Best books about sufism according to redditors

We found 56 Reddit comments discussing the best books about sufism. We ranked the 32 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.

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Top Reddit comments about Sufism:

u/NeedToRegisterQuick · 29 pointsr/islam

19 year old Muslim at a Western University here. I'll be taking a year off for 2017 but I've still experienced two years of the lite university life.

I say lite because in comparison to you I commuted from home and really didn't end up going to any parties.

I've only went to two from what I remember, my Computer Science cohort's end of camp party and a close friend's 18th.

My close friend is Hindu with a lot of Muslim friends, so he kept it alcohol free and I definitely appreciated that.

Can't say the same thing about the end of camp party but I only got a few odd looks and comments, 'you don't drink?'

I know it seems hard right now. I know you might think the only way to make friends is by parties but it's definitely not.

You have to look with effort and genuinely entwine your hobbies, careers and interests with people to spark up a friendship.

I met good friends from classes, at the praying place, doing hackathons as a team and even doing projects together.

Not going to parties hasn't bothered me at all honestly. I advise you that you stop going to them and transition to more productive events. As a warning though, you are risking your faith by continually being in that environment.

I still am surrounded by alcohol during some events. I'm fine with it considering that it's the culture here. I just people I don't drink. I even make a few alcoholic references or jokes! Thanks to The Simpsons!

So it'll be fine. The Muslim event you went to, pleaaase stop thinking of everyone as hardcore religious Muslims - perhaps that's the problem.

The people there are just normal guys like you and me. Some consider themselves as gamers, others are sporty with soccer or cricket, a lot love movies and a little may hate movies.

So my point is to not think of it as a hardcore religious event if it's just a socialising one. Just chill, say Salam and open up a conversation. Perhaps a few friendships will be born that day.

Oh yeah, and of course which 19 year old doesn't think about sex.

A few tips with that would be to start researching on the nikkah and proper Islamic route to a relationship (marriage). This isn't to make you marry but to make you understand what the future can entail. And to realise the wisdom and advantages over conventional dating.

Try fasting, always lower your gaze, keep busy and cut off all masturbation. The latter not because it's Haram but it increases your chances of zina. A sexualised mind will often not lower its gaze.

Also, a recent thing that's been surprisingly helping is studying some Islamic philosophy and history. Al-Ghazali has the perfect book for you.

It's difficult, it really is. Especially in a sexually liberal place like college. However it'll be eventually worth it.

Let's all do dua for NW97.

u/EstacionEsperanza · 7 pointsr/islam

Hello person! I hope I can help you a bit here.
Just a warning, a lot of the answers you get will be tinted based on our own beliefs.

Overall, most Muslims are Sunni. Hanafi and Hanbali are actually 2 of the 4 main legal schools (fiqh) within Sunni Islam, along with Shafi and Maliki. I wouldn't compare these to Protestant sects because (AFAIK) the scholars from these 4 different schools of fiqh generally accept each other's validity. Although, I don't know if that's always been the case historically.

Sufism is difficult to define. I've heard different roots of the English word "sufi" but the one I hear the most is tasawwuf which is the science of purifying one's heart. Sufism isn't really a sect, like /u/Azeem259 says, Sunnis and Shias can be Sufis. It has to do with pursuing spiritual excellence, becoming close to God.

It's so diverse though and means a lot of different things to different people. There are traditional Sufi schools with teachers who follows chains of scholarship and worship that go back to the Prophet SAW. Some local sufi practices in some places are really iffy for other Muslims, like veneration of saints and their tombs. But again, that's some groups, that's not the heart of sufism. Sorry my thoughts about this are so scattered. There's a cool intro by William Chittick called Sufism: A Beginner's Guide.

Salafism (or Wahhabism if you want) is a school of thought (or rather, methodology) in Sunni Islam in which the practitioner strives to be as close to the Prophet SAW and his Companions in every aspect of his or her life. But even in this group, there's a lot of diversity. I don't want to talk too much about it, because I know very little, but Shaykh Yasir Qadhi wrote a paper on it.

u/crapador_dali · 6 pointsr/islam
u/costofanarchy · 6 pointsr/shia

Here's a list of the key books in the field that I'm familiar with (by name and general contents, I've only actually read a few of them). I'm mainly focusing on what is relevant to the study of Twelver Shi'ism; there aren't many English language books on Zaidism, as far as I'm aware, and for Isma'ilism you can start with the works of Farhad Daftary.

