Answering some questions about Sufis

Sadna asked some well intentioned (I believe) questions about Sufis. I feel I should respond.


Although I am no sufi, I am writing a treatise on the woolen ones. I am scrutinizing them under a powerful microscope. I am dissecting and disemboweling them for your viewing pleasure.

So it is with the lack of these credentials that I feel fully unqualified to answer your questions. So here goes:

Q: "Is a sufist more insistent on Sharia than the literalist."

A: Sharia is a beautiful thing when used properly. Improperly, it simply becomes "Sher aya, sher aya"

Q: "Is a sufist more conscious of the Ummah in his province vs the nonMuslim divide in public affairs than the literalist."

A: A sufi loves one and all. The entire humanity is his ummah. He is practical. Why limit his love to only muslims? BTW, his/her to be used interchangeably here.

Q: "Is a sufist more willing to consider his religious pursuit as personal and not a communal or collective enterprise than the literalist who is obsessed with reforming his fellow Muslims and moreover protecting and expanding the political power of Islam."

A: A sufi considers all pursuits to be the personal pursuit of reuniting with the ocean of love: the creator. Anyone that tries to classify or quantify her efforts is met with scorn. Note, Rabia once ran through the streets of Basra with a fire torch in one hand and a bucket of water in the other. "To burn heaven, and to put out the fires in hell".


Q. "Is a sufist willing to consider women to be more free to make their choices than the literalist."

A: A sufi considers men and women to be different physical manifestations of souls that are neither male nor female. All are therefore equal and free to do what he or she desires. Free will for one and all.

Q: "Is a sufist more willing to see secular education as a valid enterprise than the literalist who want everything to be cast as an Islamic interprise even science studies?"

A: All education is useful and helps us understand ourselves and the universe and the creator. Secular education and the sciences help our logic. Spiritual and meditative education helps our heart. Religious education helps our ritual. All paths lead to the same truth, so yes, all education is useful.

Q: "In any dispute does the sufist automatically support the Muslim side or does he have a more open mind than the literalist?"

A: The sufi supports truth and justice. Truth and justice takes no side.

Q: "And etc"
A: exactly.