A religion: Sufism

A religion: Sufism

Sufism and its Non-Islamic Roots

Muferrid Muhammed Selefy
www.darultawhid.com english@darultawhid.com

A religion: Sufism
Praise ye the LORD! Sing unto the LORD a new song, and His praise in the congregation of saints! Let Israel rejoice in Him that made him; let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. Let them praise His name in the dance; let them sing praises unto Him with the timbrel and harp. Psalm 149

Sufism and its Non-Islamic Roots The word Sufism takes on many meanings and has many synonyms. Many religions have similar traditions and practices. I thought I would do some research on what exactly Sufism means, where it originated and when it came into practice within the Islamic religion. I did my research up to the beginnings of Islam to find evidence or resemblances from other cultures which have been adapted into the Islamic Sufism or the traditions and practices within Sufism could have even begun on its own without any outer influence. However I feel it is more likely that these practices and beliefs have been eventually adapted and placed into Sufism and has remained also developed it self to form its own shape. I have commenced my work by defining Sufism, explaining its synonyms, continued with other similar religious traditions and concluded with my own explanation of Sufism and its beginnings. Using the Arabic root letters of the word Sufism the term Sufism takes on many meanings. The term can be used to describe and take on the meaning Sufane which is a desert plant, a descriptive or picturesque expression of a Sufi who has deserted him self from all worldly things; those possessions other than Allah. The term could be used in another form such as safa or sufwat meaning purity and cleansed addressing the reputed Sufi. The term could also be used as suf giving us the meaning cotton or wool appointing the cloak which a Sufi would wear. Adding to all of these definitions the term could have also been borrowed from the Greek word Sophia meaning wisdom or wise, ascribing this to the knowledge of the

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Sufi.1 As we are able to see, this term could take on or could be given many meanings just as this term could ascribe many meanings and synonyms such as Gnosticism, Mysticism or even Ascetism. These synonyms are all different forms of Sufism seen in societies other than Islam. They all have something in common; they all belong to a religion meaning they are all derived from a certain spiritual form of religion and they all fulfill some of the religious rules in extreme forms also they all have the strong belief of capturing wisdom, knowledge, ilm from its original giver which is God and live to do their best in trying to live by the knowledge they have received through God with the love given to him.2 Apparently a Christian mystic named Denis is the first of known mystics who has used the term mysticism within the Christian faith.3 The actual dictionary meaning of the word Mysticism is to be without tongue, to be speechless, to shut the eyes and mouth; to raise human morality, to capture eternal spiritual bliss, to find the hidden knowledge beyond the universe.4 As we can see the term Mysticism actually means to exalt the man morally, to have reached spiritual eternal happiness, to comprehend the truth of being, to realise the unseen environment above the seen environment. This definition which we take in hand is actually is said to have come from the Greek word Mu-o which carries the meaning of acquiring marifa of the heart without resorting to the any sort of visual evidence.5 With this description within Christian mysticism the practice of monastic life, contemplation of God, repetition of prayers and the exposed poverty are all practices which are also seen within Islamic Sufism alongside repentance, purification and perfection of ones soul, body and mind. Another synonym we find of Sufism is Gnosticism/Irfan. About this Mohammed Ibn Jabiri states the eastern Irfan becomes Gnosis in the west. Apparently Gnosis comes from Greek and means knowledge or marifa. It is also used to describe ilm and hikma. To the Gnostic God, the universe,

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people and the relationship between these sources are considered sacred and esoteric.6 The roots of the Gnostic belief and its worship apparently come from the Sabii, Manichaeism and Hermetic beliefs which are also considered to be Gnostic. It is not known for sure where and when Gnosticism first came from however it seems possible for it to be from Iran, Egypt, and Babylon or even of Judaic roots since this is where the roots of all man kind lays. Although we could also argue Gnosticism to be a religion all on its own however it would probably be highly appreciate if we would consider it to be a part of a religion rather then something on its own due to the fact that it carries the spiritual ties of the religion to the soul even though it may not have its own fundamentals.7

The dualism between light and dark or good and bad, the belief that the material world and body are one of a kind, the belief of the spirit belonging to the spiritual world and that it is trapped in the body living a prison life, the belief of; in order to obtain independence one should stay away from worldly things are all parts of Gnostic teachings and I would add extremely similar to the Zoroastrian religious fundamentals. According to Jabiri, Gnosticism is a form of protest against the universe; it is an irfan, a physiological and wise protest. And if a person learns his own nafs and frees it from its outer prison he will recognise the root of truth. While his knowledge strengthens with the truth he will rise towards the One (God) which he has longed for and continue until he feels real close to the One. Time will come and in Sufi terms ishq /the one who loves and mashq/ the loved one will eventually become one. And this apparently will be when the Gnostic/arif will engage in the reality of himself. 8 As we have seen this type of belief in Gnosticism is very aristocratic because apparently this path belongs to those who have been chosen by Allah. They are the Ruhaniyya or clergy who are according to Aristotle are angelic and closest to the Universal Intellect which to the Gnostic is also the Creator.