I'll start with important works providing an overview of the area, and then give a rough breakdown by "era" (I may be a bit off regarding the era, and many of these books straddle two or more eras, so be warned). This list does not emphasize geographic studies of Shi'ism in various areas and countries, and rather traces the "core narrative" of the development of Shi'i intellectual history, which is typically thought of as happening in what is now modern day Iran, Iraq, and (especially in the post-Mongol/pre-Safavid era) Lebanon, and to a lesser extent in Bahrain. Once you've read the initial works, you should have a good idea about what's going on in each era, and you can pick and choose what to read based on your interests.

If you have no background in general Islamic history, you should first pick up a book on that subject. Tamim Ansary's Destiny Disrupted is an accessible non-academic book on general Islamic history (with an entertaining audiobook read by the author). If you want something heavier and more academic, Marshall G.S. Hodgson's The Venture of Islam is the classic three-volume reference in the field of Islamic studies, although it's a bit dated, especially in the third volume (covering the so-called "Gunpowder Empires"). Note that the standard introductory text on Shi'ism has long been Moojan Momen's book An Introduction to Shi'i Islam: The History and Doctrines of Twelver Shi'ism, but this book is now a bit dated. Heinz Halm also has some surveys, but I'm less familiar with these; likewise for the surveys of Farhad Daftary (who is better known for his work on Isma'ilism than general Shi'ism).

Surveys, Background, and Introduction

u/uwootm8 · 6 pointsr/islam

If you like alchemy of happiness you will want anything from the Ihya which is a lot more in-depth.

You want high quality translations. These are done by the islamic texts society:

http://www.its.org.uk/product-category/the-ghazali-series/

They're quite good, but pricey, raid your local library.

I want to read this book:

"Deliverance from error"

http://www.amazon.com/Al-Ghazalis-Path-Sufism-Deliverance-al-Munqidh/dp/1887752307/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1415351661&sr=1-2

I feel like I identify with Al-Ghazali on a small scale. This is his autobiography.

BTW. He has books on philosophy and logic as well as theology. This is what he is famous for as well. Those works are very abstract in their nature but if you are interested his work "Moderation in Belief" was translated very well.

EDIT: Also, hamza yusuf has translated his "marvels of the heart" Check that out too, because hamza yusuf is awesome.

u/arguingtruth · 5 pointsr/islam

Imam al-Ghazali's Moderation in Belief, tr. Aladdin M. Yaqub.

The book is essentially about proving Islam (and Sunni orthodoxy) on the basis of reason (as well as revelation), so it goes through an argument for the existence of God, and His attributes, and the relation of His attributes to His essence, it goes through various deviant sects of Islam and refutes their beliefs, it goes through proofs for the Prophethood of Muhammad (peace and blessings of God be upon him), and so on.

The translation I think is really good, at times Imam al-Ghazali is a bit unclear but the translator has excellent notes that expands upon the arguments made, and sometimes the translator formalizes some of the arguments al-Ghazali makes, making it much more understandable.

u/mostradamus · 5 pointsr/NoFap

Ghazali had some great work, a book I'd highly recommend to Muslims and nonmuslims would be "Disciplining the Soul and Breaking the Two Desires". The two desires he details are gluttony and sexual desire, before reading the book I'd never thought of the two as intertwined. Here's an amazon link for anyone interested: http://www.amazon.com/Disciplining-Soul-Breaking-Two-Desires/dp/0946621438/ref=pd_cp_b_0

u/MesutEfendi · 5 pointsr/progressive_islam

Read Fritzhof Schuon's "Understanding Islam" for a look at how normal Muslims experience their religion. It has a much different feeling than the boring bland stuff you are presented with by the usual proseletyzers.

http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Islam-Translation-Selected-Writings/dp/1935493906/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1412524954&sr=8-2&keywords=understanding+islam+schuon

