Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mrs. Rawbone, and I'm your RE teacher for today.

We are going to be doing a lesson on Sufism and connecting with Allah.

In today's lesson, you will be able to explain how Sufis connect with Allah and why some Muslims would say that knowledge cannot be gained through Sufi mysticism.

Some key words that we'll be using today are Allah, ma'rifah, mysticism, and Sufism.

Now, the word Allah is the Arabic word for God, and it literally means the God.

Ma'rifah is a word used mainly by Sufi Muslims to describe a deep personal knowledge of Allah that comes from spiritual experiences.

Mysticism is a way of experiencing and connecting with Allah through personal inner experiences.

And Sufism is a mystical approach in Islam that focuses on achieving ma'rifah, which is true knowledge of Allah, through a deep personal connection with him.

Our lesson today will form two parts.

We'll be looking at understanding Sufism, and Sufism and knowledge of Allah.

So, let's get started on understanding Sufism.

Philosophers are academics and thinkers who study ultimate questions about existence, knowledge, ethics, and reality, using logic to explore these topics.

Whether you have a religious or a non-religious worldview, you can still use philosophy as a tool to understand the arguments that others use to support their views.

In this lesson, we will consider Sufi thought on where knowledge comes from and compare this with philosophical theories about the sources of knowledge.

Now, Sufism is a mystical approach in Islam that focuses on achieving ma'rifah, true knowledge of Allah, through a deep personal connection with him.

The word Sufism is from Arabic.

And the root meaning, Sufi, is derived from the word suf, meaning wool.

And this term originally referred to the simple woollen garments worn by early Muslim mystics, and this symbolised their ascetic lifestyles.

Now, an ascetic lifestyle is a lifestyle where someone lives in the most basic way possible.

So, they don't wear fancy clothing, they don't dress up, they use the basic materials, and they eat the basic food in order to focus on something more important, like their spirituality.

So, the very first Sufis wore woollen clothing, which represented the fact that they were really focusing more on the spiritual than the material.

Sufism, as a Muslim worldview, became popular in the 8th and 9th centuries, and it was a response to materialism.

So, at the time, people were becoming very interested in what they owned, in their possessions, in things, and Sufism was a retaliation against that.

It is a mystical tradition within both Sunni and Shia Islam, and it's not a separate branch.

So, we have Islam as a religion which split quite early after the death of Mohammed into two branches, developing as time went on, and we have Sunni, which is 85 to 90% of Muslims, and Shia, which is 10 to 15% of Muslims. Now, Sufis do not form a separate branch.

You can find Sufi Muslims within both Sunni and both Shia Islam, and Sufis account for about 10 to 15% of Muslims. Remember, they don't match with either of those traditions.

They are, if you like, a separate tradition within both the others.

Mysticism is a way of seeking a personal connection with a higher power, and you get mysticism in most of the world religions.

And the way people seek their knowledge of that higher power is through spiritual experiences that often go beyond the ordinary, everyday understanding.

The word mysticism comes from Ancient Greek.

The original word, the root word, is mystikos, which literally means mysterious or secret, originally from the word mystes, which refers to a person initiated into secret religious rites.

So, it has that element of being something kind of different and beyond our everyday understanding.

Let's check your understanding so far on what we've learned.

Is this statement true or false? Mysticism is the practise of seeking a deep personal connection with a higher power through spiritual experiences.

Take a moment to decide whether it's true or false.

Make a note, pause the video if you need to, have a think about the reason for your answer as well, and then come back to me.

Well done if you put true.

Let's have a think about why.

Mysticism seeks a deep personal connection with a higher power through direct spiritual experiences.

So, people themselves are looking to connect, not just connecting through reading a book or going to a religious ceremony, but actually having that personal connection.

Dhikr is an Arabic word that means remembrance of Allah.

And for Sufis, it is a deeply spiritual practise involving rhythmic chanting, breath control, and sometimes movement, and it's aimed at purifying the heart and achieving knowledge of Allah.

