Arab - Islamic Culture and Civilization - Literature review Example

ARAB - ISLAMIC CULTURE AND CIVILIZATION Arab - Islamic Culture and Civilization Islam and Mysticism Affiliation Table of Contents Introduction 2 Sufism: Introduction and Components 5 Origin and Meaning 5 The connotation and explanation of the word Sufism has also been debated by a number of scholars (Chittick, Sufism: A Short Introduction, 2001; Lings, 1975; Renard, 2005). In broader terms, the Sufism is regarded as the escalation of Islamic beliefs and practices, or in other words the inclination between Muslims in order to unify their spirits with the Divine Reality (Voll & Ohtsuka, 2014). The word “Sufi” is an Arabic word, which is used in a number of different connotations, by the advocates and also the antagonists of Sufism in past years. And in other stages, it is interpreted divergently by many of the interpreters. The west side viewers have disguised the term Sufism, by denoting it as “Islamic esotericism” or “Islamic mysticism.” This kind of terminologies is imprecise and often provides a negative impression of the term. It also discourages people who consider the Sufism as something quite suitable in accordance with the predetermined criteria. 5 The literal meaning of the word Sufi is the “one who attires wool (in Arabic wool is termed as ṣūf).” (Voll & Ohtsuka, 2014). This word was used for the Muslims on the basis of their attire, which was woolen, as they liked to wear the woolen dresses especially in the 18th century. With the passage of time, It became the signature style of a group, which was used to wear it to represent themselves as different from others on the basis of Quranic and Sunna traditions and practices. After this, it was the time of 19th century, when the people belonged to this group designated this practice as “Tasawwuf”, whose literal meanings were “being a Sufi” or it is also called as Sufism. It was their own designated word to make them differentiated from others. And nowadays it is famous as the Sufism (Ernst, 1997; Hourani, 1991). 5 Sufism is regarded as the mystical side of Islam due to a number of reasons. Generally, Sufis are such people who try to purify themselves, not externally but internally. They emphasized over the meditation in spite of the deeds, divine development rather than the legalism, the refinement of their soul or inner side instead of the societal relations (Voll & Ohtsuka, 2014). The Sufis have strong beliefs with regard to the compatibility of the Sufism with Quran and Sunna, as they argued that the Quran and Sunna has some undisclosed, obscure, connotation and representations. Rather than using the literal way of “interpretation of Quranic Verses and Hadiths, they employed the metaphorical way, which tries to find some secret connotations and representation in the Holy Quran (Chittick, Sufism: A Short Introduction, 2001; Saeed, 2006) 6 Brief History 6 Components of Sufism and their compatibility with Orthodox Islam 9 Fundamentals of Sufism 9 The Sheikh and Sufi Orders 10 The Covenant 11 The Dhikar 12 Interpretation of the Quran 13 The union of man with God 14 Debate over the Compatibility or Contradictory of Sufism and Orthodox Islam 15 Conclusion 18 Bibliography 20 Introduction Arab culture and civilization represent the Islamic traditions and teachings, which can be seen in most of their laws and regulations. Islam is an influential religion, which has the second largest number of followers after the Christianity (Chittick, 2003). Islam is the religion, which has its own rules and regulations with respect to every aspect of life. In other words, it’s a complete code of life. Along with being a code of this life, it is also considered as a way to get closer to the Allah Almighty, which can be attained through purity and virtue. Purity in this concern is not the physical, but the spiritual purity. Before the eighteenth century, many of people regarded the Islamic teachings as being more objective and stiff in nature. Such people felt dissatisfaction with their spirituality aspects of human. This resulted in a different emphasis during the nineteenth century, which started to affect the nature of Islamic teachings. Many Muslims seem to be dissatisfied with respect to their cordial mystical cravings and requirements. The hunt for thoughtful implication of such desire instigated with a pious austerity, and this resulted in the development of another side of Islam, usually demarcated as mystical or spiritual side, and also acknowledged as Sufism (Netton, 1992). Sufism is considered to be the mystical side of Islam, while sharia is considered as the formal or regulations’ side of Islam (Netton, 1992). But the concept of Sufism is much debated by Muslim scholars with different point of views. A number of scholars favoured this notion and has been practicing it as the part of Islam, on the other hand, many scholars do not regard it as the Islamic concept (Danner, 1976). This is why, such debate is quite disputed among the Islamic Scholars. However, all Muslims and their Scholars do