AoA
1. Sufism is a way of tradition (mystic) in Islam.
2. There are following views on origination of word Sufism:
i). from Suf (Arabic meaning wool) becuase simple cloaks the early Muslim ascetics wore.
ii). from safa (Arabic meaning purity). This places the emphasis of Sufism on purity of heart and soul.
iii). from "Ashab al-Suffa" ("Companions of the Veranda") or "Ahl al-Suffa" ("People of the Veranda"), who were a group of Muslims during the time of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) who spent much of their time on the veranda of the Prophet's mosque devoted to prayer.
iv). as per Al-Biruni its linked with 'Sufiya', (Greek term for 'Wisdom' - 'Sophia')
v). Hazrat Imam Ghazaali r.a. argued that Sufism originated from the Qur'an making it compatible with mainstream Islamic thought and theology.
3. Hazrat Uwais al-Qarni r.a., Hazrat Harrm Bin Hian r.a., Hazrat Hasan Ul-Basri r.a. and Hazrat Sayid Ibn Ul Mussib r.a. are regarded as the first mystics.
Hazrat Rabia Basri r.a. was a female Sufi and known for her love and passion for God.
Hazrat Junayd Baghdadi r.a. was among the first theorist of Sufism; he concerned himself with ‘fanaa’ and ‘baqaa’, the state of annihilating the self in the presence of the divine, accompanied by clarity concerning worldly phenomena.
4. There are four major Sufi orders:
i). Qadiria (from Hazrat Ghausae Pak-Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jillani r.a.)
ii). Chishtia (Hazrat Abu Ishaq Shami r.a. who brought Sufism to the town of Chisht and the most famous Chishti saint is Hazrat Moinuddin Chishti r.a.)
iii). Naqshbandi
iv). Suhrawadri (Hazrat Shahab al-Din Yahya as-Suhrawardi r.a.)
Other famous Sufir orders are Oveyssia (Hazrat Owais Qurni r.a.), Shadhilia, Jerrahia, Ashrafia, Nimatullahia and Mevlevi (Mawlānā Jalāl-ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī r.a.).
5. Some books written by Sufis are:
- Hazrat Imam Al Ghazali's (r.a) treatises "Reconstruction of Religious Sciences" and the "Alchemy of Happiness,"
- Hazrat Syed Usman Ali Hajvery Dada Sahib (r.a.) "Kashfal Mahjoob" considered as most authentic book on tasawuf
- Mawlānā Jalāl-ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī (r.a) 'Masnavi-ye Manavi'
- Shaykh Ahmad Zarruq (r.a) wrote "The Principles of Sufism"
6. For some more information on sufism you may follow the following link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sufism
7. As far as my personal views are concerned, i would quote following from the famous book of poetry, “Masnavi”, by Jalaleddin Rumi, the following is said by AnHazrat (pbuh) about Hazrat Owais Qarni (r.a.) :
"The Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) says that the breeze brings O’men!
The divine perfume from Yemen.
The scent of Ramin comes from Veys
The fragrance of God from Oveys.
Oveys’ heavenly perfume from God,
Overjoyed the heart of the Prophet of God.
Forsaking his mortal being willingly
That earthly (Oveys) become heavenly."
8. May ALLAH pak forgive me if a wrote-intentionaly or unintentionaly-any thing wrong in above lines.