If you want to learn about the deeper, more mystical teachings of Sufism, Annemarie Schimmel's "Mystical Dimensions of Islam" is great. She was a teacher at Ankara University, in the Turkish capitol, and a very respected academic in this field. The book itself is very enjoyable.
Here is a free PDF: http://www.fatuma.net/text/schimmel.pdf
And here is an amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Mystical-Dimensions-Islam-Annemarie-Schimmel/dp/0807812714

I wish both of you all the best.


u/slabbb- · 4 pointsr/occult

A couple of books on the more scholarly side; Sufism and Taoism and Mystical Dimensions of Islam are good, if somewhat deep and dense, and useful, orienting. The works of Henry Corbin, such as Spiritual Body and Celestial Earth and Alone With the Alone: Creative Imagination in the Sufism of Ibn Arabi, are illuminating. Look into the Sufi mystics themselves as much as commentary, there should be a list somewhere online but Ibn Arabi, Suhrawardi, Jabir Ibn Hayan ('Geber'),Avicenna and Hallaj as well as the more well known Rumi come to mind. Your best bet if you really want to learn about Sufism is to take up instruction under a Shaykh in an order. Depending on where you are there is possibly a local order you could attend meditations and classes with?

u/bokertovelijah · 4 pointsr/islam

Mashallah, the author is my really good friend, Allah preserve him. He currently teaches at Zaytuna and has a book on Mullah Sadra

u/Oliver_Hart · 3 pointsr/islam

Wow, talk about a wild assumption and attack.

Firstly, I suggest you read this book to get an idea of the philosophy behind belief in monotheist deity. Now theologically, the book discusses from the perspective of Islam, as the main tenant is the belief in the oneness of God.

​

Now as for me, I came to the conclusion that it is more rational to believe that there is a creator/force/deity/god, whatever you want to call it, for existence as we know it. This assumes that we humans are limited in our scope and knowledge. Meaning we can forever expand our knowledge, but we cannot ever understand beyond what we can empirically measure in some form or manner.

​

So from what we already know as humans is that infinite regress cannot be a reality. There needs to be an origin to everything (this is the basis to the big bang theory and even to an extent evolution (since creatures cannot spontaneously come into existence)). Personally, it is more rational to believe in a creator that commanded and willed the progression of what we know than it is to believe that a series of multiple random occurrences led to where we are today. Whether God or random occurrences, both are not supported with empirical evidence, so at worst you can say the likeliness of either is equal.

​

Now I chose to believe it was God and not random. I base this belief on the validity of the Qur'an. Reading it, reflecting upon it, and making an honest attempt to understand it has brought me to a point where I sincerely believe this is from something that is beyond our knowledge. It is from beyond our knowledge because of the knowledge we do have as humans, that we have obtained whether in the hard sciences and social sciences, it has only strengthened the position of the Qur'an.

​

Another worthy read is this book by Imam Ghazali as it really dives into the part of us that we ignore. I believe that to strengthen one's heart, it needs something just as our body needs food/water/exercise and our mind needs activity like reading and writing, our heart needs something too. Whether it's yoga, meditation, prayer, or whatever, it definitely needs something. I choose Islam because I feel it has the most balanced approach for everything I mentioned. It's moderate in it's rituals and it's moderate in it's practice.

​

Peace be with you.

u/ruach137 · 3 pointsr/IWantToLearn

Absolutely, Shah is amazing.
My recommendations are Learning How to Learnand Caravan of dreams.

But, The Sufis is probably a better introduction.

u/akaanb · 3 pointsr/Sufism

Would you become a doctor by just reading books? Would you be able to make a surgery?The answer is clear. It is the same for us. We can read Qur'an. But we need a person to make us understand how to build our lifes on Qur'an. You can try to destroy your ego. But without guidance you would completely lost your path. They are the candles who enlighten and show us the path. You can try to do everything Rumi told. But you would find yourself at lost. Because Rumi didn't become Rumi in a day.Also, Before fana fi rasool, you need to annihilate yourself in your Sheikh and then your Pir(Turkish word). Fana fi rasool comes after these two. First, you need to annihilate yourself in your teacher(who shows you the path). Then you need to annihilate yourself in the people who started that path which your teacher teaches to you. After that you need to annihilate yourself in the Prophet whom all paths lead you to. After that you need to annihilate yourself in Allah.

In İslam, there is a path to Allah as much as the numbers of the people who lived. But why do we have different paths? Because we are different from each other in many ways and we should go from the path that is the easiest and best for every one of us.