believe in the core aspect of the Islam, which is to follow the actions and words of the Last Prophet, Hazrat Muhammad PBUH. But the issues arise due to the different interpretations of the sayings of Prophet Muhammad PBUH. So, the conceptualization of Sufism is important to see as it is related to the basic ideological differences among Muslims. But it appears that the predominant description of Islam in contemporary 21st century is given by means of fundamentalist viewpoints severely entrenched in dogmatic schema. Subsequently, the ideological foundation of Islam with respect to the spirituality or the other sharia side has been much trembled. But the Arab-Muslim World is fortunate in this regard. However, the concept of Sufism is much controversy that it needs to be tested on the grounds of Islamic ideologies and basic principles. This means that if the Sufis or Sufism are the important part of Islam, then their ideologies and practices must be, if the Sufi spiritual quest is to be viewed as legitimate, even within Islam itself, it must be embedded in the Holy Quran and sayings (hadith) or actions (Sunna) of Holy Prophet PBUH. With this regard, in a book written by Andrew Rippin about the Muslims’ beliefs and traditions, it is quoted that “Sufis… in their search for legitimation of their spiritual quest [must show] whether Islam as a religion contained within it a spiritual-ascetic tendency from the very beginning” (Rippin, 1990, p. 118). In this regard, it is highly significant to check the compatibility of Sufism or Mysticism with the orthodox Islamic teachings and practices. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate a question that to what extent are Islam and mysticism compatible? Basically the paper is addressing the components of Mysticism or Sufism in accordance with or comparison to the Islamic principles and practices. The paper has two main sections, where the first section has defined and explained in detail the conceptualization, ideologies, beliefs and practices in Sufism. While the others has compared these components with the Islamic teachings and practices on the basis of Quranic verses and Prophet Muhammad Sunna. Sufism: Introduction and Components Origin and Meaning The connotation and explanation of the word Sufism has also been debated by a number of scholars (Chittick, Sufism: A Short Introduction, 2001; Lings, 1975; Renard, 2005). In broader terms, the Sufism is regarded as the escalation of Islamic beliefs and practices, or in other words the inclination between Muslims in order to unify their spirits with the Divine Reality (Voll & Ohtsuka, 2014). The word “Sufi” is an Arabic word, which is used in a number of different connotations, by the advocates and also the antagonists of Sufism in past years. And in other stages, it is interpreted divergently by many of the interpreters. The west side viewers have disguised the term Sufism, by denoting it as “Islamic esotericism” or “Islamic mysticism.” This kind of terminologies is imprecise and often provides a negative impression of the term. It also discourages people who consider the Sufism as something quite suitable in accordance with the predetermined criteria. The literal meaning of the word Sufi is the “one who attires wool (in Arabic wool is termed as ṣūf).” (Voll & Ohtsuka, 2014). This word was used for the Muslims on the basis of their attire, which was woolen, as they liked to wear the woolen dresses especially in the 18th century. With the passage of time, It became the signature style of a group, which was used to wear it to represent themselves as different from others on the basis of Quranic and Sunna traditions and practices. After this, it was the time of 19th century, when the people belonged to this group designated this practice as “Tasawwuf”, whose literal meanings were “being a Sufi” or it is also called as Sufism. It was their own designated word to make them differentiated from others. And nowadays it is famous as the Sufism (Ernst, 1997; Hourani, 1991). Sufism is regarded as the mystical side of Islam due to a number of reasons. Generally, Sufis are such people who try to purify themselves, not externally but internally. They emphasized over the meditation in spite of the deeds, divine development rather than the legalism, the refinement of their soul or inner side instead of the societal relations (Voll & Ohtsuka, 2014). The Sufis have strong beliefs with regard to the compatibility of the Sufism with Quran and Sunna, as they argued that the Quran and Sunna has some undisclosed, obscure, connotation and representations. Rather than using the literal way of “interpretation of Quranic Verses and Hadiths, they employed the metaphorical way, which tries to find some secret connotations and representation in the Holy Quran (Chittick, Sufism: A Short Introduction, 2001; Saeed, 2006) Brief History The history of Sufism can be divided into different steps, where it emerged with the passage of time and became the key aspect of a religion. Asceticism was the first stage of Sufism, which was started in