So, it's the very specific practise that Sufi Muslims use to connect with Allah in that mystical sense.

Often, they will use beads called tasbih for counting repetitions of sacred phrases.

And sometimes these beads will have 33 beads on them.

Sometimes there'll be 99.

And it can vary exactly how it's done.

But beads are generally something that used to help with the concentration and the focus.

Sema is a form of dhikr practised by the Mevlevi order of Sufism, who are known as the Whirling Dervishes.

The dance symbolises the soul's journey towards Allah.

Whilst whirling, participants often chant sacred phrases or focus inwardly on Allah.

Here we can see some men performing the dance.

They spin rhythmically with the right hand pointing to Allah and the left to the earth.

This creates a connection between heaven and earth, and the spinning induces a meditative state, helping them to focus on Allah.

Let's check your understanding.

Which of the following ways of knowing Allah in Islam is specific to Sufism? So, in other word, which is something that only Sufi Muslims would engage in? In picture A, we have someone with his head bowed right down to the ground, performing what looks like Salah.

In picture B, we have someone who is in white robes and whose hands look ready to kind of poise.

He looks ready to turn and to move.

And in picture C, we have someone following the words of the Qur'an.

So, take a moment, decide whether A, B, or C represents something that is specific to Sufis.

Jot down your answer, pause if you need to, and come back when you are ready.

Well done if you put B.

Here is someone about to perform Sema, which is the dance performed by the Whirling Dervishes.

So, let's practise our understanding on Sufism.

I'd like you to use our learning from this lesson to complete each of the sentences below.

Sufism is.

Dhikr, a key practise in Sufism, means.

Dhikr involves.

One distinctive practise in Sufism which involves physical movement is.

Sufi practises like dhikr and whirling aim to.

And, through these practises, Sufis believe they can gain.

So, take your time, think about what you've learned today, and write down your six sentences.

Pause the video and come back when you are ready to check your work.

So, let's have a look at what you could have said.

Sufism is Islamic mysticism that focuses on a personal connection with Allah.

Dhikr, a key practise in Sufism, means remembrance of Allah.

Dhikr involves repeating sacred words or phrases.

One distinctive practise in Sufism which involves physical movement is whirling, where participants spin around in circles.

Sufi practises like dhikr and whirling aim to help Sufis connect with Allah.

And through these practises, Sufis believe they can gain personal knowledge of Allah, ma'rifah.

Well done if you have mentioned the word mysticism, if you've used the word Allah, if you've remembered about the repeating of words, about the whirling, and, really importantly, if you've remembered about gaining personal knowledge, ma'rifah.

So, let's move on to the second part of our lesson, and we're going to be looking at Sufism and knowledge of Allah.

The main form of Sufi writings is poetry which uses symbols and stories to explore spiritual ideas.

Rabia and Rumi are two famous Sufi poets.

Rabia al-Adawiyya was born around 717 CE in Basra, in modern-day Iraq.

And Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi was born in 1207 CE and lived until 1273 CE in Konya, which is modern-day Turkey.

This quotation is attributed to Rabia and tells us something about how she gained true knowledge of Allah, ma'rifah.

She writes, "I have seen my Lord with the eye of my heart, and he has guided me to the truth." We can see the word eye is important here.

Allah can be seen through love, not physical sight.

Guided is also important.

Allah is the one who leads people to knowledge of him.

And then we have truth.

Rabia believes that she can gain ultimate understanding of Allah.

This quotation is attributed to Rumi and tells us something about what he thought was the best way to gain true knowledge of Allah, or ma'rifah.

He wrote, "Don't get lost in cleverness; the heart is the path to Allah." We can see the word cleverness here.

Thinking too much, according to Rumi, can distract from knowing Allah.

The word heart is also important.

It's love and honesty that matters more than cleverness.

We have the word path as well.

So, knowing Allah is like a journey, and Rumi would say it is guided by the heart.

