Sura of the
  Enshrounded one, 8)
• Verily in the remembrance of God do hearts
  find rest (Sura of the Thunder, 28)
• Remember Me and I shall remember you.
  (152)Sura of the Cow,

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Sufi Orders

• Qadriya
• Abdul Qadir al-Jilani (d.561/1166)
• Suhrawardiyya
• Abdul Qadir Abu Najib as-Suhrawardi (d 564/1168)
• Shadhiliya
• Abul Hasan ash-Shadhli (1196-1258)
• Chishtiya
• Muinuddin Chishti (d.633/1236)
• Naqshbandiya
• Bahauddin Naqshband (1317-1389)

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Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani (1077-1166)

•  
• Eminent Scholar of
• Shariah(Islamic
• Law)Tariqah(Sufism)

Founder of the Qadiriya Sufi order, Spiritual
Pole of his time , Al-Gaus al-Azam
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Suhrawardiya Order

• Shaykh Shihab al-Din Umar b. Abd Allah
  al-Suhrawardi (1144-1234)was a model of orthodox
  moderation, founder of the great Suhrawardiya
  Sufi order,

• He is the author of the celebrated 'Awarif
  al-ma'arif, an excellent text of Sufism.
• KNOWLEDGE for ENCOUNTERING GOD
• Qamar-Ul Huda, Fons Vitae

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Chishtiya Order Muin ad-Din Chishti
(1141-1230) known as Gharib Nawaz is the
most famous Sufi saint of the Chishti Order of
South Asia.He taught,renunciation, strict
self-discipline, personal prayer Sama,
independence from rulers, generosity to others,
tolerance and respect for religious differences.
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Muin ad-Din Chishti

• to develop river-like generosity, sun-like
  affection and earth-like hospitality. The
  highest form of devotion, according to him, was
  to redress the misery of those in distress to
  fulfill the needs of the helpless and to feed the
  hungry.

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Shah Shahidullah Faridi (1915-1978)

• Born in England,Studied at Oxford,read the
  Sufi treatise Kashful Mahjub, left his home in
  search of a Sufi shaikh. In India, he met Syed
  Zauqi Shah.,became his spiritual successorlived
  in Karachi,Pakistan for 30 years.He was a
  renowned writer on spiritual matters, and was
  regarded as having great clarity and insight. One
  of his most famous books is Inner Aspects of
  Faith.

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Naqshbandiya Order

• Baha-ud-Din Naqshband Bukhari,(1318-1389)Initiatic
  chain, from the Prophet Muhammad to Abu Bakr
  al-Siddiq, use of the silent invocation of God
  (dhikr) and a strong adherence to the shariah(
  Islamic Law).

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Naqshbandiya Order

• Naqshbandnaqsh "engravingengraving the name
  of Allah in the heart, Band"bondlink between
  the individual and his Creator. Naqshband means
  "image-maker," "Pattern Maker "Reformer of
  Patterns",Way of the Chain" or "Golden Chain.
  Naqshbandi follower has to practice his prayers
  and obligations according to the Glorious Qur'an
  and the Sunnah of the Prophet (s) and to keep the
  Presence Love of Allah alive in his/her heart
  all the times with practice of silent dhikr.
• (FAITH, PRACTICE and PIETY,BOOK REVIEW by
   Ibrahim B. Syed, Ph.D., )

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• Naqshbandiya Branches
• Yasavi- Ahmad Yasavi,d.1167
• Mujaddidi- Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi d.1624
• Khalidi,- Mawlana Khalid Baghdadi d.1827, The
  Khalidi Sufi network spread throughout the
  Turkish,Central Asian, and Arab world but was
  strongest in Anatolia and Kurdistan.

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Shaykh Muhammad Masum Naqshbandi.d.01/8/2007

• Spiritual guide of Naqshbandoya
  Foundation,Islamic scholar renowned for his depth
  of spiritual wisdom, radiated a sincere, humble,
  yet uncompromising piety. He transformed the
  lives of people over six decades. He was living
  example of The learned scholars of my community
  are the heirs of the prophetsHadith.