the reign of Umayyad (661-749). During this time, the Muslims were becoming more wealthy and luxurious, and forgot the essence of Islam, whereas Islam provides the people with the concept of simplicity in way of leading lives. The first caliphs beloved by every Muslim were used to spend a simple standard of living, which instigated the fervent Muslims to react towards this materialism and lavishness of ruling class’ life. They started to preach people about their utmost reality, where Muslims has to develop personal relationship with their God. It was the result of the dissatisfaction by the spiritual side of Muslims with such strict and externally implicated Sharia laws and regulations. Then in this regard, they commenced to copy the ways of Christian solitaries who had devised some ways to please God and spend their life only for God, such as the way of asceticism and paucity. These were the first Sufis, who try to spend their lives as according to the ascetics, where they view this world as a temporary place and just the place of troubles. They devised a number of spiritual ways and methods to enhance their spiritual capabilities, but they didn’t forgo the external features of Islam. Sacrificing through the chagrin of meat, austerity, paucity and self-restraint were the ways to be employed in order to draw themselves closer to God. It also comprised over the fasting as well as prayers for the whole nights (Renard, 2005). After these kind of Sufis, the second stage of Mysticism of Love started, where Rabia al-Adawiya (d.801, a woman of Basra) initiated the concept of divine love in the Sufism. This was then became the main theme of the Sufism, where the ultimate goal of a sufi is to strive for the gain of love of God, regardless of the facts that muslims have to strive for paradise as a reward or fearing from the Hell as punishment. It was represented by many Sufis in their poetry. They strived for their spiritual union with their God. Among these, Jalal ad-Din Rumi (1207-1273), was thought to be the greatest Sufi poet or mystical poet. They used some strange metaphors to explain their love for God, such as Wine house was used to describe the mosques (Sells, 1996; Renard, 2005). Thirdly, then in tenth century, many Sufis were killed for the allegations of blasphemy and unorthodoxy. Thus, many Sufis tried to convince people about the orthodoxy of Sufism and they wrote a number of books and literature with true teachings and practices in Sufism. They tried to defend the beliefs of Sufism in regard to their compatibility with the basic Islamic fundamentals and Quran. For instance, Al-Qushairi (d. 1072) safeguarded the notion of Sufism by writing biographies of famous and beloved Sufis, and along with that he also started a magazine “Risala”, where he explained different terms used by Sufis and their connotations. Then at fourth stage, the philosophical side of Sufism was emerged and known as theosophy, which also includes the discipline of philosophy in order to make the Sufism authentic and a philosophical construct as well (Schimmel, 1975; Nasr, 1990). In twelfth and thirteenth centuries, another concept was emerged in the Sufism, which is well known as the Sufi Brotherhoods, or as Sufi orders. It was the concept that Sufis were arranged in a determined order, which was grounded on the basis of the spiritual position in the path of God. Each order has particular set of methods and practices to please God. Then Sufis were regarded as the most influential group till 18th century. But after the arousal of Wahhabis (the follower of Hazrat Abdul Wahhab), the decline of Sufism was started as they were the biggest antagonists to the Sufism, especially in Arabia. Imperialism, patriotism and also the emergence of secularisation had negatively impacted the Sufism in nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In 21st century, the Sufism is majorly antagonized due to the superstitious nature of the Sufism practices. People regarded it as the backward and superstitions in comparison to the western side. Two well-known Muslim Scholars and Reformers Jamal al-Din al-Afghani as well as Muhammad Abduh, together canvassed effectively in contradiction of Sufi orders serving to reduce their inspiration (Rastogi, 1982). But with passage of time, it has again revived in the Muslim countries, where it is a disputed and controversial debate. In Arab it aroused from the 1200 years ago, and it has been holding a very significant place in people, so it is present even legally among many Asian and African countries (Oglu, 1988). Components of Sufism and their compatibility with Orthodox Islam This section provides two subsections where the first sub section has explained the main features of the Sufism and their compatibility or incompatibility with the Islamic principles. Second subsection has debated over this subject from different point of views. Fundamentals of Sufism The main slogan of Sufism is the intentional and entire obedience to the Sheikh. A string relationship is made firstly, among the Head (Sheikh as