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Like in Sufism and Mysticism today, gnosis and Gnosticism is an accepted general phenomenon of the three monotheistic religions Islam, Christianity and Judaism alongside polytheistic religious traditions9. Ascetism is another synonym of Mysticism it may not carry the exact same meaning however it does carry similarities. Ascetism is an understanding of cleansing ones self and spirit from the materialistic needs and passions.10 It is disciplining the spirit while separating it from its urges. Ascetism plays part in many religions. For example in Hinduism the sacred people stay away from eating and drinking as much as possible this allows them to accomplish training their bodies through sufferings. Some people from a sect named Ajivika in China live bare-naked and eat garbage hoping to train their souls and rid their passions. Even in the Islamic tradition in some Sufi orders men constantly fast and live celibate lives. They try their best to stay away from sleeping and speaking to others of non important things, hoping once more to train their nafs and rid their worldly passions to be one with the truth.11 Sufism has many dimensions and therefore carries many meanings. There are arguments as to what Sufism really means or where it came from. This confusion of meaning and the exoteric surreptitiousness of Sufism make it clear to us how mystical it actually is. Generally we could all come to an agreement and suggest that Sufism means disciplining of the ruh, tafaqqur, zuhd, morally beautified, cleansed heart, constant war within ones self with ones own nafs and becoming peaceful. It is to leave out everything other then Allah from ones heart, to care for nothing other then Allah to be aziz with Allah and Allah alone. However we can certainly find that Sufism in dictionarial meaning is a religion and philosophical movement which explains generally Wahdat-I Wujud. The main idea of Sufism is to believe there is only one God; Allah, the universe and human are all of and from this One. It is literary the ilm and ishq of Allah, existence and human.12

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I agree with Yasar Nuri Ozturk when he claims Sufism or in western words Mysticism types to differ from one another in three forms. The first form is Psychological Mysticism, which is found in Hinduism, Judaist mysticism, Christian mysticism and Islamic Sufism. The second form is Philosophical Mysticism which includes Greek mysticism, Egyptian Mysticism, Neo-Platonism and Alexandrian Mysticism. The third form is obviously literary Mysticism which is found in Persian or Iranian Mystical tradition13. Many pre-Islamic religions and philosophies such as Christianity, Gnosticism, Neo-Platonism, Animaeism, Pantheism, Judaism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Chinese Taoism, all of the sky and universal religions before Islam have passed on there traditions to the Islamic Sufism either through domination or scholarly exchanges. Either way Islamic Sufism could have widely or narrowly been affected by these traditions. It is seen through the similarity in thought and worship. There have been scholars who believe Sufisms beginnings commence with the beginnings of man. Therefore according to this argument the history of prophets is also the history of Sufism. To provide evidence to such argument according to Mawlana Husam Ibn Mustafa the first Sufi of all was no other than the father of all man kind Adam. He states since Adam had traveled to earth alone and naked he had suffered for a long time and at the end he was saved from his sufferings through death. During his suffering he had collected thirty leaves from thirty trees and attached all these leafs and made him self a hirqa. This patched hirqa was worn even by prophet Ezra although he lived hundreds of years after Adam.14 There are different statements about when and where the concept of Sufism or Sufi had been used for the first time within the Islamic tradition. According to Hasan Kamil Yilmaz a Turkish scholar, the words Sufi or Sufism does exist neither in the Quran nor in any Hadith15 . These terms were apparently not even known during the time of Prophet Mohammad, the companions neither of the Prophet Mohammad (Sahaba) nor during the time of the

