Imam Shamil of Dagestan (left) and Emir Abdelkader of Algeria (right). Although not mentioned in the book, which stops in the 17th century, these two individuals represent the archetype of the warrior-saint—may God be pleased with them both!
In his book Sufi Warrior Saints: Stories of Sufi Jihad from Muslim Hagiography1, Harry S. Neale compiles and translates several Sufi2 hagiographical stories that depict the Sufis as the ideal practitioners of the Islamic doctrine of jihad. He does this through a geographical-chronological framework, starting from the “ascetic warriors and proto-Sufis” of the 8th and 9th centuries, to the Sufi mujahids in the formative period of Sufism of the 9th through 11th centuries, through the Sufi mujahids3 of the Crusades and the Mongol invasions between the 12th and 13th centuries, followed by the Sufi mujahids of Muslim Spain and North Africa from the 12th through 17th centuries, and finally ending with the Sufi mujahids of the Indian subcontinent from the 11th through the 17th centuries.
Through these stories, Neale highlights the multifaceted understanding of jihad, their inseparability and interconnectedness, and how the Sufis in pre-modern Islam embodied and practised it. ‘Jihad’ here refers thus to (a) the inner struggle against the lower self (nafs) and its passions (hawa), which is also called the “greater jihad”4; (b) the military jihad against the enemies of Islam5 as a communal obligation (fard al-kifayah); (c) admonishing an unjust tyrant. The first jihad is the ‘inner’ jihad and has been called mujahada or riyada, whereas the latter two are the ‘outer’ jihad.
Neale’s aim in doing this is primarily to correct, if not at least provide an alternative picture to, what he sees as the various misconceptions prevalent in the West regarding Sufism in particular and Islam in general. The first problem, more prevalent in the general populous, is the reduction of the noble reality of jihad solely to its military dimension and seeing Islam as a fundamentally violent religion equating it to savagery and barbarism. As we have seen, the former is inaccurate since the concept of jihad has three equally important aspects. The latter cannot but be very far from the truth since Islam has stringent and well-defined rules to regulate military engagement.6
The second problem, prevalent within Western scholarship on Sufism, is the “heavy focus on the theoretical and mystical aspects of Sufism” which paints Sufis as pacifistic mystics who concerned themselves only with poetry, music, and dance. This is a highly reductive view of the Sufi as the book goes to show. Here, the issue is again the problematic overemphasis on only one of the three aspects of jihad. Some governments, Muslim or not, have tried to advocate and promote this “pacifistic version” of Islam because it is apolitical and tends not to meddle in the affairs of governance. This, then, usually leads to the neglect of the third pillar of jihad of speaking truth to power.
Lastly, there is the widespread misconception that Sufism is an alternative form or sect of Islam that overlooks doctrinal differences and emphasises the spiritual and ethical commonalities of the various religious traditions. This is primarily reflected in most of the literature in European languages concerning Rumi.7 Most translations of Rumi’s poetry have been de-Islamified, when in fact Rumi strictly adhered to the shariah (he followed the Hanafi school of jurisprudence or madhhab), saw Islam as superior to all other religions, and whose Mathnawi was considered the Qur’an in Persian. In fact, Sufism is synonymous with Islam; there is no one without the other – the division being due to a lack of understanding on the part of Orientalists and subsequently internalised by Muslims who have forgotten as well as misunderstood their own religious tradition.
I picked up this book due to its beautiful cover. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the author sought to dispel the various misconceptions prevalent in the West regarding Sufism. It is also, in a certain way, an invitation to go further and consult for myself the primary sources from which Neale drew. I recommend this book to those who are interested in Islamic history in general and Sufism in particular, as the latter is intimately tied to the spread of Islam in the Malay-Indonesian Archipelago. Perhaps, something I’ll write about in the future.
And God and His Messenger know best.
AFIQ FAUZI
1 A hagiography is simply a jargon for a biography of a saint or saints. It is from the Greek hagios ‘holy’ and graphia ‘writing’
2 Sufism has been identified with Islamic spirituality, Islamic mysticism, or the inner dimension of Islam. To put it simply, it is concerned with the purification of the heart, that is to say, to use medical analogy, the diagnosis of the signs and symptoms and prognosis of cures of the spiritual diseases (envy, pride, etc) of the heart. The great Sufi Abdul Qadir Gilani described it thus: “Sufism is truthfulness with the Real [i.e., God] and good character with creation.” There have been many definitions and descriptions of Sufism by sages and scholars throughout the century. In the ultimate analysis, it is to realise, to put to practice ihsan, “to worship Allah as though you see Him, and if you don’t, He sees you” as was mentioned by the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.
3 A mujahid is a doer of jihad. See the second paragraph for the three-fold meaning of jihad and thus what it entails to do jihad.
4 This is from the following hadith:
A number of fighters came to Muhammad, and he said, “You have come from the ‘lesser jihad’ to the ‘greater jihad’.” The fighters asked, “What is the greater jihad?” Muhammad replied, “It is the struggle against one’s passions.”
5 It should be emphasised here that the “enemies of Islam” are not synonymous with “non-Muslims”.
6 For example, Abu Bakr, the first of the four rightly guided caliphs, may God be pleased with him, was reported to have instructed his army:
Do not kill women or children or an aged, infirm person. Do not cut down fruit-bearing trees. Do not destroy an inhabited place. Do not slaughter sheep or camels except for food. Do not burn bees and do not scatter them. Do not steal from the spoils, and do not be cowardly.
7 Jalaladdin Muhammad Balkhi, better known as Rumi, was born in the region of Balkh in present day Afghanistan in the 13th century. He is widely recognised as one of the greatest sages in Islamic history. The whirling dervishes that we see today are usually associated with Rumi. He is also the best-selling poet in the US – and perhaps the world – although as the linked article shows his works have been inaccurately and unjustly decoupled from Islam.