according to the Sufi Order) and the followers (Mureed). The follower takes an oath to obey his Sheikh in every respect, and Sheikh undertakes to be a saviour of that follower from every evil and problem in hereafter. The follower also gets some other benefits, and also he is sanctified and provided with some chants (Dhikar) in order to repeat them within those numbers as prescribed by the Sheikh. The follower also has to lead his routine life affairs as ordered by Sheikh. With arousal of any issue in his responsibilities with regard to the Sufi Orders and other life matters, then Sheikh prescribed the follower with some other instructions to be followed. As the sheikh has promised follower to take all problems of him (Leaman, 2014). But in this scenario, such kind of method to live life is not compatible with the Islamic traditions, as every Muslim must have a strong belief in the God’s Powers that no one can save humans from any problem befalling him or faced in hereafter except God. All of the Muslims, on the Day of Judgment, will face whatever they have done in this world, and they will be adjudicated on individual basis. God explained in Quran; "And every soul earns not [blame] except against itself, and no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another." (Quran 7:164) Another contradiction arises when the follower gives submission to someone other than God. As the God is perfect, but no other can be perfect even the greatest scholar too. Everyone is capable to make mistakes, besides the God. As Prophet Muhammad PBUH said once; "Every son of Adam makes mistakes and the best of them are those who repent." (Tirmidthi) The Sheikh and Sufi Orders In Sufism, the sheikh is considered to be the highest authority or the head, who is responsible to assign responsibilities to other orders. Sufis have some orders on the basis of everyone’s spiritual abilities (Trimingham, 1998 ). These orders are known as to be Qaadari, Chishti, Nakhshabandi, and Teejaani Orders. Everyone among the Sufi brotherhood is designated with a specific order and they have some set of practices to be performed, as sheikh prescribed them (Philips, 2013). Along with these, they also perform a special ritual at every meeting, whioch is detailed below as Dhikar or also known as Tarika (Massignon, 1953). Among these orders, there are some rules that have to be followed, such as follower cannot claim over the Sheikh’s order, and if the follower claimed then he is considered to have broken the “covenant”. Such orders and their rules are contradictory to the Islamic Orthodoxy, where Muslims are told to act according to the teachings of Allah (Quran) and also hadiths, and if a Muslim found something irrelevant, then he has to contradict to that even the Ulama are ordering to do so. As God said in Quran; "Say (to them), produce your proof if you are truthful." (Quran 2:111) Sufi orders also act as the intermediary party between the God and a common man, which also contradicts the Islamic basic belief, as God tell Muslims in Quran; "And your Lord says, Call upon Me; I will respond to you. Indeed, those who disdain My worship will enter Hell [rendered] contemptible." (Quran 40:60) In Sufism, the head is considered as the most influential person, as they can see the mysteries and hidden things. And even they can see what is in other’s heart. As Ibn Arabi appealed that he can see many of secrets and mysteries in his sleep. He quoted, “Some works I wrote at the command of God sent to me in sleep, or through mystical revelations” (AlArabi, 1980, p. 3). But in the other hand, Muslims has strong beliefs that only God is the knower of all the hidden things or unseen things. Knowledge of Unseen cannot have by anyone. God mentions it in Quran; "And who is more disbelieving than he who forges a lie against God, or says, It has been revealed to me, when nothing has been revealed to him?"(Quran 6.93). And also Prophet PBUH said that, “Do not forge lies against me, because he who does so enters the Fire.” (Saheeh Muslim) The Covenant The covenant is the ritual present in Sufis widely, and they performed it in a specific manner. In this ritual, a meeting is held between the follower and sheikh, and all off them close their eyes and do specific kinds of Dhikar to please God. It is present in all Sufi orders. All followers promised to submit themselves to Sheikh. This ritual is contradictory to the Islamic teachings and traditions. As Muslims are told to follow the example of Prophet Muhammad PBUH, so in the time of Prophet, such kind of practice was never heard and performed. And even the caliphs and the best three generations were also unaware of these things. And the prophet PBUH has said that; "Whoever lives after me shall see many differences (i.e. religious innovations); so adhere to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of my Rightly Guided Caliphs." (Abu Dawood) And also; "Verily, the best of speech is the Book of God, and the best of guidance is the guidance of (Prophet) Muhammad and the evil of all religious matters are the