SUFISM IN A NUTSHELL

When it is said that Islam is the religion of 'nature', or is a natural religion, it means that Islam suits human nature and can meet all its requirements. But what is human nature and how can the tenets of Islam satisfy it?

We all know that man is a combination of body and soul (or spirit). The existence of man's soul has now been scientifically proven, with evidences taken from experiences of telepathy, levitation, clairvoyance, and other 'extra sensory perception'. Photographs of the soul's aura have also been recorded by scientific means.

Since the human body belongs to the material world, it has the tendency to pull us downward to its low earthly origin. The soul, however, is of Divine nature and has the tendency to pull us upwards to its spiritual origin.

Human life is thus the name of the constant tug of war between the lower bodily and higher spiritual forces. If the former gets stronger, man succumbs to greed, anger, arrogance, and is ruined. If, however, the latter gains the upper hand, he gets exalted to Divine nearness, presence and union, and wins the battle of life. All the prophets of God and heavenly books came to warn and help mankind to keep a happy balance between the body and soul and to reach the final destination of God without difficulty.

Another characteristic of human nature is that both the body and soul need food to survive. The body is material and its food is material, while the soul is spiritual and gets restless without its spiritual food. The relationship between body and soul is similar to that of a horse and rider; both are needed to complete the journey: the horse to bear the rider, and the rider to guide the horse to the proper destination.

In fact, the present day restlessness, worries, conflicts and confrontation in the whole world in general and in the West in particular, are due to the fact that while everything is being done to feed the body (the horse), pretty nothing is done to feed the soul (the rider) who in the end really matters.

It is hoped that the collection of books on Sufism presented here will provide guidance to readers in feeding their souls with spiritual food that will lead to the tranquility, contentment and happiness that has been long sought after.