How do we decide on who is the teacher? Why is Prophet is much more important from others?In İslam, you can think all of us as cups. Some cups are much bigger than others. Or you can think of as mirrors. As we clean ourselves from ego all of them would show us the sun but the sizes of mirrors and their shapes are different from each other(same for the cups). Some might show only a finger tip and some might be huge. The teacher is the person who fullfilled his/her cup or cleaned his/her mirror no matter how his/her cup or mirror is. Because only the one who fullfilled can overflow to the other cups. Teacher also should know the type of my mirror/cup because if I am not from his/her type than he shouldn't let me go with that teacher's path and he should advise me to find another path.The prophet Muhammed(Peace bu upon him) has the biggest and the most beautiful cup/mirror among all of us. And every water that comes to our cup is the ones being overflowed by his cup because he takes it from the source. Rumi also has really big cup and his cup is fullfilled and overflows. Your teacher's cup also fullfilled and he takes from the ones overflowed from Rumi's and then same water overflows from his cup and comes to you.You might have a huge potential but if your cup isn't fullfilled than you still have a long way to go. Someone else might have a little cup but if his cup overflows he can teach others. My teacher's cup might be smaller than mine but it doesn't matter if mine isn't fullfilled.Let's explain it a little more. In sufism, there are ways like Mevlevi(Rumi's Path), Naqshi(Naqshibendi's Path), Qadiri(Abdulqadir's Path) and many others. These people are who had huge potentials and fullfilled it. They also had teachers so why do they have a new name for their paths? You might think of it as an answer for what happens if someone have a bigger cup than his teacher or the founder of the pathe he followed.

To explain fana fillah, I will use something I read from Rumi. Let's assume I poured a 1 kg honey into the sea. If we were to weight it we would find that sea has 1 more kg than it was. But would that 1 kg honey really make any difference in sea? No, because it is nothing when we compare it with sea. That is how it is. For fana fillah, you need to do as the prophet said "Die before your death". You need to love Allah so much that you wouldn't able to see yourself anymore. You can think of it as a lover who only sings and talks about his loved one and don't aware of about what he wears or how he seems or how he is anymore. Everything would remember his love to him. He would see his love in everywhere he looks so much that he doesn't see anything else anymore. That is how it is. After fana fillah, there is beka billah. That means finding life with Allah. I guess it is probably what happens when that honey's atoms spread everywhere of that sea. But these things are not simple knowledge. These things are in front of us but we would be able to understand them only when we are able to understand and live according to it. And when you are at there and you have questions. To understand really well and find answers you need to read the books of these people like Rumi, Abdul Qadir Al Gaylani or Ahmad Sirhindi or other well known scholars. Because you might not know if what comes to your mind is right or wrong. You might think you understood Rumi but you might end up in a completely wrong understanding with his understanding. Therefore you need to read and understand if what you understand from "fana fillah" is the same thing with them who already show the path os is it just the devil's whispering.

It was a long answer, I hope I didn't try to answer a question that I am not capable of giving a proper answer. I think if you want to understand sufism really well, your best bet would be learning Turkish or Arabic. I am a Turkish person and we have Sharhs of Rumi's Mesnevis and well-known Turkish Sufi scholars wrote them. No one translated these huge explainings to English yet. I have only found this one little one that is translated to the English. Normally, We have Ottoman-Turkish well known Sufis who wrote these. But these huge books definitely won't be translated in the near future because we don't have that much people who can do this. You can think of the difference as a direct translation of Qur'an and interpretation of Qur'an. There is quite big difference between reading direct translations of Mesnevi and Sharh-i Mesnevis.

u/monk123 · 3 pointsr/Sufism

Hi Jay. Haven't read either of those books. I am a fan of Martin Lings, having read his biography of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). He also wrote a book entitled What is Sufism? that seems to be highly regarded.

u/fschmidt · 2 pointsr/ScriptureDiscussion

> New scenarios pop up all the time and religion can't have specific answers for all of them. That is why there are jurisprudential principles that help scholars come to new rulings on new things based on the spirit and principles of islam.

They can try, but often they are wrong, that's all.

