Stain Your Prayer Rug with Wine 201you “start by purifying your inner self, you end up being concerned
with the outer and with society.”
Secondly, the Quran categorically derides celibacy—another
common tradition in mysticism—as being against the command of
God to “be fruitful and multiply.” A significant portion of the Revela-
tion is dedicated to the strengthening and preservation of the family,
which in Islam is considered to be the model for the Ummah and a
microcosm of all creation. In fact, the Quran repeatedly equates filial
loyalty with fidelity to God (2:83; 4:36; 6:151; 31:14). So, while there
were a few notable Sufi celibates—like the famed Rabia of Basra, who
despite her legendary beauty rebuffed all suitors in order to give her-
self completely to God—celibacy never became a widespread phe-
nomenon in Sufism.
But perhaps the most important difference between Sufism and
traditional religious mysticism is that the latter tends to remain per-
manently attached to its “parent” religion, while Sufism, though born
from Islam, treats its parent as a shell that must be cast off if one is to
experience direct knowledge of God. In other words, the formal reli-
gion of Islam is the prelude to Sufism, rather than its prominent
motif. Islam, like all religions, can only claim to point humanity to
God, whereas Sufism’s goal is to thrust humanity toward God.
This does not mean that Sufism rejects Islam and its religious and
legal requirements altogether. Despite the occasionally violent Shi‘ite
and Sunni accusations to the contrary, Sufis are Muslims. They pray
as Muslims. They worship as Muslims. They use Muslim symbols and
metaphors and follow Muslim creeds and rituals. To quote the
esteemed Sufi Shaykh of the Rifa’i Order in Jerusalem, Muhammad
ash-Shadhili, “If you want to walk in... the Way of the Prophet, you
must be a real Muslim... one who gives everything to his God to be
His slave.”
That said, Sufis consider all orthodoxy, all traditional teachings,
the law, theology, and the Five Pillars inadequate for attaining true
knowledge of God. Even the Quran, which Sufis respect as the direct
speech of God, lacks the capacity to shed light upon God’s essence. As
one Sufi master has argued, why spend time reading a love letter
(by which he means the Quran) in the presence of the Beloved who
wrote it?