THE MYSTICS OF ISLAM

by Reynold A. Nicholson

Routledge, Kegan Paul, London

[1914]

THE MYSTICS OF ISLAM

INTRODUCTION

THE title of this book sufficiently explains why it is included in a Series 'exemplifying

the adventures and labours of individual seekers or groups of seekers in quest of reality.'

Sufism, the religious philosophy of Islam, is described in the oldest extant definition as

'the apprehension of divine realities,' and Mohammedan mystics are fond of calling

themselves Ahl al-Haqq, 'the followers of the Real.'

{Al-Haqq is the term ge ne rally used by Sufis

when they refer to God.}

In attempting to set forth their central doctrines from this point of

view, I shall draw to some extent on materials which I have collected during the last

twenty years for a general history of Islamic mysticism--a subject so vast and many-sided

that several large volumes would be required to do it anything like justice. Here I can

only sketch in broad outline certain principles, methods, and characteristic features of the

inner life as it has been lived by Moslems of every class and condition from the eighth

century of our era to the present day. Difficult are the paths which they threaded, dark

and bewildering the pathless heights beyond; but even if we may not hope to accompany

the travelers to their journey's end, any information that we have gathered concerning

their religious environment and spiritual history will help us to understand the strange

experiences of which they write.

In the first place, therefore, I propose to offer a few remarks on the origin and historical

development of Sufism, its relation to Islam, and its general character. Not only are these

matters interesting to the student of comparative religion; some knowledge of them is

indispensable to any serious student of Sufism itself. It may be said, truly enough, that all

mystical experiences ultimately meet in a single point; but that point assumes widely

different aspects according to the mystic's religion, race, and temperament, while the

converging lines of approach admit of almost infinite variety. Though all the great types

of mysticism have something in common, each is marked by peculiar characteristics

resulting from the circumstances in which it arose and flourished. Just as the Christian

type cannot be understood without reference to Christianity, so the Mohammedan type

must be viewed in connexion with the outward and inward development of Islam.

The word 'mystic,' which has passed from Greek religion into European literature, is

represented in Arabic, Persian, and Turkish, the three chief languages of Islam, by 'Sufi.'

The terms, however, are not precisely synonymous, for 'Sufi' has a specific religious

connotation, and is restricted by usage to those mystics who profess the Mohammedan

faith. And the Arabic word, although in course of time it appropriated the high