innovations. Every innovation (in religion) is a bidah and every bidah is misguidance, and every misguidance will lead to the Fire." (Saheeh Muslim) Imam Malik also quoted that: "He who introduces an innovation in the religion of Islam and deems it a good thing in effect claims by that Muhammad betrayed (the trust of conveying) the Divine Message" (Al-I‘tisam 1:64). The Dhikar The Dhikar means that person has to say some kind of Chants or Allah’s names repeatedly, especially in numbers as prescribed by the Sheikh. It is also designated as the “Wird” in Sufism (Danner, 1976). It is compatible with the Islamic teachings and practices, where the Dhikar of Allah Almighty is considered to be a virtue, as God remember those who remember Him. In Quran, God has told Muslims; “So remember Me; I will remember you. Be thankful to Me, and never be ungrateful”. (Quran 2:152). And also, “Remember Allah often so that you may prosper”. (Quran 62:10) But when these chants and Dhikar is specified with the numbers and repetition of God’s names in form of wird, then it is contradictory to the Islamic teachings and practices. And also sometimes, these include the invocation to the dead persons or asking for help from some other than the God. It is another most contradictory point, whereas the Muslims are told that no one has the ability to help or give assistance or anything apart from God. Only God can grant whatever He wants to whom He likes. As God tell us in Quran; “And if Allah touches you with harm, none can remove it but He, and if He touches you with good, then He is Able to do all things” (Quran 6:17) Dhikar is also divided among the different Sufi Orders on the basis of their levels towards spirituality, for example, Dhikr of the common herd (they do wird of La ilaaha ill-Allah Muhammad-ur-Rasoolullah i.e. there is no God worthy of being worshipped but Allah and Muhammad is the slave of God.) Dhikr of Higher order (doing wird of God’s name Allah), and Dhikr of head (do wird of a Divine word Hu i.e. He). Sometimes, this Dhikar also includes some strictly prohibited practices in Islam, where they dance along with doing Dhikar in melodious hymns. As Prophet Muhammad said, “There will be a people of my ummah [nation] who will seek to make lawful: fornication, the wearing of silk, wine-drinking and the use of musical instruments” (Sahih Bukhaari). Interpretation of the Quran In Sufism, the Quran is understood through the metaphorical methods rather than the interpretation. Or it can be said that they argued about the inner connotation of Quranic verses. It is believed among them that Quran is a complex book, which can be understood only by taking guidance from the Sufis as they can also know the hidden meaning of the Quranic verses. While God has sent the Quran for all of humankind, even not only for Muslims. So, it is more important for Muslims to read and interpret Quran. So, this point is also contradictory to the Islamic teachings and practices. In Quran, God Almighty has told us; "(This is) a Scripture that We have revealed unto you, full of blessing, that they may ponder its revelations, and that men of understanding may reflect." (Quran 38:29) Only thing which can be used for the better understanding of Quranic verses is the Hadith or Sunna as represented by the Holy Prophet PBUH. These are the main sources to take Islamic education, which is most authentic and is used to evaluate every piece of knowledge on its grounds. So Muslims must comprehend Quran as the first generations has revealed it. As prophet PBUH has said that, “Adhere to my sunnah and the sunnah of the rightly — guided successors after me. Hold on to it and cling to it stubbornly”. (Ahmad ibn Hanbal in Musnad, Vol. IV, p. 126). The union of man with God All the Sufis has the goal of union with the God, which according to them, a person can achieve in this world as well (Michon & Gaetani, 2006). They argued to have this verified from one of hadith said by Prophet Muhammad PBUH, which is; “The most beloved things with which My slave comes nearer to Me, is what I have enjoined upon him; and My slave keeps on coming closer to Me through performing Nawafil (praying or doing extra deeds besides what is obligatory) till I love him, so I become his sense of hearing with which he hears, and his sense of sight with which he sees, and his hand with which he grips, and his leg with which he walks; and if he asks Me, I will give him, and if he asks My protection (Refuge), I will protect him; (i.e. give him My Refuge) and I do not hesitate to do anything as I hesitate to take the soul of the believer, for he hates death, and I hate to disappoint him”. (Sahih Bukhari, Vol. 8, No. 509). The Sufis quote this hadith in favour of their ultimate goal to please God, which is the union of God with man. But the actual interpretation of this hadith is that the Muslims should work according to the right and wrong deeds as prescribed by Allah Almighty and His Prophet PBUH. As it implies that Allah’s beloved servants are those who act according to His orders, such as they