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Tabiun. On the other hand according to Abu Nasr Sarraj Tusi even before the Islamic religion begun a Sufi man used to go to the Qaba perform his pilgrimage and return to his home which was far from the Qaba. Also when Hasan al-Basri is addressed he says I saw a Sufi while going around the Qaba, I offered him something but he would not take what I had offered. Ibn Taymiyya in his Al-sufiyya wa al-fuqara states that the term Sufi had not been used during the three generations which were the Sahaba, the Tabiun and the Taba-i Tabiun. However this term had been used after these generations. Many imams have used this term apparentaly even Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Abu Sulayman Darani and even Hasan al-Basri have used this term. According to inasi Gndz and Mehmet Ali Ayni within the history of Islam, the term Sufi which has a very close relation to the term Sufism was first used to address Abu Hashim al-Qufi (h150). Therefore the term Sufism could have been used for the first time in the 8th C (AD). Suleyman Ates states the term Sufi had been used to address Abu Hasim al-Qufi and Jabir ibn Hayyan for the first time. What we can acquire from all of these statements is that the terms Sufi and Sufism may have been used a little but still before the Islamic religion had taken its diffusion and these terms had been used more often and had spread to a broader range after the era of the Taba-i Tabiun within the Islamic tradition. Before the rise of Islam it is not often we find traces of Sufism within the Jahiliyya society. Even though the desert people usually tend to submit themselves to their faith I have not been able to find many forms of mystical tradition within the Jahiliyya era. Although we do find Prophet Mohammad hiding away into a cave in Mt Hira away from every one else before the Quranic revelations and some people did wear wool cloaks and sustained themselves from eating and drinking for days at a time. As the invasions of the Islamic world begun the Judaic, Christian, shamanist and many other religious traditions began to have more influence on the Islamic world due to the easy adapting nature humans

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tend to have16. All these traditions had influenced the Islamic traditions mainly through the beliefs of society. The beliefs which people had trouble letting go of after forcedly or voluntarily accepting the Islamic religion. Within the Judaic tradition we find the existence of zuhd and tajalli. According to this tradition God is something worshiped which is made of nour. This nour sits on a thrown and has a crown made of once again nour on his head. This God figure apparently also has hands, feet, eyes and ears as well as its head. It is believed that God has such body parts because according to Saadya Gaon in his Book of Beliefs and Opinions man will only know what God has allowed him to know and since God has not been seen by any man therefore he could only be imagined or thought of having human attributes because this is the only form of lively, intellectual creation that man has been taught. Apparently some Mystical Jews commit their entire lives in zuhd. They eat bread with salt, drink water little at a time, sleep on the floor and work a lot. According to the Kabala human spirits consists of three parts. The first part is the nafs-I natica, the second part is the ruh and the third is the animal ruh meaning passion or infirmity.17 According to the Kabala human beings are a smaller scale of the universe therefore human beings deserve to be called little universes.8 According to Christian Mysticism the love towards human and creation allows one to reach the love of God. It has been stated that Christians love each other because all humans are the same. Creation wise and spiritually the same, they believe to be all siblings.19 Jesus has taught them the truth and God can not be found with ilm or aql. It could only be found through ishq. This is only possible by living in God alone and for God alone. The familiar Christian tradition which also exists within Islamic Sufism celibacy; living away from everything and everyone in poverty also has become traditional because Jesus had lived his life in a similar manner. They even believe that it is not possible to have knowledge of God with the

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intellect they believe it is only possible through the passionate love for God.20 Within the Sabean, the traditional apparently monotheistic religion in which the stars are worshiped alongside God, God can not be familiarized or named. One can only become close to God. This closeness to God can only be achieved by the highest of all human maybe even a little angelic the Ruhani or clergy. They believe to be created clean and created to repent. Their belief also consists of cleansing themselves from all passions in order to come closer to the Ruhani who are the closest to God.21 They believe that the clergy will give salvage just as in the Islamic Sufi belief of the relationship between the Sheikh and his Murid. Ibn Taymiyya states that the food of the Sabii is zikr, taqdis and tasbih which is very similar to the Islamic Sufi tradition. Within the Iranian religious traditions the Gnostics get their

astrological mythology such as the ruh being descended from the sky through angels from the old Babylonian mythology.22 According to this belief after death this action is reversed and the nafs of human returns what he had taken from each celestial body while ascending back to where it came from. This belief continues with the superior or higher ranked human who has achieved this full love and reached the truth of God takes on the attributes of God and becomes one Wahd-I wucud with God. The Zoroastrians also share the same belief. As an addition to this the Zoroastrians had Ahriman and Hurmuz as their good and evil however it is not hard to compare this tradition with the Islamic Sufi tradition where man has to deal with his own nafs and ruh, in which he has to deal with separating one from the other in order to find and reach the truth. It is also possible to see the similar facts of good vs. bad within Sufism when we consider nour vs. zuhurat, or angel vs. evil or even with ruh vs. nafs.

