Sufism

Sufism (Arabic صوفية sufiya, DMG ṣūfīya), also known as Tasawwuf (Arabic تصوف tasawwuf, DMG taṣauwuf), is an ascetic-spiritual movement which today classifies itself as part of Islam and is therefore considered to be Islamic mysticism par excellence, but which in fact has much older origins than Islam and is occasionally associated with Gnosticism. It is not clear whether the word Sufi comes from the Arabic ṣūf صُوف - " sheep's wool", which refers to the woollen garments of the Sufis, or from ṣafā صفا - "pure".

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was also decisively influenced by Sufism in his reception of Islam.

The Persian poet and Sufi mystic Rumi is credited with the following verses, among others:

Gold needs no philosopher's stone, but copper, yes.
Refine thyself.
What lives, let die: it is your body.
What is dead, awaken: it is your heart.
What is present, hide: it is this world.
What is absent, let come: It is the hereafter.
What exists, destroy: It is desire.
That which does not exist, create: it is craving.

Literature

• Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: West-östlicher Diwan
• Marc Roberts: Das neue Lexikon der Esoterik, Goldmann TB, München 1995, S. 427
• Julia Iwersen: Lexikon der Esoterik, Artemis & Winkler, Düsseldorf und Zürich 2001, S. 234 - 235
• Gerhard Wehr: Wörterbuch der Esoterik, Herder Vlg., Freiburg im Breisgau 1989, S. 125 - 126
• Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt: Monsieur Ibrahim und die Blumen des Koran, S. Fischer Vlg., Frankfurt a.M. 2004
• Idries Shah: Die Sufis. Botschaften der Derwische, Weisheit der Magier, Vlg. Diederichs, München 1994
• Annemarie Schimmel: Mystische Dimensionen des Islam. Die Geschichte des Sufismus, Insel Vlg., Frankfurt am Main/Leipzig 1995
• Annemarie Schimmel: Sufismus. Eine Einführung in die islamische Mystik, C. H. Beck, München 2000
• Annemarie Schimmel: Gesang und Ekstase. Sufi-Texte des indischen Islam, Kösel Vlg., München 1999
• Khalil Gibran: Der Prophet, Walter Vlg., Solothurn - Düsseldorf 1994
• Tarbiyatun Nafs - Das Reinigen des Seele!, Ilm-Verlag, Dortmund 2015