> I don't understand your question. Do you think homosexuality doesn't harm others? What things do you think don't harm others? I need examples.

Yes homosexuality doesn't harm others. Other examples would include not praying, eating pork, drinking alcohol, taking drugs, and not keeping holidays like Ramadan. These are victimless crimes.

> I have no idea what you're talking about concerning ezra. Do you mean that your post insult ezra and the muslim forum censored it because they don't like the insults?

There is a difference betwen criticism and insults, a difference that many Muslims fail to recognize. Ibn Hazm, an Andalusian Muslim scholar, explicitly accused Ezra of being a liar and a heretic who falsified and added interpolations into the Biblical text. This is a criticism. The Muslim forum censored it because they don't like free speech/thought.

> Concerning free speech, what I know is that it should have boundaries. Where those are, I'll have to think about it.

Here is something to think about:

http://www.mikraite.org/Freedom-of-Speech-tp1915.html

Regarding Al-Ghazali, I don't read Arabic so I read Path to Sufism: His Deliverance from Error (al-Munqidh min al-Dalal) and my opinion is based on that.

> Why did you come up with that? Why do you think that's enough? From the POV of islam, the one true god requires far more than what you're doing in beliefs and practice. Are you not concerned that it might be the truth and you're overlooking it?

I was raised as an atheist. So switching to the Old Testament was a big change. But it didn't require me to give up skepticism, so it works well for me. I don't believe in truth in Plato's sense, so I am not concerned about this. I consider both the Old Testament and Islam to be valid paths, but the Old Testament works better for me and Islam works better for most other people.

> Without an afterlife then there is no point in living or waging a culture war as you're doing. It's all pointless then, so why keep on living or acting righteously?

The Old Testament promise is success for one's descendants, not an afterlife. This view is strongly compatible with evolution which I believe in. The idea that my genes, genes for intelligence and morality, will be wiped out and replaced by the genes of evil morons in the future horrifies me. So I will do what I can to prevent this.

> Why is 2:2 problematic?

2:2 asks for certainty and I doubt everything by my nature.

u/jokeinateacozy · 2 pointsr/islam
u/azrailmewto · 2 pointsr/Sufism

I think it depends highly from which perspective you are looking into it:

If you are a conservative muslim and you are searching legitimization/answers to questions and how sufism is related to traditional understandings of Islam, do not look further than: "Realities of Sufism", by Sunnipubs.

If you are not like that, but you are in search of a good introduction, not overwhelming, not too technical, then I'd say go with William C. Chitticks Sufism - A Beginner's Guide.

u/ThatcherMilkSnatcher · 2 pointsr/islam

As someone mentioned the Ihya to you, I thought I would link a place where you can buy it on amazon.

The Marvels of the Heart: Science of the Spirit (Ihya Ulum Al-Din/ The Revival of the Religious Sciences)

I should note, the thing I linked is only a part of the whole book.

There is also the Kimiya-yi Sa'adat, which is " The Alchemy of Happiness" which you can buy here.

someone made a few short youtube videos with lessons from "The Alchemy of Happiness" where you can take a look at here.

u/fhumayun · 2 pointsr/Sufism

@Chajz - you appear to be most suited to investigate Universal Sufism that is welcoming of non-Islamic inquiries.

I'd recommend you check out the works of Robert Frager, PhD.
http://www.seekeraftertruth.com/spiritual-guidance-in-the-sufi-tradition-robert-frager/

https://www.amazon.com/Sufi-Talks-Teachings-American-Sheihk-ebook/dp/B00SKF0VB0/ref=sr_1_4?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1524833572&sr=1-4&keywords=robert+frager

Robert is an American Sufi Sheikh from a Jewish Background.
Also if anyone replying here cannot identify themselves as a Sufi initiate, Sheikh, or representative of a particular Sufi school of thought, it's best to take their responses to your inquiry with a grain of salt.

