Sufism in Islam

 

Sufism is an Islamic spiritual philosophy. The main topic of discussion regarding the soul. The essence of this philosophy is to establish its relationship with God through the purification of the soul. ‘Suf’ means wool and Tasauf means the habit of wearing woolen garments (labsus-suf). Tasawwuf is the act of devoting one's life to the pursuit of mysticism. One who devotes himself to such pursuits is called a Sufi. Through the purity of the soul, one can attain bakabillah (permanently disappearing with Allah) through fanafillah (staying with Allah). Since God is formless, love of formless power is the only way to perish in Him. According to the Tasawwuf philosophy, this pursuit is called 'Tariqat' or the path to attain Allah. Murshids are needed in the practice of Tariqat. That path is Fana Fishshaikh, Fana Firrasul and Fanafillah. After Fanafillah, Bakabillah is gained. When Bakabillah is achieved, the Sufi becomes strong with the special power given by Allah. Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, ‘There is a special organ in the human body which, when it is healthy, purifies the whole body, and when it is sick, the whole body becomes impure. Be aware, this is the heart. The purpose of Sufism is to purify the heart by the constant remembrance of Allah. Prominent Sufi saints, poets, writers and philosophers wrote various scriptures, poems and commentaries to popularize this philosophy. Over time, various disciplines developed around the famous saints. The four main disciplines gained the most fame: 1. The great saint Hazrat Abdul Qadir Jilani (R.) established Kaderia Tarika, II. Chishtia Tarika established by Sultanul Hind Hazrat Khwaja Mu'inuddin Chishti (r.), 3. Hazrat Khwaja Bahauddin Nakshabandi (R.) established Nakshabandiya sect and 4. Mujaddidiya Tarika established by Hazrat Sheikh Ahmad Mujaddid-i-Alfe Chhani Sarhindi (R.). Apart from this, several other sects called Suhrawardy, Madaria, Ahmadiyya and Kalandaria emerged. Sufis from Arabia, Yemen, Iraq, Iran, Khorasan, Central Asia and North India propagated Sufism in Bangladesh. Among the Sufis who devoted themselves to the propagation of Islam in this country in the eleventh and twelfth centuries AD were Shah Sultan Rumi (r.a.), Baba Adam Shahid (r.a.), Shah Sultan Balkhi (r.a.), Shah Niyamatullah Butsekan (r.a.). ), Shah Makhdum Ruposh (R.), Sheikh Fariduddin Shakkarganj (R.), Makhdum Shah Daula Shahid (R.) etc. It is also said that they possessed deep knowledge and various miraculous powers. Some Sufi saints played an important role in propagating Islam and Sufism. Among them are Sheikh Jalaluddin Tabrizi (R.), Shah Jalal (R.), Sheikh Alaul Haq (R.), Khan Jahan Ali (R.).