Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 18.djvu/770

* SUFIISM. 668 STJFIISM. V.ie origin to Rabia al Adawiyya (752), a pious voman much spoken of in Sufiism. There seems to be listovic evidence to prove that, in spite of Moliammeirs precautions against mysti- cism, it originated with his favorite Ali. Those who maintain that Sufiism lias its origin in the Vedanta (q.v.) place it, of course, much further back in time. Despite certain analogues, as the Persian pir, or sage, who corresponds to the fpini. or teaclier, of India, who initiates the iieopliyte into the esoteric mysteries, there are many fundamental ditt'erences between the two systcins. Jlax Miiller (Gifi'ord Lectures of 18!)2), who only knew- Sufiism second hand, derives it from the Vedanta and quotes Sir William Jones, who knew less than himself, on its principal doctrines. Both overlook the fun- damental difi'erencp between the two. Sufiism is radically theistic and seldom swerves far from the Koran's intense belief in the One. The Vedanta is pantheistic with occasional theistic phraseol- ogy. The Sufiis are so strongly devoted to the Beloved (viz. God) that they look for Divinity everywhere and see Divinity any^vhere; the su- perficial observer therefore easily comes to regard the Sufis' love pantheistically, and coin- pares it with the Vedantic doctrine of absolute pantheism, svimmed up in the phrase tat tram asi, 'That (the Universal Spirit) thou art.' It may, however, be admitted that later Sufiism shows forms of expression very similar to Ve- danta. but also that no historic connection has been proved. It cannot be denied that the intel- lectual forms given to most of the Sufi doctrines in Persia are from foreign sources. Among his- toric forces which thus have molded Sufiism must be mentioned especially the Peripatetic philosophy. Neo-Platonism, and Zoroastrianism. The latter's formalism lent itself admirably to the Arabic intellect, and its doctrines of Light harmonized well with Sufiistic ascetic notions of the One. From Greek sources came dialectics and cosmological notions. The latter, though com- mon in Sufiism. are alien to its primitive nature. The Greek influence is traceable to the philoso- phers, Diogenes, Hermias, Eulalias, Priscian, Damascius. Isidore, and Simplicius, whom Jus- tinian's intolerance drove into exile and who came to Nushirwan's court. The rich symbolism of Sufiism is either of Zoroastrian origin or indigenous, except its Alexander legends. A few reall.v great Sufis lived before the close of the second century of the Hejira (815). Among them and those immediately after are to be mentioned the Eg-ptian Dhun-Xun (859), who introduced the doctrine of ecstasy and mystical stages; Sirri Sag"ati (8G7), who introduced unification; Junaid (010), who reduced Sufiism to writing; and Al-Nallaj, who became famous because he went about crying "I am the true One," for which he was put to death by torture (921). The Fihrist (987) represents him as a 'wily conjurer,' but Sufis consider his death the result of the workings of the occult law which brings death upon him who divulges divine secrets. Ghazali (q.v.) (d. 1111) and Jalal-ud-Din Rumi (q.v.) (d. 1273) were the two most famous Doctors in Sufiism. Omar Khavwam (d. 1123), reckoned by some as a Sufi, became known to the West through Fitz- GeraUl's brilliant quatrains. Nizami (q.v.), Farid-ud-Din Attar (q.v.), Sadi (q.v.), Shamsi, ILifiz (q.v.), Anvari, Jami (q.v.), and Hatifi (ij.v.) are subpoets of renown. Jami (d. 1492) has been called the last Sufi, and with some justice. After him Sufiism slowly declined, but the nineteenth century saw its powerful revival in Turkey, though its Turkish representative names are almost unknown out- side of Turkey. From Turkey and Egypt comes what may be called a Neo-Sufiism. Primitive Sufiism is not doctrinal; it is an 'experience,' a 'feeling of God,' a 'mystery of godliness,' and does not primarily have anything to do with the notions of the intellect. Within two hundred years from its origin, however, it assumed doctrinal forms and it remained set- tled in them, though it never gave up the main characteristics of its beginning. The two chief doctrines of Sufiism are that of the One (Ahad) and that of 'the Way to the One' itarJqat). A Sufi first of all endea'ors to realize that 'the One' is the only existence, that there is not only 'no god but God,' but that there is nothing but God. Next, he enters upon 'the journey to the rose-garden of Union.' The Sufi's belief is not pantheism in the Greek sense; he does not 'make everything God except God him- self;' on the contrary, everv'thing is naught ex- cept Divinity and it is Divinity that gives life to the dead Xon-Being. The world is a phantas- magory, and the time will come when it shall pass away. God's reason for creating the world is found in this saying: "I was a Hidden Treas- tire and I wished to be known, so I created Crea- tion that I might be loiouni." The form of crea- tion is not only truth and goodness, but also and essentially beauty. Sufis lay more stress upon the conception of Divinity as beauty than other mystics or religions. The Sufi 'way (o God' is similar to the well- known ideas on that subject among Western mystics. With the help of a guide, 'the traveler' ascends step by step to union with God or through awakening to regeneration and sanctifi- cation to union. The 'Way' is ascetic and full of occult practices, such as dances, silences, etc. All men may reach union. Every man is essentially both a niicrothcos and a iiticrocosmos, or, as Shamsi of Tabriz sings in echo of numerous other Sufis : "My place is in the Placeless ; my trace is in the Traceless." "I gazed into m.v own heart ; there I saw One." Sufi symbolism is a mystery and permeates the entire system of Sufiism. A symbol to a Sufi is not merely an object which stands for some other object or idea. For him every object has besides its owTi immediate signification also an ideal content, and it is this latter which is the real object of the Sufi's search. He finds it by means of Love {is(j). The object is to the ecstatic a vivid, instantaneous revelation of the inscrutable. Objects are therefore 'veils.' not veils that hide, but 'veils' that reveal the One. All Sufi poetry is written with a double sense and the initiates can read five others besides. The now comparatively well-known ghazels of Hafiz, Sadi, Jami. and others abound in 'veils.' which the Occidental calls voluptuous and bac- chanalian, but to the Sufi. Oriental as he is. they are not low or degraded, but simply descriptive of emotions or soul-life. As such they suggest to him deeper and more imiversal states of life. The embrace means discovery of the mysteries of Godhead; icine divine love and wisdom; a tavern