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Shaykh Muhammad Masum Naqshbandi(R.A)

• Mawlana Khalid Baghdadi(1779-1827)
• Shaykh Uthman Siraj ad-Din (1781-1867).
  Shaykh Muhammad Baha ad-Din (1837-1881), Shaykh
  Umar Diya ad-Din (1839-1901), Shaykh Muhammad
  Najm ad-Din (1863- 1918),
• Shaykh Muhammad Ala ad-Din(1863- 1954)
• Shaykh Uthman Sira al-Din 11(1896-1997)
• Shaykh Muhammad Masum Naqshbandi d.2007

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Shaykh Masum Naqshbandi(R.A)

• Shaykh Masum Biarah,Khanqah

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Shaykh Muhammad Masum(R.A)

• Biarah Naqshbandi Khanqah-Mosque

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Shaykh Muhammad Masum(R.A)

• Shaykh Masum at Mawlid-un-Conference,Chicago with
  Shayukh of Qadriya,Rifaiya,Chishtiya

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Abul-Hassan ash-Shadhili d.1258

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Shadhiliya Order -Principles

• In solitudity and in public, should always be
  afraid of God.
• Should follow Shariah in speech and deed.
• In prosperity and poverty, happiness and sorrow,
  good and bad, should not beg to the creations but
  to the Creator.
• When God shows his mercy less or more, should be
  Thankful to God.
• In joy and sorrow, fortune and misfortune ,should
  believe that everything is from God.

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Shaykh Nooruddin Durkee

• Founder of the Lama Foundation,Islamic Study
  Center(ISC),Dar al-Islam Foundation in Abiquiu
  New Mexico
• Director of an-Noor Educational Trust and Green
  Mountain School.
• Books The Transliterated Tajwidi
  Qur'an,Madrassah Shadhuliyyah, "Orisons" and
  "Origins, Embracing Islam"

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Shaykh Nuh Ha Mim Keller

• American Muslim,Born in 1954 in
  Odessa,WA
• Educated at U of Chicago and UCLA., studied
  traditional Islamic Sciences at Al-Azhar.
• Books
• Umdat al-Salik (Reliance of Traveller)
• Al-Maqasid Imam Nawawi's Manual of Islam
• Sunni Path A Handbook of Islamic Belief
• Tariqa Notes (on the Shadhilli path). 
• Imam Nawawi's Kitab al-Adhkar (Book of
  Rememberance of Allah)

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Shaykh Nuh Mim Keller
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Shaykha Fariha Jerrahi

• Born into a socially committed, eclectic Catholic
  family in Houston, in 1947. At the age of 19 she
  began a conscious search for God. Ten years later
  she met her teacher, Shaykh Muzaffer Ozak of
  Istanbul. became the disciple of Lex Hixon,
  called Shaykh Nur al-Jerrahi. Nur envisioned a
  radical and illumined path of the heart which he
  called Universal Islam. When Shaykh Nur passed in
  1995, Fariha took on the role of guiding the Nur
  Ashki Jerrahi Sufi Order.

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Shaykha Fariha Jerrahi

• Through this lineage, she and her representatives
  offer the nectar of teachings of the Prophet
  Muhammad, peace be upon him, which guide the
  seeker to self-knowledge and immersion in God.
  The sacred practices of zikr, prayer, charitable
  living, fasting and retreat are all embraced.
• Every Thursday, Fariha with her husband Ali and
  the dervishes invite all seekers into the circle
  of zikr at the Masjid al-Farah in New York City

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Conclusion

• Sufism is the way of love
• My heart has opened unto ever form it is a
  pasture for gazelles, a cloister for Christian
  monks, a temple for idols, the Kaba of the
  pilgrim, the tables of the Torah, and the book of
  the Quran. I practice directions its caravans
  advance, the religion of Love shall be my
  religion and my faith.
  Shaykh al-Akbar Muhyi d-Din
  ibn Arabi

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• Come, come, whoever you are,Wanderer,
  idolater, worshiper of fire,Come even though you
  have broken your vows a thousand times,Come, and
  come yet again.Ours is not a caravan of despair
• Rumi

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Be Tolerant Like Sea Rumi

• In generosity and helping others, be like a
  RiverIn compassion and grace, be like the Sun
• In concealing other's faults, be like the
  NightIn anger and fury, be like Dead

• In modesty and humility,be like the earth
• In tolerance be like Sea
• Either apear as you are,or be
  as you appear

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• Thanks To My Son
• JUNAID MIRZA
• For Making This PowerPoint Presentation