Sufism

May peace be on the guided ones. Welcome to islamicity longears.

Q.1. How do muslims regard works of Sufism?

Ans.  Depends. Obviously, sufis regard these more highly than non-sufis. Scholars are not much bothered about literary works. Quran and hadith is what bothers them. Among the general populace, the cultural heritage plays a big part. Rubayyat e Omar Khayyam will be more widely read in Iran than in Saudi Arabia.

Q.2. Were sufi poets executed?

Ans. Execution for writing poems --- not sure about that. If you can, check the source of your information. However, sufis have been driven out of some places, branded as infidels, and religious decrees have been issued against their ideologies in the past.

Q.3. Do muslims consider them as heretics?

Ans. Some do, others don’t. Depends on which side you are. There are many orders of Sufism. One does not necessarily approve the other. There are various interpretations of Sufism. The problem is that because it is surrounded by mysticism, it has always been difficult to define. So there are differences of opinion inside Sufism, and outside of it as well.

Q.4. What is the basis for the opinion that Sufis are heretics?

Ans. a) Some orders of Sufism believe that through meditation, patience and perseverance, you can reach a state of piety whereby your existence becomes part of God’s existence. You become God and God becomes you. This is clearly in violation of the most fundamental aspect of Islam, tawhid or oneness of God. God is a separate entity from us; unique, absolute, eternal. You can never be part of God, even metaphorically, no matter how pious you are.

b) Also, some sufis believe that when you reach this state, you do not need to pray, or perform other religious duties, since you have gone beyond the human existence. But, from hadith we know, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) prayed till he breathed his last. So, when the greatest of man could not reach this state of piety, how can a normal human being achieve it?

There are many other objections like these.

I would suggest you to read the Quran, and insha’allah you will find out yourself whether Sufism is right or wrong.

As far as your personal approach to religion of addition and no subtraction, I respect it. But I want to say that your approach, or your objective as a human being should be first to find out the truth. Let truth take its own course. You should not avoid truth for the sake of fraternity among the different religions of the world. Falsehood will never unite humanity. Only truth can do it. Jesus (pbuh) is either son of God, or he is not. Both cannot be the truth. So, in this case, you have to subtract any one. It’s a hard choice, one that may not please your heart as Rubayyat e Omar Khayyam would do. But for the sake of truth, you have to do this sacrifice. After all, life has never been a bed of roses.

May Allah guide you to the right path.