Throughout history a Sufi was most often understood as a person of religious learning who aspires to be close to Allah. They understand their purpose in life from the Qur'an:
In pursuit of this goal of worshipping Allah, Sufis belong to Tariqas established in the first few centuries after the Prophet's death. These orders have a master who will teach sacred knowledge to others in the group.

Sufis acknowledge that Tariqas were not established at the time of the Prophet. They consider that the Prophet his companions and the immediate successors, means the first three generations, embodied Islamic mysticism, but the phenomenon was too general to have a specific name. According to them later generations of Muslims became distracted by worldliness and so those, now in the minority, dedicated to worshipping Allah were given the name Sufi.

In the twentieth century Sufism began to spread in the West and there do now exist quite a few orders in America, UK and some other countries.

Sufism's Many Paths

Sufism is generally understood to be the inner, mystical, or psycho-spiritual dimension of Islam. Today, however, many Muslims and non-Muslims believe that Sufism is outside the sphere of Islam. Still according to some Islamic scholars Sufism represents the inner or esoteric dimension of Islam.

Sufis similar to devout Muslims are praying five times a day, giving to charity, fasting etc and adhere strictly to the outward observance of Islam.
But they are distinctive in nurturing their own and others spiritual dimension.
Remembrance of God or Dhikr is encouraged either individually or in groups and is a source of tranquillity for Sufis.

The essence of Sufi practice is easy to understand. The Sufi surrenders to God, in love, which involves embracing with love at each moment the content of one's life and self, as gifts of God or manifestations of God.
Sufis see themselves to be on a spiritual journey toward God referred to as the path (tariqah).In order to guide spiritual travelers and to express the states of consciousness experienced on this journey, Sufis produced a rich literature and poetry.

While all Muslims believe that they are on the pathway to God and will become close to God after death, Sufis believe that it is possible to become close to God and to experience this closeness--while one is alive. The experience that comes with such intimacy with God, Sufis assert, is the very purpose of the creation of life. They experience the joyful ecstasy of being gently drawn to their Eternal Beloved while alive..

Obstacles on the Path

The difficulties in following the path or obstacles to getting closer to God derive primarily from one's self or ego If one is not recognizing or experiencing God's "closeness" or presence, the responsibility for this condition lies with one's own self.

If the self is dominant, than one get overwhelmed by feeling like anger, lust, and many other addictions, that afflict us, like anxiety, boredom, regret, depression, and self-pity-- so that one feels like a powerless victim or prisoner tortured within one's own mind.

The Sufi regards every experience may it be an outer one or an inner one as a manifestation of God. It is the dominance of the ego which leads to imagine that God is absent or that one does not have the choice to embrace the way in which God appears at this moment. Such feelings often cause one to cease to surrender gratefully and lovingly into God's embrace.

One of the emphases of Sufism is upon the struggle, to overcome the dominance of the self.. A struggle that first and foremost involves choosing at each moment to remember and surrender actively to God--irrespective of the form in which God becomes manifest.

There are two kinds of struggle. One is the outside struggle, the other is the struggle against one's ego. These two are mutually reinforcing and occur simultaneously. In particular, the practice of "engaged surrender" in the "greater" struggle with one's own self diminishes certain obstacles in the consciousness of the Sufi, obstacles that--if not struggled against--will hinder the Sufi's capacity to engage in the "lesser" struggle in their life in the world.

Practice

Sufis have developed a practice of silent and vocal remembrance of God. An inherent problem is the difficulty in remembering God, when one has little or no awareness of God. To start with they begin with a name of God, such as "Allah," which is often called the "comprehensive" name, as it comprises all of the infinite names of God, which refer to the source of awareness. The source of one's present awareness--whatever that awareness may be--is encompassed by the name Allah. Thus, remembering God can begin quite simply with the awareness of two things: one's present awareness and the name Allah--even when one has no awareness of the reality to which the name Allah refers.

The Sufi follows the path toward God primarily by means of love. For the Sufi, one who is enraptured with the love of God or “existence” is extraordinarily beautiful. In contrast, one, who is not in love with God, will not see what is so awesome about existence.
By remembering God's reality and beauty, Sufis rekindle the flame of their love for God. In Sufism, it is remembrance that makes the heart grow fonder.

