Sufi parables and philosophy

Sufi philosophy is a special trend in Islam, for which mysticism, asceticism and asceticism are characteristic. The etymology of the concept of "Sufism" is unclear: some scientists consider it to be derived from the word "wool" (from which an ascetic shirt is made), others see the word "bench" (on which the Sufis were sitting). Also the origin of the concept of "Sufism" could be influenced by the meaning of the root "Sufi" - pure.

The origin of the doctrine

The first Sufi devotees appeared in the VIII-IX centuries. N. E., Soon after the emergence and spread of Islam. However, according to many researchers, the first shoots of the Sufi doctrine were born in the era of antiquity. Sufism absorbed the spiritual elements of many ancient religions and beliefs, but its basis was and remains a strict monotheism.

The Great Sheikh

The most famous and significant Sufi philosopher is Muhiyi ad-Din Ibn 'Arabi, for his wisdom called the Great Sheikh. His influence was great both for contemporaries and for thinkers of later generations, even for representatives of other philosophical currents. It is believed that the pen of Ibn 'Arabi belongs to more than 100 literary and philosophical works. Among them, "Meccan revelations", called the encyclopedia of Sufism and containing answers to many questions, as well as the philosophical treatise "Gems of Wisdom" and poetry in the collection "Statement of Passion".

Main issues: unity of opposites

The Sufi doctrine raises many questions: how can God be understood as the only and at the same time generating all the diversity of the phenomena of the world; What place does a man occupy in the world, and how does his deed correlate with God's will; What are the real possibilities and limits of human cognition and action.

In Sufism there is a question of the unity of opposites: the temporal is inseparable from the eternal, the other from the same, the earthly from the divine. And the meaning of this thesis concerns not only philosophy. It continues beyond its limits, raising questions from the field of ethics, morality, morality and belief. At the same time, the adherence to the Islamic tradition remains: it is this religion in Sufism that is considered the highest and most perfect of all the teachings given to mankind. In addition, the connection between Sufism and Islamic traditional beliefs is manifested in the fact that the Sufis deny the sinfulness of the flesh as such (but not the sinfulness of excesses) and express dislike of the Christian traditions of monasticism. Sufis say: joy can not be separately in the spiritual or separately in the material; Joy - in their union, when both those and other human needs are satisfied .

The main questions: man - the divine incarnation

In classical form, Sufi philosophy proclaims the duality of the world order, that is, the inseparable connection between Truth and Creation, God and the world. Another important position of Sufi ethics is the provision of a direct link between action and intention. This idea is also based on the philosophy of Islam. According to the Sufi concept, the result of any action directly depends on the intention, and everyone gets exactly what he is looking for. On the other hand, the basic principle of Sufism is that no statement can be unshakable.

According to the beliefs of the Sufis, man is the embodiment of God, and in each of his actions he is guided by God's will, and more precisely - we guide ourselves through God. In this sense, there is no wrong way, because all roads lead to God. Thus Sufi philosophy maintains religious tolerance: for no knowledge in the world is anything other than knowledge of God, and no action is made from other motives, except striving for God. Thus, any religion is true. The only thing that is false is the proclamation of any kind of religious teaching exclusively true and the simultaneous denial of the value of other religions. The Sufis see the truth, in whatever form it is expressed.

The Purpose of Sufism

The central theme of the philosophy of Sufism is the freedom of the soul. The well-known Sufi poet Rumi wrote: "The soul on earth is in prison, and it will remain there as long as it lives on earth." To quench the thirst for freedom can be spiritual exaltation, the desire to merge with God. The Sufi does not just reflect on being, he lives here and now. Followers of this teaching tried to comprehend themselves and teach others direct communication with God, for which one does not need to resort to the help of priests. It is for this that Sufis were persecuted and blamed by orthodox Islamists. In part, this attitude is preserved to this day.

The main thing in Sufism is the education of a "perfect person" who can rise above the earthly vanity and negative manifestations of its nature. The great Sufi spiritual path is called "Tarikat". An example of such spiritual formation is the biography of the Prophet Muhammad.

