the origins of sufism
There is disagreement among religious scholars and Sufis themselves about the origins of Sufism. The traditional view is that Sufism is the mystical school of Islam and had its beginnings in the first centuries following the life of the Prophet Mohammed. Indeed, most Sufis in the world today are Muslim and many of them would consider a non-Islamic Sufism impossible.
There is another view, however, that traces the pre-Islamic roots of Sufism back through the early Christian mystics of Syria and Egypt, to the Essenes, the ancient Pythagorean orders, and the mystery schools of the Egyptians and Zoroastrians, among others. It is these roots that gathered into the trunk known as Islamic Sufism.
The Indian mystic, Sufi Inayat Khan (1882-1927), recognized the multi-religious roots of Sufism as well as its contemporary relevance for people of all faiths. When he was instructed by his teacher in 1910 to bring Sufism to the West he articulated a “message of spiritual liberty” which reflects the universal, inclusive nature of Sufism.
For a sample of texts describing the universality of Sufism, from Sufi Inayat Khan, Idries Shah, Robert Graves, Jelaludin Rumi, and Ibn al’Arabi, click here.