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Manichaeism is a religion which invites men to have a zuhd life, get married and have children. According to this belief the universe was developed with the mixture of nour and zulumat. They believe that when nour escapes from zulumat or when it becomes independent from zulm at that time will men be independent and separated from sorrow and bad things. In order for this to happen purification is needed. And in order for purification to take place man had to rid and passion he had to worldly things to have contact with God.23 Here in this faith we find the rejection of prophet hood or maybe even the no need for prophet hood which actually is non-Islamic. However even with this old belief we do find the other traditions in Islamic Sufism. The Manicheans had used books to propagate their belief which has come into the hands of Islam through scholastic work which gives us an idea how it could have had influenced the Islamic Sufi tradition.24 According to the old Turkish belief the Kam, interact between men and God; they bring commands over people, who have beyond human strength and power. The Kam were Shaman who was disturbed also very intelligent.25 According to Baldick the Shamans would pray and when their spirits became one with their Gods they would be jumping, dancing, repeating Gods name, begging God until sometimes they faint. They would also play the def, a traditional eastern instrument which is the same instrument used during meditation in the Turkish Sufi tradition today.26 The Kam were just like the Sufi sheikhs; they were the intermediator between men and God who have knowledge of everything and anything. I found todays most popular Chinese Mystical religion to be Taoism. It is a religion which certainly mostly relies on the love of Tao. It is believed that Tao can only be found with special marifa not ilm or aql, only ishq. The Taoist believes if they seek with love than they will be able to see, and what allows a man to love is his ability to relieve himself from worldly things.27 While inviting people to their religion they say that the one who

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believes in intelligence has rotten legs which will not allow him to travel through the path of love. Since this belief rejects aql in an extreme manner it falls in a different category and differs from Sufism however the path of travel while in search is the same spiritual suluk a Sufi takes while in search for the truth.28 Within the Hindu thought we could say the spiritual journey of tanasuh, the belief of worshiping what is sacred is the path of reaching God.29 Wearing a cloak, zikr, tasbih, and the systematic breathing during prayers are what exist in the Islamic Sufi tradition also. The Buddha teachings consist of God being eternal and post eternal. The eternal happiness was gained through fanafillah30 which is practically being one and vanishing in Brahmas body. The last level in Buddhism is to attain nirvana which is fanafillah; being one and vanishing within. I certain find Wahdet-I wucud to be the same thing. To think of Brahma, to distant ones self from other humans, to live celibate and to constantly repeat the name of God is the main features and practices of a Buddhist alongside living in poverty and to wear a cloak. To free the ruh from the nafs is the reason to live ad only way to find the eternal truth and happiness just as is within the Sufi tradition.31 Within the Buddhist belief again the main feature is to leave earthly/ worldly things and to be in the order of the Uppachaya of the Islamic name Sheikh. The suffering is only worldly suffering. In order to be relived from this suffering passion and desires must be stayed away from. In order to advance to a higher maqam than the Buddhist must travel through a spiritual journey which utterly is also similar to Islamic Sufi tradition.32 The Buddhist teachings are very similar to Shimmals explanation of all the maqam stops and journeys the Sufi takes in order to reach the real truth. When it comes to philosophical traditions we could put together the ancient Egyptian philosophy and the Greek philosophical traditions and we will be able to find traces of similarities between them and Islamic Sufi

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tradition. Here we have a prophet like character who receives revelations from a higher superior power and who also have followers who become blunt followers who do as the prophet like character pleases. Even though he may pursue them to walk on the path of submission to God they tend to get carried away. We come across the fanafillah belief here once again.33 Apparently nafs is a seed from God which allows mankind to divide within himself into two. The first nafs also has aql while the second does not. Since the first nafs also has aql it can have a relationship with God after being abraded from bad physical passions. The only way to abrade the nafs is marifa.34 According to Hermes Toth it is impossible to know exactly what or who God is. However God chooses certain servants who are most worthy.35 This higher human who is worthy shares what he sees and feels with the rest who do not know any more then the higher ranked chosen man does. This relationship resembles the one between a murid and Sheikh. The ruh finally reaching the Universal intellect and logos of Greek philosophy are also found in Sufism. To whirl in drunkenness, to yell and look up into the sky while repeating Gods name are also tradition found in both philosophical mystical and Islamic Sufi traditions. According to Pythagoras there are levels of preparation which the nafs is to be disciplines through.36 The first stage is when the Mystic or murid is restricted to speak or communicate with anyone. The second stage is when the mystic or murid learns the ilm of worldly life and eternal life. Finally the third stage is when the ruh is raised to the sky and when it finally reaches its marifa and mahabba stage/maqam. This is almost the same as how Shimmal explains the maqams while exploring the Sufi tradition and the becoming of Wahdat-I wucud of a Sufi.37 Plato believed in the existence of God as a sublime beginning. NeoPlatonists believe God can not be reached through mind only through the love of God and state that this is a level to be reached through searching the truth.38 Eventually with this belief once man has reached this extreme love and found the truth he will vanish within the existence of God.39 I

