Practical Sufism:An Akbarian Basis for a Liberal Theology of DifferenceDr Vincent J. CornellAmong the criticisms leveled at the Sufitradition by its modernMuslim opponents, two stand out as most prominent. The first isthat Sufism does not represent authentic Islam. This is allegedlybecause its teachings do not come directly from the Qur'an, therophet Muhammad, andthefirst generationsof Muslims!al-Salaf al-Salih". According to this #Salafi# argument, Sufism is aTro$an horse for unwarranted innovations that owe their origins tonon%Muslim civili&ations such as 'reece, ersia, and India. TheSalafi polemic began early in the history of Sufism, and is oftenassociated with the anti%Sufi arguments of (anbali scholars, suchas Ibn al%)aw&i !d. *+,*" in Talbis Iblis or Ibn Taymiyya !d. *-+."in his criti/ues of Ibn 'Arabi.* It was given a new lease on life inthe twentieth century by the modernist reformer Muhammad0ashid0ida!d. *1-2", whoeditedIbnTaymiyya'swor3sandinfluencedlater Salafi ideologuessuchas(asanal%4anna!d.*151", the founder of the Muslim 4rotherhood.+ Although 4annasaw some value in what he called #pure# Sufism, he condemnedthe Sufi tradition as a whole for incorporating foreign ideas, suchas#the sciencesof philosophyand logicand theheritageandthought of ancient nations.# As a result, he asserted, #6ide gapswere opened for every atheist, apostate, and corrupter of opinionand faith to enter by the door in the name of Sufism.#- In the generation after 4anna's death, Salafi modernism,represented by the Muslim 4rotherhood and allied groups suchas a3istan's )amaat%i Islam, contracted a marriage ofconvenience with Salafi traditionalism, represented by the6ahhabisect of SaudiArabia. The result of this union was thebirthin*17+ ofthe Muslim 6orld8eague !Rabitat al-'Alam al-Islami", which provided financial and institutional support forSalafi missionaryactivitiesintheMuslimworldandbeyond.5.The worldwide spread of Salafismwas accompanied by asystematiccampaignagainst Islamictraditionalism!e9cept for(anbali traditionalism" that has seriously undermined Sufism asa viable spiritual alternative in Muslim countries. In the words ofSayyid Qutb !d. *177", the former head of the Muslim4rotherhood's Section for the ropagation ofthe Message, theal-Salaf al-Salih#createdageneration:thegenerationof the;ompanions of the rophet, may 'od be pleased with them :without comparisoninthehistoryof Islam, evenintheentirehistory of man. After this, no other generation of this caliber wasever againtobefound.#2AccordingtoQutb, traditional Islamallowed itself to be recon/uered by the very ignorance, depravity,andmisguidance!jahiliyya" that theoriginal messageof Islamhad sought to overcome. Sufism supposedly helped toperpetuatethisnew$ahiliyyabecauseit wasaremnant of the#feudal ages#< its traditionalism was an obstacle to progress andreform, and it advocated a spiritual withdrawal from life that led tothe evil of a socially useless e9istence. =or Qutb, Sufism was thefirst blow to be struc3 at the integrity of Islamic thought and thee9istence of the #Islamic nation.#7 Sayyid Qutb's polemic e9emplifies the second ma$or criticism ofSufisminthemodernera, that it is impractical andsociallyirrelevant. This criti/ue has been nearly as harmful to thereputation of Sufismas the accusation of inauthenticity. =or(asan al%4anna, Sufism fostered an #isolated spirituality#!ruhaniyya i'tizaliyya" that leadsto politicaland social/uietism.This tendency runs counter to the #socially%conscious spirituality#!ruhaniyya i$tima'iyya" of Islamic activism, which promotespractice over theory and calls for open resistance against politicaland social in$ustice.