All the best to you.

u/tReP2pHu · 2 pointsr/islam

Abdul-Haleem's translation of the Quran is very good. He also wrote a good companion book "Understanding the Quran: Themes and styles" which I also recommend. If you prefer something a bit more archaic and poetic, I really like the Arberry "Koran Interpreted". You can get Arberry's (and many other translations) here: http://arthursbookshelf.com/koran/koran.html

As for Sufism, some of the best books, in my opinion, are:

Lings, Martin. What is Sufism?
http://www.amazon.com/What-Sufism-Islamic-Texts-Society/dp/0946621411/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1335349461&sr=1-1

Helminski, Camille Adams. Women of Sufism: a Hidden Treasure
http://www.amazon.com/Women-Sufism-A-Hidden-Treasure/dp/1570629676/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1335349480&sr=1-1


A practical guide for diseases of the heart:

Yusuf, Hamza (tr). Purification of the Heart
http://www.amazon.com/Purification-Heart-Symptoms-Spiritual-Diseases/dp/1929694156/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1335349415&sr=1-1

Something more academic but fascinating. You might consider this if you want to really get into the guts of things:

http://www.amazon.com/Sufism-Theology-Ayman-Shihadeh/dp/0748626050



u/Basilides · 2 pointsr/DebateReligion

>Well, if you're going to ignore all Christian beliefs besides the "greatest hits" then please call that out.

I do. Often. Do you think I should make it a signature thingie on all of my posts?

> I'm usually much more interested in the deeper thought and reasoning and what kind of religion that tends to create. Universalism, Quakers, Sufis, Kabbalists, Gnostics, the many esoteric/initiatory traditions of Hinduism, etc. These are the sorts of religious beliefs that I think are worthy of deeper debate and discussion.

That's great. One of my favorite books is ["The Sufis" by Idries Shah](
http://www.amazon.com/The-Sufis-Idries-Shah/dp/0385079664). But the topic is Christianity.

>That's not a false dichotomy. At best it's a failure to include larger swaths of mainstream Christians, but the dichotomy is very real.

OK. It's a false dichotomy in that it fails to include larger swaths of mainstream Christians.

"Without demolishing religious schools (madrassahs) and minarets and without abandoning the beliefs and ideas of the medieval age, restriction in thoughts and pains in conscience will not end. Without understanding that unbelief is a kind of religion, and that conservative religious belief a kind of disbelief, and without showing tolerance to opposite ideas, one cannot succeed."

  • Rumi

    "The truly religious man does not embrace a religion; and he who embraces one has no religion."

  • Kahlil Gibran
u/[deleted] · 2 pointsr/islam

Imam Al-Ghazali's Disciplining the Soul and on Breaking the Two Desires: Books XXII and XXIII of the Revival of the Religious Sciences. Translated by Sk. Abdal Hakim Murad (T.J. Winter) is an absolute must read for everyone!

It deals with how one can discipline oneself to become and better muslims and how to break the desires of the stomach and the genitals to overcome oneself and get in control of these two desires. According to Imam Al-Ghazali these two are the strongest desires of the human being and once a person learns to control these two desires, then he can control all other desires as they all stem from these two desires.

Amazon link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Al-Ghazali-Disciplining-Soul-Breaking-Desires/dp/0946621438/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1375134618&sr=8-2&keywords=al+ghazali

u/asimz · 1 pointr/islam

> I love how you worded that, masha'Allah.

Alhamdulillah. I wrote completely different at first, and was about to just give up lol cuz I didn't like it, but decided to rewrite to see if I could up with anything better.
>
Do you get there by just practicing tawakkal as well as fulfilling your obligations?

To rephrase, I'm assuming you are basically asking, "how I do obtain the mere desire to love God?" Basically, this comes after a lot of self-reflection. For me, it was the profound emptiness I felt after indulging in aspects of life, such as music, food, entertainment, and etc. At the end of each of these activities, there was always a spurt of excitement, which was then always followed by emptiness, dissatisfaction, and side effects (such as headaches, stomach ache). I tried to fill this emptiness by repeating and indulging more, which became cyclic. I realized I was not getting anywhere (and subhanallah it is mentioned in Surah Takwir فَأَيْنَ تَذْهَبُونَ - so where are you going?) and I was left with a vacuum in my heart. I realized I was trying to fill a permanent emptiness with temporary things. Alhamdulillah I have always been a practicing Muslim due to my upbringing and Allah's mercy, and I realized that only through prayer, reciting Quran, and etc. (which was a huge struggle, as it was not really "fun" in the beginning) was I able to not only feel satisfied, but the immediate and lasting effects were marked with felicity without any of the negative side effects that is felt when indulging in worldly desires. And this is what is called "tasting the sweetness of faith." Once you taste it, nothing else can satiate your appetite.
>
الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَتَطْمَئِنُّ قُلُوبُهُم بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ ۗ أَلَا بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ الْقُلُوبُ

"Those who believe, and whose hearts find satisfaction in the remembrance of Allah: for without doubt in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find satisfaction.