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also find this belief to be similar with the Islamic Sufi tradition of Wahdat-i Wujud. In general I found the theme of Sufism or mystical living to be the ability to seek God, to see God, the universe and human as a whole and the explanation and finding of the relationship between the creation with the Creator, the relationship between creation and creation.40 While defining or explaining this practice we could possibly say that it is the explanation of God, existence and human.41 Sufism is a never-ending human nature which has shown its face throughout history in different measures, structures and content. Sufism is a life style which begun with the tendency of zuhd. It has been nourished with different factors and has developed, grown and has become a systematic belief on its own. We can not blame its development on added beliefs and lives. Sufism has completed it self by taking those beliefs which are admired and leaving behind those which are not considered admirable beginning from the day man kind was created because if something is certain that something is that the love and search of God must have begun with the beginning of creation.

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1 Meydan Larousse, XI, 918 ; Hasan Kamil Ylmaz, Ana Hatlaryla Tasavvuf ve Tarikatlar, 24; Mehmet Ali Ayni, Tasavvuf Tarihi, 215-216 2 Celaleddin Vatanda, Tevhid ve Deiim, 217 3 Mehmet Ali Ayni, Tasavvuf Tarihi, 185 4 Hasan Kamil Ylmaz, Ana Hatlaryla Tasavvuf ve Tarikatlar, 13 5 Mehmet Ali Ayni, Tasavvuf Tarihi, 185 6 Muhammed Abid Cabiri, Arap-slam Kltrnn Akl Yaps, 331 7 inasi Gndz, Din ve nan Szl, 143 8 Muhammed Abid Cabiri, Arap-slam Kltrnn Akl Yaps, 334 9 Muhammed Abid Cabiri, Arap-slam Kltrnn Akl Yaps, 332 10 D. Mehmet Dogan, Buyuk Turkce Sozluk 11 inasi Gndz, Din ve nan Szl, 43 12 Celaleddin Vatanda, Tevhid ve Deiim, 216, Mehmet Ali Ayni, Tasavvuf Tarihi, 220 ; Hasan Kamil Ylmaz, Ana Hatlaryla Tasavvuf ve Tarikatlar, 28 13 Yaar Nuri ztrk, Tarih Boyunca Tasavvufi Dnce Tarihi, 29-32 14 Mehmet Ali Ayni, Tasavvuf Tarihi 18

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15 Hasan Kamil Ylmaz, Ana Hatlaryla Tasavvuf ve Tarikatlar, 23 16 Muhammed Abid Cabiri, Arap Aklnn Oluumu, 204 17 Necdet Tosun, bn Arabi ncesi Tasavvufta Halvet ve Uzlet, 28-38 18 Mehmet Ali Ayni, Tasavvuf Tarihi, 172 19 Mehmet Ali Ayni, Tasavvuf Tarihi, 183 20 Seluk Eraydn, Tasavvuf ve Tarikatlar, 45-50 21 Muhammed Abid Cabiri, Arap Aklnn Oluumu, 214-215 22 Muhammed Abid Cabiri, Arap-slam Kltrnn Akl Yaps, 337 23 Muhammed Abid Cabiri, Arap Aklnn Oluumu, 209 24 Muhammed Abid Cabiri, Arap Aklnn Oluumu, 206-207 25 Celaleddin Vatanda, Vahiyden Kltre, 33 26 brahim Kafesolu, Eski Trk Dini, 29-30 27 Ali eriati, Dinler Tarihi, 149 28 Ali eriati, Dinler Tarihi, 150 29 Celaleddin Vatanda, Vahiyden Kltre, 221 30 Meydan Larousse, XI, 918