like to see what Allah likes, and they do what Allah wants them to do. They give full commitment to Allah Almighty (Philips, 2013). So, this also contradicts with the very essence of Islamic principle. Debate over the Compatibility or Contradictory of Sufism and Orthodox Islam To make the Sufism as compatible with the Islam, some Muslims claim that it was just the result of extreme materialism and strictness present in the Islamic earlier teachings and practices. Muslims felt spiritual hunger to be fulfilled, then the Sufism provide them with the spiritual side of Islam, and it inspires the others so much that they started to be converted into Muslims (Algalaleni, 1996). But the Islamic beliefs and practices are quite spiritual in nature as well, but the issue is that during earlier times, the most of the wealth was being used by Muslims in order to gain more area where they can brought the Name of Allah, so it was used in military operations. The Sufism has impacted the Muslims to much extent that they consider it as the central part of the Islam. As Rahman (1966) has argued that the Sufism is the fundamental aspect of the Islam, which is totally inherent in the Islamic teachings and practices, and he said about other scholars that “…considerable ink has been spent by modern scholarship on the ‘origins’ of Sufism in Islam, as to how far it is ‘genuinely’ Islamic and how far a product, in the face of Islam, of outside influences, particularly Christian and Gnostic…” (Rahman, 1966, p. 131). In this regard, Rahman has critiqued on those who criticized over the Sufism as an essential part of Islam and has claimed that it is quite similar to the Christianity and Gnostic. But, he couldn’t provide a valuable reference in respect of this subject, as the Sufism is the mandatory aspect of Islam. In the same regard, the Nasr (1972) has also claimed that people are going to accept the legality of Sufism in Islam, as it has much importance in the mystic side of Islam (Nasr S. H., 1972, pp. 11-12). In response to these statements, another scholar claimed that the Sufism is not in line with the orthodoxy of Islam, as he stated, “Sufism is often frowned upon by Muslim orthodoxy, yet quite amazingly fawned upon and romantically fondled by Muslim masses” (Rastogi, 1982, p. 1). In contrary to this, Sufis hold a belief and respond with the argument that the Sufism has been the part of Islam as the inner side or spirit of it, not the apparent way, or which they called as “batin” of Islam, not the “zaahir” of it (Burckhardt, 1990). The Sufi Doctrine also claimed that the presence of the Sufism has been from the Quran, as they give reference to the Quranic verses (Rippin, 1990, p. 119). They provide following verse in evidence of the mystic side of Islam. God says in Quran; “Allah is the Light of Heaven and Earth! His light may be compared to a niche in which there is a lamp; the lamp is in a glass; the glass is just as if it were a glittering star kindled from a blessed olive tree, {which is} neither Eastern nor Western, whose oil will almost glow though the fire has never touched it. Light upon light, Allah guides anyone He wishes to His light.” (Quran 24:35) Form this they implied the mystic side of Islam, and also another verse is presented for the favour of unity of man with the God. They also do a lot of Dhikar of this Quranic verse (Lings, 1975, p. 28). “Verily we are for Allah, and verily unto Him we are returning.” (Quran 2:156). As Sufis argue that Muhammad PBUH has said about the inner and outer sides of any sayings of him, so they believe in their own interpretation (Stoddart, 1986). So, the contradiction comes here is with the argument that they interpret Quran with their own different method of interpretation, which is eisegesis. Apart from these proofs, it is evident mostly that their quoted references of hadiths in support to the many Quranic verses are not found in the Major Books of Hadith, such as Saheeh Bukhari, Saheeh Muslim, Ibn Babuya, and Kulayni). These cannot be accepted as most of them are the weak narrations as suggested by collectors of these hadiths (Rippin, 1990, p. 119). So, most of the components of Sufism with regard to their beliefs and practices are not compatible with the Islamic teachings and Sharia. Rippin (1990) argued that it cannot be claimed that Sufism is the legitimate practice in islam, rather the research over it is now quite vague, as he said, “it is impossible for modern historians to take ‘objective’ facts from this type of material” (Rippin, 1990, p. 120). As Rahman (1966) argues that there are number of elements in Sufism, which can be considered as the contradictory with respect to the Islamic teachings and practices. He further claimed by saying that, “[the synthesis of Sufism and orthodoxy] provides us with a shining example of the fundamentally catholic genius of Islam - a panorama of continued tensions and challenges and of equally persistent efforts to resolve these tensions and meet these challenges in a process of modification, adaptation and absorption.” (Rahman, 