~Seyyed Hossein Nasr
Introduction
There is a body of knowledge in the Islamic tradition which,
while highly intellectual in the original sense of this term, is neither
theology (kalām) nor philosophy (falsafah) while dealing with many
subjects of their concern although from another perspective. This
body of knowledge is called doctrinal Sufism, al-tasawwuf al-‘ilmī in
Arabic, to be contrasted to practical Sufism, al-tasawwuf al-‘amalī, or
theoretical (and sometimes speculative) gnosis (this term being
understood in its original and not sectarian sense), especially in the
Persian-speaking world, where it is referred to as ‘irfān-i nazarī. The
seekers and masters of this body of knowledge have always
considered it to be the Supreme Science, al-‘ilm al-a‘lā, and it
corresponds in the Islamic context to what we have called elsewhere
scientia sacra.
This corpus of knowledge is implicit in the Quran,
Hadīth, and the writings of early Sufis. It becomes somewhat more
explicit from the 4th
/10th
century onward in works of such masters as
Hakīm Tirmidhī, Abū Hāmid Muhammad and Ahmad Ghazzālī, and
‘Ayn al-Qudāt Hamadānī and receives its full elaboration in the
7th
/13th
century in the hands of Ibn ‘Arabī, not all of whose writings
are, however, concerned with this Supreme Science. This corpus is
distinct from other genres of Sufi writing such as manuals for the
practice of Sufism, works on spiritual virtues, Sufi hagiographies,
Sufi poetry, etc. but during the past seven centuries this body of
knowledge has exercised great influence on most other aspects of
Sufism and also on later Islamic philosophy and even kalām.
Despite its immense influence in many parts of the Islamic
world during the last centuries, doctrinal Sufism or theoretical gnosis
has also had its opponents over the centuries, including certain
scholars of the Quran and Hadīth, some of the more exoterist jurists,
many of the theologians (mutakallimūn), some of the more
rationalistic philosophers and even some Sufis associated with Sufi
centers (khānqāh or zāwiyah) and established orders. The latter have
opposed the theoretical exposition of truths which they believe should
be kept hidden and which they consider to be associated closely with
spiritual practice and inward unveiling (kashf). Still, this body of
knowledge has been preserved and has continued to flourish over all
these centuries, exercising immense influence in many domains of
Islamic thought while remaining for many the crown of all
knowledge.
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