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31 Seluk Eraydn, Tasavvuf ve Tarikatlar, 45-50 32 mer Rza Dorul, Yeryzndeki Dinler Tarihi, 118-119 33 Muhammed Abid Cabiri, Arap-slam Kltrnn Akl Yaps, 330-331 34 Muhammed Abid Cabiri, Arap Aklnn Oluumu, 238-239 35 Seluk Eraydn, Tasavvuf ve Tarikatlar, 45-50 36 Celaleddin Vatanda, Vahiyden Kltre, 220-221 37 Mehmet Ali Ayni, Tasavvuf Tarihi, 79-107 38 Meydan Larousse, XI, 918 39 Mehmet Ali Ayni, Tasavvuf Tarihi, 179 40 Meydan Larousse, XI, 918 41 Hasan Kamil Ylmaz, Ana Hatlaryla Tasavvuf ve Tarikatlar, 56

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Andrae, Tor. In the Garden of Myrtles. Albany, N.Y.: State University of New York Press, 1987. Ayni, Mehmet Ali. Tasavvuf Tarihi, Istanbul Trkiye Yayinevi 1945 Baldick, Julian. Animal and Shaman: ancient religions of Central Asia. London : I.B. Tauris, 2000. Baldick, Julian. Mystical Islam: An Introduction to Sufism.London: I.B. Tauris, 1989 Brown, Peter Robert Lamont. The cult of the saints: its rise and function in Latin Christianity. Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 1982. Burckhardt, Titus. An introduction to Sufism. London; San Francisco, Calif.: Thorsons, 1995. Cabiri, Muhammed Abid. Arap Aklnn Oluumu. Beyrut, 2000. Cabiri, Muhammed Abid. Arap-slam Kltrnn Akl Yaps. Beyrut, 2002. Demirci, Mehmet. Sorularla Tasavvuf ve Tarikatler. Cagaloglu, Isltanbul: Damla, 2001. Dogan, D. Mehmet. Byk Trke szlk : Trke, Osmanlica, yabanci dillerden Trkeye geen ve en ok kullanilan kelimeler . Ankara : Birlik Yayinlari, 1981. Eraydin, Selcuk. Bazi ozellik ve istilahlariyla Tasavvuf ve tarikatlar. Istanbul: Marifet Yayinlari, 1981.

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Eraydin, Seluk. Tasavvuf ve Tarikatlar. Istanbul : Marmara niversitesi Ilhiyat Fakltesi Vakfi, 1994. Gndz, Sinasi. The knowledge of life : the origins and early history of the Mandaeans and their relation to the Sabians of the Qur'an and to the Harranians . Oxford : Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the University of Manchester, 1994. Kafesolu, Ibrahim. Eski Trk Dini. Ankara : Kltr Bakanligi Yayinlari, 1980. Lewisohn, Leonard. Classical Persian Sufism: from its origins to Rumi. London : Khaniqahi Nimatullahi Publications, 1993. Ozturk, Yaar Nuri. Tarih Boyunca Tasavvufi Dnce Tarihi. Istanbul : Sidre Yayincilik, 1988 Schimmel, Annemarie. Mystical Dimensions of Islam. Chapel Hill : University of North Carolina Press, 1976. Siyal, Vahid Bakhsh. Islamic sufism : the science of flight in God, with God, by God and union and communion with God, also showing the tremendous Sufi influence on Christian and Hindu mystics and mysticism / by W.B.S. Rabbani. Lahore: Sufi Foundation Lahore, 1984. Smith, Margaret. Studies in early mysticism in the Near and Middle East : being an account of the rise and development of Christian mysticism up to the seventh century : of the subsequent development of mysticism in Islam known as Sufism, and of the relationship between Christian and Islamic mysticism. Amsterdam: Philo Press, 1973.

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Tosun, Necdet. bn Arabi ncesi Tasavvufta Halvet ve Uzlet. Istanbul, 1984 Vatanda, Celaleddin. Tevhid ve Deiim. Istanbul: Pinar yayinlari, 1992. Vatanda, Celaleddin. Vahiyden Kltre. Istanbul: Pinar Yayinlari, 1997 Yilmaz,Hasan Kamil. Ana Hatlaryla Tasavvuf ve Tarikatlar. Sleymaniye, Istanbul : Ensar Nesriyat, 2000. Encyclopaedia of Sufism. Edited by Masood Ali Khan, S. Ram. 1st ed. New Delhi : Anmol Publications, 2003. Meydan Larousse, XI. [Istanbul Meydan Gazetecilik ve Nesriyat] 1969-73