Sufism emphasises that ma'rifah is gained through the heart.

Rabia wrote, "I have seen my Lord with the eye of my heart, and he has guided me to the truth." So, that word heart reminds us about love and the connection with Allah through feeling.

And Rumi wrote, "Don't get lost in cleverness; the heart is the path to Allah." So, let's check your understanding.

What are the missing words in the sentence below? Sufism is a branch of Islam that focuses on achieving a personal knowledge of Allah, ma'rifah, through the.

So, take your time, think about what the missing words might be, pause if you need to, and then come back to me.

Well done if you wrote it's a mystical branch of Islam and that you added it is knowledge gained through the heart.

That idea was really clear from our two Sufi poets.

Nadia and Rasool are discussing how they believe they can gain knowledge of Allah, ma'rifah.

Nadia is a Sufi, so she says, "As a Sufi, I believe that Allah is within everyone, and through mystical experiences, we can gain ma'rifah and understand him better." Rasool is a Muslim too, but he's not a Sufi.

He says, "I'm not a Sufi.

I believe that the Qur'an and Hadith are the only reliable ways to know Allah, and that believing Allah is in us blurs the line between Him and humans." Rasool has two concerns with the Sufi approach to ma'rifah, knowledge of Allah.

"I'm not a Sufi.

I believe the Qur'an and Hadith are the only reliable ways to know Allah, and that believing Allah is in us blurs the line between Him and humans." So we can see here that Rasool is explaining that Muslims believe the Qur'an is Allah's word, revealed directly to the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.

He also mentions that this blurs a line between Him and humans.

Muslims believe in tawhid, Allah's oneness, and that teaches that Allah is separate from his creation.

So for most Muslims, equating him with humans is a sin.

So let's check your understanding.

True or false? Some Muslims argue that knowledge of Allah is fully revealed in the Qur'an and Hadith.

Take your time to think about whether that's true or false, and have a think about why.

Pause if you need to, and then come back to me.

Well done if you wrote that it was true.

Let's have a think about why.

While many Muslims believe that the Qur'an and Hadith contain all we can know about Allah, this is why they might disagree with Sufis that they can have direct knowledge.

In contrast, Sufis would also believe the Qur'an and Hadith contain knowledge about Allah, but they also think in addition that they can have that direct knowledge.

Now, most philosophers take one of two views on the source of knowledge when we're looking at traditional approaches to philosophy.

They might be rationalists, and their idea would be that knowledge comes from rational thinking, so just from within yourself, thinking clearly.

So for example, I could say I know 2 + 2 = 4 because it makes logical sense.

Other philosophers are empiricists, and this means that for them, knowledge comes from outside of themselves, it comes from the senses.

So for example, I could know the sky is blue because I can see it.

Nadia is explaining why, when it comes to knowledge of Allah, Sufis take neither of these approaches.

So they're not rationalists, they don't believe they can just find the knowledge for themselves.

But nor do they believe they can be kind of given the knowledge through external experiences.

She says, "Sufis believe that ma'rifah, knowledge of Allah, doesn't come from thinking logically like rationalists, or from seeing things like empiricists.

Instead, Sufis think that we know Allah through personal, mystical experiences that are felt in the heart.

These experiences are special and can't be fully explained by reason or what we can see or touch." So in Sufism, ma'rifah is experiential.

What that means is that it is gained through experience, in particular, through these mystical experiences that Sufis are seeking.

It's also transcendent.

And this is a word which means it goes beyond this world, beyond what we can see.

It's personal.

So, it's going through a direct encounter.

And it's inward.

It comes from within, through the purification of the heart.

So let's check your understanding.

Which of the following best expresses the Sufi view on where true knowledge of Allah comes from? Is it A, through the use of reason to work out what Allah is like? Is it B, through our senses and observing the world around us? Or is it C, through personal, direct experiences felt in the heart? Take a moment to think about your answer.