According to some of the main rules
== one should be with God, without any attachment.
== one should abandon oneself to God in accordance with God’s will.
== one should not possess anything nor should one be possessed by anything .
== one should enter every exalted quality and leave behind every despicable quality.
== one should be in accord with what is most appropriate at that moment.

Sufi Poets and Sufi Poetry

Sufism and the encounters with God, love, and the deepest aspects of human consciousness have evoked feelings in Sufis that have manifested themselves in some of the most beautiful and profound poetry ever written.
Some of the most prominent of the Sufis who wrote poetry were Rumi, Attar, and Hafez (in Persian), Hallaj and Ibn al-Farid (in Arabic), and Yunus Emre (in Turkish).

Today Sufi poetry continues in traditional Islamic languages but also in English
Poets such as Coleman Barks, Daniel Ladinsky or Daniel Moore have become famous.

Role of men and women in Sufism

There is ultimately no male or female, only Being. Within the Sufi traditions, the recognition of this truth has encouraged the spiritual maturation of men and women From the earliest days onward, women have played an important role in the development of Sufism, be it in the integration of spirit and matter, be it in the recognition of the prmciples of Yin and Yang.

Contrary to Islam as such the esteem for women is high in Sufism. There are many Sufi women known, who lived in central Islamic lands between the eighth and eleventh centuries, who worked as spiritual masters. They served as respected teachers and guides in the same way as Muslim men did. Whether they were scholars, poets, founders of Sufi schools, or individual mystics and ascetics, they embodied wisdom.

It was a woman, Rabi'a al-Adawiyya (717-801 A.D.), who first expressed the relationship with the divine by referring to God as the Beloved. Rabi'a was the first human being to speak of the realities of Sufism with a language that anyone could understand. Though she experienced many difficulties in her early years, Rabi'a's starting point was neither a fear of hell nor a desire for paradise, but only love. According to her, one could find God by turning within oneself.

Within some Sufi circles, women were integrated with men in ceremonies; in other orders, women gathered in their own circles of remembrance and worshiped apart from men. Some women devoted themselves to Spirit ascetically, apart from society, as Rabi'a did; others chose the role of benefactress and fostered circles of worship and study. Many of the great masters of Sufism had female teachers, students, and spiritual friends who greatly influenced their thought and being.

Sufi women around the world today continue to teach and share their experience personally as well as in written form. In Sudan, for instance, there continue to be shaikhas (female shaikhs) who are particularly adept in healing arts. In the Middle East, women continue to mature in many Sufi orders. In Turkey in particular, the teachings continue through women as well as men, perhaps even more so now than in the past because of Ataturk's proscription of the sufi orders early in the century, which drove much of Sufi practice into private homes.

One branch of Sufism that has become better-known in the West in recent years is the Mevlevi. Within this tradition, which was founded upon the example of Mevlâna Jalâluddîn Rumi, women have always been deeply respected, honored, and invited to participate in all aspects of the spiritual path.
Mevlevi shaikhas have often guided both women and men. Rumi had many female disciples, and women were also encouraged to participate in sema, the musical whirling ceremony of the Mevlevis. (Women usually had their own semas, though they sometimes performed together with men.)

It is creativity and capacity for love and relationship that suits women so well for the Sufi way of opening to relationship with the divine. As Sufis come to recognize the magnificence of the benevolent Source of Life, they can come to see themselves in harmony with it.

Committed relationship and family are not contrary to the flowering of spirituality, but rather vessels for spiritual ripening. The beauty of partnership, children and family are great blessings, containing the inspiration, the breathing in, of the divine. As we deepen our capacity for relationship and fidelity in the human sphere, we also increase our capacity for relationship with God.

Sufis look for greater recognition of equal partnership. They feel that there is much to learn from each other, and male and female need to recognize each other to be able to become more balanced in and outside themselves. The male attributes of strength and determination also belong to women; the feminine attributes of receptivity and beauty also belong to men.

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