>4anna's successors were even moree9treme in their criticisms ofSufism's relevance. =orQutbandMuhammadal%'ha&ali !d. *117", Sufismwasamedieval relic.?nscrupulous politicians used Sufi doctrines to #drug themasses# and #e9ploit the people# by causing victimi&ed Muslimstoresignthemselvestotheir economicandsocial fate. ?nli3e4anna, who maintained amicable relations with some Sufi orders,they saw the Sufi tariqa as a prime cause of Muslim disunity.. Today, leaders of Salafi organi&ations routinely use thesecriti/ues to turn Muslims away from the Sufi message. In manycommunities, anti%Sufi attitudeshaveledtoa#tyrannyof thema$ority# that adversely affects the lives of Muslims who followthe Sufi way. This tyranny can be observed even in liberaldemocratic countries such as the ?nited States.The AmericanMuslim, a widely distributed maga&ine published by the MuslimAmericanSocietyof =alls;hurch, @irginia, containsanadvicecolumn in which a #Shei3h# named Muhammad al%(anooti givesfatwasonvariousaspectsof Muslimlifeandpractice. IntheSeptember +,,- issue, a woman who has been approached by#agoodMuslimman# for marriagein/uiresabout her suitor'spractice of Sufism !p. -.". She wonders about the suitability of aSufi formarriagebecauseshedoes#not want toendupwithsomeone who does something wrong against Islam.# (anooti'sresponse clearly illustrates the danger that Salafi ideas pose forSufis who wish to remain active in their communities. #I do not3now whatsortofSufihe is,# says(anooti,#but,in general,Iadvise you to marry a person who has good 3nowledge of Islam,andonewhoisnot merelyfollowingcultureandtradition. Ingeneral, I would caution you against marrying a Sufi, for a greatmany of them do not have a good 3nowledge of Islam and aretilted toward lives of inconvenience.# 4y counseling the woman tonotmarryaSufi, (anootiis ineffect sayingthatSufis arenotMuslimsandthat theQur'anicbanagainst aMuslimwoman'smarriagetoanon%Muslimappliesnot onlytothefollowersofother religions, but to Sufis as well. Sufism an Authentic Traition Those who are well ac/uainted with the doctrines and history ofSufism 3now that both of the criti/ues detailed above are false.=irst of all, Sufism, li3e most religious institutions in Sunni Islam,traces its origins to the Qur'an, the Sunna of the rophetMuhammad, and the way ofal-Salaf al-Salih. Thus, Sufism has$ust as much right to be called #Salafi# as its opponents. Most ofthe early systemati&ers of Sufism, such as Abu 'Abd al%0ahmanal%Sulami !d. *,+*", Abu Au'aym al%Isfahani !d. *,-.%1", and Abual%Qasim al%Qushayri !d. *,>5", were trained in Shafi'i$urisprudence, which was #Salafi# to the core. Ahmad ibn (anbal!d..22", the founder ofthe (anbalitradition, was astudent ofImam al%Shafi'i !d. .+,", and the (anbali and Shafi'i legal schoolsdo not differ on essentialmatters. Although Salafiopponents ofSufism have the right to ob$ect to Sufidoctrines and practices,they do not have a warrant to claimthat Sufismhas noauthenticity. In fact, it is easier to claim that Sufism, not Salafism,is the more authentic, because its traditions are more consistentwith the historicalcontours ofIslamic thought. Itismuch moredifficult tomaintain, asSalafi modernistsdo, that nearlyall ofIslamic thought between the first century of Islamand thenineteenth or twentieth century of the ;ommon Bra is a distortionof #true# Islam. The accusation that Sufism is impractical or socially irrelevant ise/ually false. Inthe Sufitradition, one oftheearliest termsfor#saint# was salih. This is the same term used in the phrase,al-Salaf al-Salih, which denotes the supposed forerunners oftoday's Salafis. The Qur'an mentions thesalihin, along withmartyrs and propagators of theIslamic message, as peoplewhom Allah has favored !5+".