Make a note of your answer, pause the video if you need to, and then come back to me.

Well done if you put C, you're absolutely right.

Sufism is all about that personal, direct encounter within the heart.

So, for our first part of Task B, I'm going to ask you to use the prompts below to explain how a rationalist, an empiricist, and a Sufi might respond to the question, where does knowledge of Allah come from? So we have some sentences to help you.

The rationalist view says knowledge comes from.

And so knowledge of Allah must also come from.

So you're going to fill in those two gaps and elaborating on them.

The empiricist view says knowledge comes from.

And so knowledge of Allah must also come from.

So again, you have two gaps to fill in there.

And then finally, the Sufi view says I agree with these points, but I also think knowledge of Allah can be gained through.

And this is where you're going to tell me what's different about the Sufi approach.

So take your time to think about what rationalists and empiricists believe and to explain how someone with those views might think you could know Allah.

And then, finish by contrasting the Sufi view.

Pause the video, take as long as you need to, and then come back to check what you might have written.

So there are lots of things you could have said, but for rationalists, the main thing to say is using our reason to work things out, so from within us.

And so, knowledge of Allah must also come from thinking carefully.

For the empiricist, knowledge comes from the senses, so things that we see, touch, hear, smell, etc.

And so, knowledge of Allah must also come from observing the world around us.

Now Sufi, you can write would agree.

So they do think you can learn about Allah from the world around us and from thinking.

But they would also say knowledge of Allah can be gained through mystical experiences that come from the heart, allowing a deeper connection with Allah beyond what can be reasoned or observed.

If you've managed to talk about it coming from the heart and about the deep connection, well done.

So, for Task Two, we're going to think about our overall unit question.

Does religious experience prove God exists? And you're going to use your learning from this lesson on Sufism and connecting with Allah.

Here are some possible sentence starters you could use to form part of an answer to that unit question.

Sufis might argue that Allah's existence is proven through.

Practises like dhikr and whirling show.

Sufis like Rabia and Rumi might say.

Some Muslims reject mystical experiences because.

And, since Sufism doesn't rely on reason or senses, it understands Allah through.

So take your time.

Pause the video so that you can put those together into a paragraph or two to explain your learning and relate it to our question on the existence of God.

Come back when you're ready to check your work.

So your answers could have included lots of things, but there might be some of these.

Sufis might argue that Allah's existence is proven through personal mystical experiences, which allow them to feel a direct connection with the divine.

Practises like dhikr and whirling show that Allah's presence can be experienced in a spiritual way, offering evidence of his existence beyond what can be observed.

Sufis like Rabia and Rumi might say connecting with Allah through the heart provides proof of his existence.

Some Muslims reject mystical experiences because they believe all necessary knowledge of Allah is already in the Qur'an and the Hadith, and that mystical religious experiences do not provide proof of his existence.

Since Sufism doesn't rely on reason or senses, it understands Allah through personal spiritual experiences, which go beyond what can be proven logically or physically.

So well done if you explained about the deep personal mystical experiences, the connection there, and the fact that Sufis believe this helps them know Allah through their heart.

But if you also understood that for some Muslims they reject those experiences because the knowledge is already there in the Qur'an and Hadith.

Thank you for working with me through today's lesson.

We've learned a lot about Sufism and knowing Allah.

Sufism is the mystical branch of Islam, which focuses on achieving ma'rifah, true knowledge of Allah, through personal connection.

Distinctive practises include dhikr and whirling.

Sufis such as Rabia and the poet Rumi focus on gaining knowledge of Allah through the heart.

Some Muslims reject mysticism as a route to knowledge of Allah, since all necessary knowledge of Allah is in the Qur'an and Hadith.

Some Muslims also think Sufi ideas of union with Allah confuse the difference between humans and Allah.

Sufism takes neither a rationalist nor empiricist approach to knowledge.

Knowledge of Allah, ma'rifah, is personal and gained through mystical religious experiences.

Thank you for your work today.