The influence of Sufism on culture

Sufism greatly influenced the development of philosophy, ethics and aesthetics, literature and art. Sufi wisdom is reflected in the works of such Oriental poets and thinkers of the late Middle Ages as Farid ad-Din al-'Attar, Ibn al-Farid, Jalalad-Din ar-Rumi, Omar Khayyam, Jami, Abu Ali ibn Sina (Avicenna), Nizami Ganjavi , Ali Shir Navoi, etc., who created on the basis of the Sufi symbolism of love, longing for the Beloved (that is, God). According to the Sufis, love (mahabba) is the highest state of the human soul , leading to a unity between the loving and the Beloved.

Formed in the X-XV centuries. Sufi literature is represented mainly by poetry created in the languages of the Near and Middle East: Arabic, Farsi, Turkish, Persian, Urdu, etc. A separate place is occupied by Sufi parables, which are the quintessence of the wisdom of this philosophical and mystical teaching.

The themes of the parables

What is a parable? In the most general sense, this is a short instructive story, the basic moral idea of which is expressed in an allegorical form.

The world that opens the Sufi parables leads to a genuine Reality. At the same time it is diverse, like life itself, and quite confusing. Everyone understands these parables in his own way, but they all pursue a common goal. At the heart of them is the comprehension of truth through love and through the abandonment of one's selfish "I" obscuring vision. Comprehending this difficult art, a person can find his true divine self.

Poetic parables of Rumi

Some Sufi parables are written in prosaic form, others - in poetic. The latter includes, for example, the work of the poet Rumi. Collected in the book "The Road of Transformation", the Sufi parables were translated from the Persian language by Dmitry Shchedrovitsky. They are given religious and philosophical comments before each parable. Also the book includes ethical-psychological comments given by Mark Khatkevich. Both comments help to better understand the essence and spiritual and moral depth of parables. The book was published in 2007 in the publishing house Oaklik (Moscow).

Sufi parables of love

According to Sufi philosophy, love is the foundation of the universe and the driving force in the hands of God, called in this doctrine by the Beloved. In the parables of love, the Sufi doctrine of the divine is expressed in an allegorical way, through a system of images. For example, the well-known ancient Arab legend of the love of the young man Kais (nicknamed Majnun, "fallen into insanity") is used to the girl Leyli. In the image of the latter, God is portrayed, and in the image of Majnun - the soul, hungry for knowledge of the image of God, spiritual perfection and comprehension of the higher Truth. According to the Sufis, paradise is not a place, but a state. This is where the heart is full of spiritual love, and the eyes see deeper than the material world. As a result, a person's perception is nothing but the projection of his soul, his inner image. For this reason, it is possible to transform the surrounding world only through inner cleansing and filling with sincere love. And along with it comes happiness, satisfaction, harmony and gratitude.

Examples of love parables are Rumi's works "Love of Mejnun", "Majnun and the Dog", "The Story of the Patience of the Lover" by Navoi, "About Lovers", "Lovers" by Sanaya. These parables, written by different authors, are united by the general idea that only insane, all-consuming love gives true insight that reveals to a person Truth in all its radiance.

Other Sufi parables

Frequent topics of parables are questions of cognition, obtaining the desired, moral choice , etc. One of the most striking examples of wisdom is the Sufi parable of water. In different sources it is called "When the water changes," "Sage and water," or "Water of insanity." Like any Sufi parable, it can have several interpretations and is understood differently by different people. The majority are wondering whether the new water was harming or benefiting. Others ask themselves whether the protagonist of the parable did the right thing, at first not drinking new water and escaping madness, but then, unable to endure loneliness, yet joined the crowd. Another interesting look at the plot of the parable may be the question: "Why did this man choose to save himself from fresh water alone, instead of trying to find like-minded people?"

In other words, Sufi parables do not have a single interpretation, and their meaning is revealed to a person in the process of thinking and asking oneself questions. In the end, each person will see in the parable something of his own.

The Sufi parables are a unique source of wisdom that helps a person open their minds and ask questions that previously did not come to him. The philosophy of Sufism is an interesting phenomenon, developed for thousands of years from practice to theory. He is distinguished for his remarkable tolerance and openness to new knowledge about God. Sufi theorists called their teachings "the religion of Love."