200 No god but God
collected from a variety of sources over a long period of time. Of
course, as the Sufi master Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri teaches, “there is a
big difference between merely collecting recipes and actually cooking
and eating.”
Nevertheless, it is important to recognize that Sufism, like
Shi‘ism, was a reactionary movement against both the Imperial Islam
of the Muslim Dynasties and the rigid formalism of Islam’s “ortho-
dox” learned class, the Ulama. Both sects vigorously employed ta’wil
to uncover the hidden meaning of the Quran, both concentrated their
spiritual activities on devotion to the Prophet Muhammad, and both
developed cults of personality around saintly characters—whether
Imams or Pirs.
But while the Shi‘ah and Sufis existed in the same spiritual dimen-
sion and most certainly influenced each other, Sufism represents a
rare anti-intellectual strain within Islam dedicated solely to esoteri-
cism and devotionalism. Also, unlike the Shi‘ah, the Sufis were not
interested in political power. Although they eventually entered the
political realm, especially in the Indian subcontinent, the Sufi Pirs ini-
tially eschewed all temporal authority and completely removed them-
selves from the political and theological infighting that pervaded the
Muslim community during its formative period. Instead, the Sufis
strove toward asceticism and detachment from the Ummah and its
worldly trappings through a life of simplicity and poverty. “If you can-
not change the kings,” the Sufis argued, “then change yourself.”
In their rituals and practices, the Sufis sought the annihilation of
the ego. And while this goal may be common to all mystical move-
ments, there are a few very important differences between Sufism and
traditional ideals of mysticism. First, there exists in Islam a stringent
anti-monasticism that permeates all aspects of the believer’s life. Put
simply, Islam is a communal religion. It abhors radical and reclusive
individualism. One could argue that a Muslim who rejects the
Ummah is like a Roman Catholic who denies the Apostolic Church:
both are deliberately separating themselves from the source of their
salvation. Although most Sufi masters withdrew from society, they
were not monks; their disciples were artisans, chemists, and mer-
chants who lived and worked in the real world. A true Sufi, Shaykh
Haeri writes, “does not separate the inner from the outer,” for when