Now the path to loving God is a long and arduous journey, but Allah makes it easier for us, as He says in a hadith qudsi, "if my servant comes to me step by step, I come to him running." Based on my experience, the journey first starts with fulfilling your obligations and abstaining from the haram. Then you move on to the next level of difficulty: purging yourself from the love of yourself and desires, which is called the concupiscent desires. The Quran talks about the righteous/pious people are those who spend though they love their wealth, they get up in the night though they love sleep, and etc. Once you overcome love of yourself out of love of God, then you move on to the last stage, which I have yet to experience and therefore is where my explanation comes to a halt. If you want to know more about this path, I recommend you read Al-Ghazzali's Kitab al-mahabba (https://www.amazon.com/Al-Ghazali-Longing-Intimacy-Contentment-Ghazali/dp/1903682274)

I hope I did not tangent too much and hopefully answered your question somewhere in there lol.

u/jgreen44 · 1 pointr/atheism

>The reason I used the term “leap of faith” is because I believe rational investigation into the unknown demands it.

Therefore, any atheist who has reached a conclusion based upon their rational investigation into the unknown has made a leap of faith.

>we should not claim absolutism.

Atheism is an absolutist claim. Theism is an absolutist claim. The claim that we should not claim an absolutist claim is an absolutist claim.

I am not a Sufi. I said my position is "greatly informed" by Sufism. Specifically, what I was referring to was Sufism as described in a book called called The Sufis
by Idries Shah.

I don't know anything about tree-hugging and I am not affiliated with any person or group who call themselves "Sufis". As Woody Allen said, "I would not join any club that would have me as a member."


u/jsudekum · 1 pointr/occult

To be clear, there is absolutely no evidence that chakras are literal points of the body. They are imaginary symbols, but that doesn't mean they aren't real.

Since they are symbols, interpretations vary wildly. To quote Henry Corbin, "a symbol is never 'explained' once and for all, but must be deciphered over and over again, just as a musical score is never deciphered once and for all, but calls for ever new execution." (from Alone with the Alone, his dense academic work on Ibn Arabi's Sufism)

So, since there's no central authority defining what these symbols mean, consider everything you read merely as guidelines. Here's a video I uploaded for you of Joseph Campbell's thoughts on the subject. Of course, he conflates Hindu and Tibetan Buddhist ideas to fit his Jungian interpretation, but that doesn't mean he's wrong.

In the West, we have the tendency to interpret the "subtle body" as something like the Christian soul, thus making the whole Kundalini system very literal, inevitably leading to woo like new age chakra stones. Another interpretation (which I feel is closer to the Eastern) is that the subtle body is the mind/ego. So, consider chakras from this psychological perspective and ask yourself, "how am I attached to my fear, sexual desire, ambition, personal relationships, etc.?" Using this method, kundalini becomes a practical cognitive tool for self-awareness.

An interesting side-note: neuropsychologists are building fascinating models of the brain's relationship to other parts of the body. Here's a New Scientist article from a couple of years ago that talks about how what we call the "brain" is more than just the cerebrum. It seems like the ancients had an intuitive understanding of this.

In conclusion, I strongly suggest avoiding chakra and Reiki healers who promise to improve your "prana flow" for a nominal fee. None of their claims are based on true science. Relying on such healers for serious medical conditions can be dangerous and even fatal. In the very least, it's expensive. Every bit of wisdom and insight is already within you, so journey through the vast landscape of your own consciousness blissfully.

u/The_Hermione_Granger · 1 pointr/islam

Practically implementing them in your life, the easiest being in duas, really helps. Take ten Names (preferably in order), learn about their meanings, and then write a dua associated with the name. Use them in duas.