(umanity's assent to the responsibilities implied in this covenantconstitutesthe#socialcontract#that isthe basisof theIslamicKriginal osition. Although the Qur'anic #social contract# ishierarchical, and thus is not e9actly the same as 0awls'secularcontract between ontological e/uals, it still meets the criterion ofe/ualitythatis necessary for aliberaltheory of $ustice. This isbecausetheIslamicKriginal ositionconceivesof all humanbeings as ontologically and morally e/uivalent and as sharing thesame natural rights and duties. The normal human condition is to see 'od from the starting pointof the world. To see 'od from this perspective is to see 'od asthe 8ord and ;reator of everything. This is the attitude e9pressedin the Islamic Kriginal osition when the human being respondsto 'od's /uery, #Am I not your 8ordD# with #Les, I do so testify.#Muslime9egetes interpret this assent as having been givenbeforetheearthly creationof thehumanbeing, whenall ofAdam's futuredescendants weresummonedtoac3nowledge'od's 8ordship and (is role in their creation. The fact that thiscovenant was contracted before humans were on earth impliesthat human beings have a transcendent side to their nature, andthus have the ability to rise above their earthly condition and viewtheworldasif fromadistanceoraheight.+2Thehigheronegoes,themore the world appearsas a whole, and differencesthat seemsignificantontheground become insignificantwhenviewed from above. =rom such a vantage point, all of the world,including all peoples and all of their different beliefs, are part ofthe same reflection of 'od, whose #face# will abide forever!22", for #(e is the =irst and the 8ast, the Kutward and theInward# !2> BventheMuslim$urist, whoistrainedtoconsider ascripturalobligation as prior to a moral duty, must assess each obligationaccordingtowhether thedivinecommandthat governs it isgeneral or specific in its application. If the application is specific,he must in/uire about any limitations to its application that mightarisethroughthehistorical conte9tof itsrevelation.-.A divinecommandmust not beapplieduniversallyif theconte9t of itsrevelation demonstrates conclusively that its application isspecific to a particular time, place, or social situation. An e9ampleof this dual problematic of prioriti&ation and conte9tuali&ation canbefoundinSurat al-Tawba!;hapter on0epentance", wheresomeof themost hostileversesconcerningMuslimandnon%Muslim relations appear. (ow is a Muslim to respond when theQur'an commands< #=ight against such of those who have beengiven the Scripture as believe not in Allah or the 8ast Fay, andforbid not that which Allah has forbidden by (is messenger, andfollownot thereligionof truth, until theypaythetribute!jizya"readily, being brought low# !1.*%.2> !8ondon, *1>> reprint of *1-2 first edition", pp. .7%**,. bac *+ % Muhammad ibn Lusuf as%Si$ilmasi, Tuhfat al%i3hwan wa mawahib al%imtinan fimana/ib Sidi 0idwan ibn 'Abdallah al%)anuwi !0abat< 4ibliothN/ue 'OnOrale, ms. **5I", p. .7. bac *- % In #Toward the 8ight,# a manifesto for the reformation of Bgypt sent to Iing =aru/ in *15>, (asan al%4anna included among the plan3s of his program #;onsideration of ways to arrive gradually at a uniform mode of dress for the nation.# (asan al%4anna', =ive Tracts of (asan al%4anna' !*1,7%*151"< A Selection from the Ma$mu'at 0asa'il al%Imam al%Shahid (asan al%4anna', ;harles 6endell, translator !4er3eley, 8os Angeles, and 8ondon, *1>.", p. *+1. bac *5 % An important wor3 in this genre is Abu 4a3r Muhammad Ibn al%'Arabi al%Ma'afiri !d. **51", Qanun al%Ta'wil !The 0ules of (ermeneutics", Bdited by Muhammad al%Slimani !4eirut, *11,". This $urist from Seville in Muslim Spain wasnot related to the Sufi Ibn 'Arabi. bac *2 % Sherman A. )ac3son, Kn the 4oundaries of Theological Tolerance in Islam< Abu (amid al%'ha&ali's =aysal al%Tafri/a bayna al%Islam wa al%Manda/a !K9ford and Iarachi, +,,+", I have altered )ac3son's translation of terms slightly to fit the present discussion. 