1966, p. 149). Rahman (1966) has claimed that the Sufism has been the influence of many other religions. As a number of elements of other religions has been incorporated in the Sufism, such as the Asceticism was the firstly known by Christianity and they were used to live like nuns, who never got married and spent their lives like normal human being. So, it entails that the arguments of Rahman are quite clear in regard to this that the Sufism is just an adoption and modification by the other religions. This view is also accepted by a number of other scholars. The indication of Sufi being modified and taking elements from other religious convictions, for instance, Zoroastrianism and Hinduism are assured. The resemblances in traditions and ceremonial are irresistible. So, it can be argued that the objectives of Sufism replicate with the monism and pantheism of Hinduism as well as further Eastern religious convictions (Rahman, 1966; Philips, 2013). Conclusion It can be concluded that the Sufism is compatible with some of the Islamic Orthodox principles, while contradictory to many others. It is compatible in terms of the Oneness of God, Prophet Muhammad PBUH as last prophet, the five times prayer, the performance of the Pilgrimage, fasting in the month of Ramadan. But some of their beliefs are contradictory, such as the unity of man with God, the ultimate submission to the Sheikh etc. And also a number of practices are contradictory, which were not performed by the Holy prophet PBUH, as it is a condition for Muslim to follow Prophet Muhammad as an ultimate example or a role model. But the ways of invocation to Allah and the ways of remembrance of Allah pose threats to the fundamental belief of the Muslims, and is sometimes regarded as the “shirk” or polytheism, which is strictly forbidden by Islam. A number of arguments and evidences are presented for and against the Sufism, but it can be said as the Sufism indicates the absence of spirituality in the Islam, as well as it contradicts with many of orthodox Islamic principles and practices, while giving the way to other religions to be the part of Islam. These conclusions are based on the subjective information presented by a number of scholars, but some of opponents has presented objective and definite information through Quranic verses and hadiths. But the proponents of Sufism has failed to provide any objective information, which also weaken their legality. So, there is no compatibility among the Sufism and orthodox Islam. Bibliography AlArabi, I. (1980). The Bezels of Wisdom (Classics of Western Spirituality) . London: Paulist Press. Algalaleni, I. M. (1996, March 19). Sufism. (U. o. Ontario, Interviewer) Burckhardt, T. (1990). An Introduction to Sufism. Wellingborough: The Aquarian Press. Chittick, W. C. (2001). Sufism: A Short Introduction. Oxford: Oneworld Publications,. Chittick, W. C. (2003 ). Mysticism in Islam. Brigham : Brigham Young University. Danner, V. (1976). Islamic Mysticism. Studies in Comparative Religion, 10(1), 1-11. Ernst, C. W. (1997). The Shambhala Guide to Sufism. Boston: Shambhala. Hourani, A. (1991). The Articulation of Islam. In A History of the Arab Peoples. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. Leaman, O. (2014). Controversies in Contemporary Islam. New York: Routledge. Lings, M. (1975). What is Sufism? Berkeley: University of California Press. Massignon, L. (1953). Tarīḳa, Shorter Encyclopaedia of Islam,. Leiden: Oxford Publishers. Michon, J.-L., & Gaetani, R. (2006). Sufism: Love & Wisdom. Bloomington: World Wisdom Inc. . Nasr, S. H. (1972). Sufi Essays. London: George Allen and Unwin Ltd. Nasr, S. H. (1990). Islamic Spirituality. New York: Crossroad. Netton, I. R. (1992). A Popular Dictionary of Islam. London: Curzon Press. Oglu, K. G. (1988). Basic principles distinguishing orthodox Islam from Sufism. Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs. Journal, 9(2), 245-250. Philips, A. A. (2013). The Foundations of Islamic Studies: Aqeedah. Online: Islamic Online University. Rahman, F. (1966). Islam . London: Weidenfeld and Nicholson. Rastogi, T. C. (1982). Islamic Mysticism - Sufism . New Delhi: Sterling Publishers Private Ltd. Renard, J. (2005). Historical Dictionary of Sufism. Lanham: Scarecrow Press. Rippin, A. (1990). Muslims: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices. New York: Routledge. Saeed, A. (2006). Mystical Thought: Sufism. In Islamic thought: An introduction . London: Routledge. Schimmel, A. (1975). Mystical Dimensions of Islam. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. Sells, M. (1996). Early Islamic Mysticism: Sufi, Qurʿan, Miʿraj, Poetic and Theological Writings. New York: Paulist Press. Stoddart, W. (1986). Sufism - The Mystical Doctrines and Methods of Islam . New York: Paragon House Publishers. Trimingham, J. S. (1998 ). The Sufi Orders in Islam. New York: Oxford University Press. Voll, J. O., & Ohtsuka, K. (2014, October 30). Sufism. Retrieved from Oxford Islamic Studies Online: http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t236/e0759 Read More