The Principles of Tasawwuf

إن مبادي كل فن عشره                     الحد و الموضوع ثم الثمره
و فضله ونسبة و الواضع                  و الاسم الاستمداد حكم الشارع
مسائل و البعض بالبعض اكتفى           و من درى الجميع حاز الشرفا

1. The definition- (الحد) Hundreds of definitions of Tasawwuf have been drawn. The great scholar sidi Ahmed Zarouq says: ”Tasawwuf has more than two thousand explanatory definitions; all ultimately refer to the following: True devotion to Allah from where He likes by the means He likes (صدق التوجه إلى الله من حيث يرضاه بما يرضاه) Some of the common definitions are: Acting upon knowledge  العمل بالعلمNoble characterالتصوف أخلاق Acquiring the good characters and getting rid of the bad.

2. The subject-الموضوع: The Divine Essenceالذات العلية  as how Allah can be known. Another opinion says that the subject of this discipline is hearts and souls; because it works on their purification and cultivation. Both opinions are correct as the latter looks at the goal and the former looks at the means; as it has been correctly said, ”He who knows himself will know his Lord”.

3. The fruit- الثمرة: The fruit or the benefit of this discipline is the purification of the heart and knowing the Master of the worlds.

4. The merit- فضله :Tasawwuf is a noble discipline of high merit. Its nobility stems from from its subject. Al- Ihsan الإحسان is one of the three levels of this deen and the highest.

5. The relation of this discipline to others- نسبته إلى غيره من العلوم: Tasawwuf is the base of the Sharia; without it all acts of worship would be imperfect. It is the core of the Quran and the Sunnah and the tissue of muslims spiritual life. Imam Malik says: من تصوف و لم يتفقه فقد تزندق و من تفقه و لم يتصوف فقد تفسق و من جمع بينهما فقد تحقق ”Whoever acquires tasawwuf without fiqh is a heretic and whoever studies fiqh without tasawwuf is unrighteous and who combines both has the reality”

6. The pioneer- الواضع : The word al-wadi means the one that sets forth this branch of knowledge. It is of course the Prophet . Many ahadith highlight this fact, most famous of wich is hadith Jibril . The first one who made this knowledge known is Sayyiduna Ali  and then his son Sayyiduna al-Hasan  and al-Hasan al-Basriy.

7. The name- الاسم: The name of this science is tasawwufعلم التصوف  The word is derrived from souf: wool; or from safa: purity; or from suffa: the special place of a group of the sahaba in the Holy Sanctuary of the Prophet .
The discipline has been known by this name since the second century of hijra, i.e. the time of the salaf . It has been frequently called ilm as-Sulouk, ilm al-Ihsan, ilm at-Tarbiyah or ilm at-Tazkiyah.

8. The sources- الاستمداد : Tasawwuf relies on al-Quran and as-Sunnah as the sources and proofs of its material. The sayings of the great scholars are a rich treasure for the seekers and the masters alike.

9. The legal ruling- حكم الشارع : The legal ruling of studying tasawwuf is fard i.e. obligatory. Since all human beings are susceptable to sins save for the Prophets. Imam Abul Hasan ash-Shadiliy saysمن لم يتغلغل في علمنا هذا مات مصرا على الكبائر و هو لا يشعر  ”Who does not deeply study this discipline will die persisting on major sins without being aware of it”.

10. The issues discussed- مسائله: Tasawwuf tackles some of the cardinal elements of the deen such as ikhlas: sincerity; sidq: truthfulness; wara: religious cautioness; tawakkul: reliance; zuhd: asceticism; mahabba: love; and similarly their opposites, wich are called the diseases of the hearts such as insincerity; hypocrisy; arrogance; greed. It also tackles some of the subtlest subjects such as the passing of thoughts; the states of the heart; inspiration. One of its most important subjects is dhikr, the remebrance of Allah and its virtues; another is the sheikh and his qualifications, the disciple murid and his adab.

Basic works in tasawwuf:

The Beauty of the Righteous by al-Hafiz Abu Nuaym al-Asfahani

The Revival of the Sciences of the Deen- Ihya Ulumid-Deen by al-Imam al-Ghazali

Al-Risalah of Imam Abul Qasim al-Qushayriy

The Aphorisms- al-Hikam og Imam Ibn Atta Allah

Revelation of the Unseen by Imam Abdul Qadir al-Jaylaniy

Transliterations:

Inna mabadi´a kulli fan-in ´ashara		al-hadd-u wa l-mawdu`u thumma ath-thamara
wa fadhluhu wa nisbatun wa al-wadi`u	  wa l-ismu l-istimdadu hukmu ash-shari`i
masa´ilun wa l-ba`dhu bi l-ba`dhi iktafa     wa man dara l-jami`a haaza ash-sharafa

The Definition: al-haddu

True devotion to Allah from where He likes by the means He likes
Siddqu at-tawajjuhi ila l-llah min haythu yardhahu wa bima yardhahu

Acting upon knowledge
al-`amalu bi l-`ilmi

Noble character
at-tasawufu a-khlaqun (at-tasawuf akhlaq)

Subject: al-mawdhu`u (al-mawdu`)

Divine essence: adh-dhatu al-`aliyya (adh-dhat al-`aliya)

The fruit: Ath-thamara-tu (ath-thamara)

The merits: Fadhluhu (fadhluh)

The relation of this discipliine to other: Nisbatuhu ila ghayrihi mina  al-`ulumi
(Nisbatuh ila ghayrihi mina la `ulum)

Imam Malik says: Man tasawwafa wa lam yatafaqah faqad tazandaqa, wa man tafaqqaha wa lam yatasawaf faqad tafassaqa wa man jama`a baynahuma faqad tahaqaq
(Man tassawafa wa lam yatafaqah faqad tazandaq wa man tafaqaha wa lam yatasawaf faqad tafassaqa wa man jama`a baynahuma faqad tahaqqaq)

The pioneer: al-wadhi`u (al-wadhi`)

The name: al-ism (al-´ism)

Science of tasawwuf: `ilmu at-tasawwufi (`ilm at-tasawuf)

The sources: al-istimdadu (al-´istimdad)

The legal ruling: hukmu ash-shari`i (hukm ash-shari`)

Imam ash-shadili says: Man lam yataghalghal fi `ilmina hadha ma-ata musirran `ala al-kaba´iri wa huwa la yash`ur (man lam yataghalghal fi `ilmina hadha maata musirran `ala al-kaba´ir wa lam yash`ur)

The issues discussed: masa´iluhu (masa´iluh)
--------------------------------------------