Sufism (tasawwuf) refers to a spiritual branch of Islam, a mystical belief system that promotes principles and practices that aim at direct communication between a human being and God. Sufi practices are specifically designed to free people of any desires that could keep them from the experience of pure divine love. It demands complete abandonment of worldly pleasures and invites you on a metaphysical path to explore all aspects of the nature of God.
Sufism is not bound to conventional religious practices. It is referred to as “free style mysticism”, due to being comprised of activities that focus on freeing the soul of religious orthodoxy. It centralizes on self-realization as a means to achieve closeness with God, along with surrendering everything materialistic for a selfless service to humanity.
Being the process of direct divine knowledge, Sufism requires a person to pass several stages before they can successfully transition from their worldly selves to devoted spiritual beings. These stages demand a complete rejection of materialism, allowing pursuers of Sufism to fully detach themselves from anything not having to do with god or reality.
The first of these four stages is Shari’a. This stage focuses on perfecting a person’s beliefs of the Islamic constitution, the exact way it is put in the Qur’an, the holy book of the Muslims. In this stage, they must diligently mould their every action to fit the Islamic way of life.
Once the conditions for Shari’a have been met, they must move on to Tariqah, a term which literally translates to “path” or “road”. Tariqah refers to the spiritual path that Sufis must take to achieve ma’rifah, which is direct contact with or knowledge of God, and the last stage of Sufism. However, ma’arifah cannot be achieved without haqq or haqiqat, i.e. the reality which forms the basis of this entire mystical belief system.
Sufism is practiced in several countries all around the world, but due to Pakistan having a 97% Muslim population, it is comparatively more abundant here. There are two categories or levels of Sufism that can be found within the Pakistani Sufi community.
The first of these are characterized by the rural population, people who believe through a mediating channel of information. This information comes from saints known as pirs, and Sufis form a spiritual bond with them to strengthen their beliefs, in hopes that it would bring them closer to God. They also worship through shrines for better spiritual communication.
The second category is somewhat more modernized; they base their approaches on the writings of orientalist authors and medieval theologians. This level of Sufism is quickly gaining popularity, and is comparatively more accepted in general by skeptics.
Pakistani Sufi activities have fascinated many outside observers, such as their tradition of the dancing known as dhamaal. They believe that when a jinn (a spiritual entity part of the intrinsic Islamic belief) enters the body of a human being, participating in dhamaal as a group in a courtyard near a shrine will expel it from the body; their carefree demeanor and impassioned chants are certainly a sight to marvel at.
How Pakistani Sufism is cultivated in mass media has a lot to do with the current standing of this country globally. Pakistan has been branded as a “Sufi country” on many occasions. The shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, a Pakistani Sufi saint and religious poet, is where a lot of Sufis gather for spiritual inspiration. Their previously mentioned demeanor paired with the rich history of the place makes for a very interesting combination, portrayed in local and foreign media with positive connotations.
However, there is a darker side to Pakistani Sufism, and it stems from one of the most toxic core problems in our society: extremism. With the very frequent militant attacks and an ongoing terrorist reign against the minorities in the country, the reputation of nearly all Pakistani religious groups has been tainted in the media, one way or another. Since Islam governs the country’s ideology, it makes sense to assume that most of these actions are inspired by those beliefs.
With Sufism being an unorthodox, esoteric method of worship, it was bound to have enemies in a state full of conventional sectarian extremists. People often consider Sufism a part of Islam, and the basis of Sufism does lie in it; however, Sufism is a practice that transcends sects – it cannot be categorized as a part of any religion because of its otherworldly practices.
Sufism is often seen as a celebration of spiritual purity, something that preaches love and tolerance through its eccentric yet fascinating practices; but not everyone sees it that way. Most extremists interpret Sufi practices as open displays of polytheism. They believe in the fundamentality of Sunni Islam, and reject the beliefs of all minorities. For this reason amongst many others, Pakistan has a rich history of attacks on Sufi shrines, despite being a state governed by religion.
Since the reign on Ayub Khan, Sufis living in this region have had to fight for their right to practice their beliefs, because they did not line up with the political and religious goals of the state. This was often due to pirs demanding a large following for every shrine culture they led.
Fortunately, Sufis are very hard to keep down. Despite the constant attacks, threats, and policies that have threatened to shut down their public activities in the past, they still celebrate mystical tradition by gathering at places like the shrine of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai. Pakistani Sufis continue to preach their message of love and harmony, which sends a loud and clear message to the extremists, while also proving the skeptics wrong.
Like every other minority, Sufis may continue to receive threats in this country, but their progressive growth as a community continues to strengthen their foothold here.
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