> Yet this Name has another dimension: al-Jabbar is the One who is able to restore and mend what is broken. Some of the great scholars would supplicate “Ya Jaabir kul kaseer” when they were faced with overwhelming difficulty, meaning “Oh You who mends everything that is broken.” The Arabic word for a splint that is used to help an arm heal when it is broken is “jibeera” from the same root ja-ba-ra. Thus, when we feel broken, we need to go to the only One who can mend our state–al-Jabbar. Sometimes when we get this broken feeling, shaytan (satan) tells us not to go to Allah because we are being hypocritical by only going to Allah when we are down. Yet this is untrue– Allah has named Himself al-Jabbar and given Himself this attribute; you cannot go to the One whose attribute is mending what is broken, and not be healed by Him.

This is a pretty good book on Allah's names, their meanings, and how we can implement them in our lives.

u/Roosevelt_Franklin · 1 pointr/IAmA

> Sufism is definitely not a Shi'a sect.

Schimmel says otherwise.

u/winnie_the_slayer · 1 pointr/atheism

I really enjoyed the book her father wrote. Never heard about his daughter, what a story.

u/Koolaidolio · 1 pointr/worldnews

By default they have to attach themselves to doctrinal Islam, it is the same that Tantric Aghoris in India attach themselves to Hinduism, it's all about where you are coming from Geographically and socially.

I take it your knowledge of Islam stems from the internet which is a double edged sword, one of the best books i have come across about Islam is this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Islam-Frithjof-Schuon/dp/0941532240
And for Sufism:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Mystics-Islam-Reynold-Nicholson/dp/0941532488

I highly recommend you seek out knowledge on what Islam is. Your talk about "I don't want there to be more Muslims in the world" worries me, it sounds very similar to what the "opposition" would say.
It only takes an idea to grow from a seed to a full blown plant.
Peace

u/Nefandi · 1 pointr/worldnews

>Your talk about "I don't want there to be more Muslims in the world" worries me

I think the Abrahamic doctrines are all obsolete. And of them Islam seems to be the most pernicious one.

My intent is to wake people up to this fact. I hope people start to change their minds and either leave Islam behind, or at least soften and modernize their stance the same way Christians had to do in the past. I don't want to hurt human beings, but I do want them to stop believing harmful beliefs, and Islamic doctrine contains a number of harmful beliefs.

I don't go around explaining problems in Islam for no reason. I have better things to do. But if some dumb shit happens and it is related to Muslims, you can bet I will speak up about it from time to time. And I hope if I don't, someone else does. We can't let this insanity continue.

I don't like wars and violence, but I also realize some beliefs drive people toward hostilities. If not hostilities toward other believers, then hostilities toward women, sexual minorities, and so on. I'm not going to just sit here and say nothing. Don't even think about that.

So if you are worried, I hope what you fear is not me, because all I do is shine the light of truth on Islam. And you shouldn't fear truth. What you should worry about is the shit in the Islamic doctrine. You should also worry about what your Muslim "brothers and sisters" do and believe. Things like that. That would be a legitimate worry. Because if Islam stood in the light of truth, it wouldn't be possible to criticize it. The reason it's so easy to criticize Islam is because Islam, as a doctrine, stands in the shadows of ignorance. That's something that should worry you.

>And for Sufism: http://www.amazon.com/The-Mystics-Islam-Reynold-Nicholson/dp/0941532488

I have two books about Rumi on my bookshelf, as well as another, more generic book on Sufism.

>I highly recommend you seek out knowledge on what Islam is.

I've heard that before. ;)

u/Shadowblade34 · 1 pointr/islam

Amazon?

Here's UK and here's USA

or from Firdous Books

u/Mpek3 · 1 pointr/islam

It's not easy but it's part of the test. Remember Allah is aware of Everything you do. I'd recommend reading books such as Controlling your Desires by imam Ghazali.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Al-Ghazali-Disciplining-Soul-Breaking-Desires/dp/0946621438

Or something like this to increase your connection with Allah.
http://www.khanqah.co.za/pdf/connection_with_allah.pdf

Not sure about your personal situation but is marriage an option?

Personally for me it would be a combination of not even letting the thoughts enter my mind (seeking refuge from shaytan) combining with some dhikr.

Also, try to attend congrational prayers and dhikr, as being around others with the same focus can strengthen the heart.

Ultimately pray that Allah gives you the strength to persevere.