'ha&ali's full discussion of the terms mentioned above can befound on pp. 15%*,,. bac *7 % Ibid. p. 2,. bac *> % Ibid. p. *,5. bac *. % Ibid. bac *1 % See Inysh, Ibn 'Arabi in the 8ater Islamic Tradition, for a full account of theseob$ections. bac +, % 'Abd al%Iarim al%)ili, al%Insan al%3amil fi ma'rifat al%awa3hir wa al%awa'il !;airo,*1.*", vol. + p. *++. bac +* % Ibid. pp. *++%*+5. bac ++ % Martin 8ings, #6ith All Thy Mind,# unpublished paper disseminated at the second #4uilding 4ridges# seminar hosted by (is (ighness the Bmir of the State of Qatar and Archbishop of ;anterbury 0owan 6illiams, Foha, Qatar, >%1 April, +,,-. bac +- % 6illiam ;. ;hittic3 calls this the #engendering command,# because it results from the manifestation of the divine name al%0ahman !The Bngendering". The source for this concept is Ibn Arabi's al%=utuhat al%Ma33iyyah !The Meccan 0evelations". See 6illiam ;. ;hittic3, Imaginal 6orlds< Ibn al%'Arabi and the roblem of 0eligious Fiversity !Albany, Aew Lor3, *115", p. *5+. It may also be translated as the #formative command,# because the Arabic term, ta3win, carries the connotation of formation or development. bac +5 % )ohn 0awls, A Theory of )ustice !;ambridge, Massachusetts, *111 revised edition", pp. *,%*1. bac +2 % This could be used as a metaphorical interpretation of Qur'an, >. bac +> % In =usus al%hi3am !The 0ing%Settings of 6isdom" Ibn 'Arabi calls this type of mercy the #Mercy of the 'ratuitous 'ift# !rahmat al%imtinan". It is a mercy which 'od bestows on things simply because they e9ist. =or Ibn 'Arabi, all e9istence is ultimately good, since it comes from 'od. Bvil is none9istence !'adam". See Toshihi3o I&utsu, Sufism and Taoism< A ;omparative Study of Iey hilosophical ;oncepts !4er3eley and 8ondon, *1.-", p. *+*. bac +. % ;hittic3 calls this the #prescriptive command.# See Idem, Imaginal 6orlds, p. *5+. bac +1 % This is not to say that Muslim $urists did not discuss such /uestions. (owever, those who did so most successfully, such as 'ha&ali and Ibn 0ushd !d. **1.", combined their $uridical bac3grounds with studies of Sufism or philosophy. bac -, % Alasdair MacIntyre, 6hose )ustice, 6hich 0ationalityD !Aotre Fame, Indiana, *1..". See especially the chapter entitled, #Aristotle on )ustice,# pp. *,-%*+-. In Aristotle, $ustice is based on ratios, and not on e/uivalences. These ratios govern the principle of fairness in distributive $ustice and retributive $ustice !or #$ustice as rectification#". See Aristotle, Aicomachean Bthics, translated by Martin Kswald !Indianapolis, *1.* reprint of *17+ first edition", 4oo3 @, pp. ***%*-,. bac -* % 0awls, Theory of )ustice, p. -,*. bac -+ % Ibid. p. -,+. The fact that the Arabic term, 'adl, connotes $ustice, fairness, ande/uity eliminates 0awls' problem of having to draw a le9ical distinction between $ustice and fairness. In Islam !as in Aristotle", one cannot say that $ustice is /ualitatively different from fairness, because they are essentially the same thing. bac -- % I&utsu, Sufism and Taoism, pp. *+*%*++. bac -5 % This passage could also be translated as< #Lour 8ord has written mercy upon (is own Spirit.# bac -2 % I&utsu, Sufism and Taoism, p. *++. This discussion is found in =usus al%(i3am. bac -7 % ;hittic3, Imaginal 6orlds, p. *2+. This passage is from =utuhat !I@ 7+.+-". bac -> % Ibid. p. *7-. The passage comes from =utuhat !I@ 5+*.-5". bac -. % Mohammad (ashim Iamali, rinciples of Islamic )urisprudence !;ambridge,*11*", pp. *-1%*5.. bac -1 % Sayyid Qutb, =i &ilal al%Qur'an !In the Shade of the Qur'an" !4eirut and ;airo,*1.,", pp. *++,%*+2,. A less severe perspective can be found in Abdur 0ahman I. Foi, Aon%Muslims under Shari'ah !Islamic 8aw" !8ahore, *1.*". bac 5, % This sub$ect is discussed in detail in A. Ievin 0einhardt, 4efore 0evelation< the 4oundaries of Muslim Moral Thought !Albany, Aew Lor3, *112". bac 5* % Abu al%'Abbas Ahmad Marru/, Qawa'id al%Tasawwuf !rinciples of Sufism", Bdited by Muhammad Muhri al%Aa$$ar and 'Ali Ma'bid =arghali !4eirut, *11+", p. .. bac