Sufism

In the hadith of Jibril, the Prophet ﷺ described three levels of religion. First islam, the outward practice. Then iman, faith. And then ihsan: worshipping God as though you see Him, and if you do not see Him, knowing that He sees you.

Ihsan means excellence. That third level is where Sufism places itself. Sufism, tasawwuf, presents itself as the science of ihsan: purifying the heart of pride, envy and greed, and filling it with sincerity, love and remembrance of God.

In the hadith of Jibril, ihsan is the third level: worshipping God as though you see Him.

Picture a leading jurist and theologian. He leaves his teaching post in Baghdad, in a spiritual crisis. That was al-Ghazali. He later wrote The Revival of the Religious Sciences, joining Sufi inner life to mainstream law and belief.

Then a poet. Jalal al-Din Rumi's poetry, written in Persian in 13th-century Anatolia, is still among the most read in the world.

Then the orders, called tariqahs, such as the Qadiriyyah, Naqshbandiyyah, Chishtiyyah and Shadhiliyyah. They gather students around a teacher. Many historians credit them with spreading Islam in Africa, India and Southeast Asia. At the Cape, Sheikh Yusuf was a Sufi master.

Many historians credit Sufi teachers with carrying Islam to new lands.

Here is something that surprises many people. For most of Islamic history, scholars of all four schools practised or accepted tasawwuf. 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani, founder of the Qadiri order, was a Hanbali.

Even Ibn Taymiyyah, himself a Hanbali and often seen as a critic, praised early Sufis while attacking practices he considered innovations.

Today the debate is sharp. Salafi critics condemn visiting saints' shrines to seek blessings, music in dhikr gatherings, and blind obedience to a shaykh. Many Sufis answer that true Sufism keeps strictly to the law. And they agree that some popular practices go too far.

South Africa has both traditions, and the kramats of the Cape are part of this story.

Muslims still debate where the inner path goes too far.