Who is a Sufi?

Zen meditation background -  balanced stones stack in water with reflection

A Sufi is interested in the essence, not the form. He looks at what is inside, not outside. A human being has an outward appearance — how we look, the clothes we wear, the car we drive, the house we live in, and the money we have. To the Sufi they matter little. It is what is inside a person, his character and spirit that interest the Sufi. To the Sufi, the exoteric outward forms of an individual are an illusion; the reality lies in that which is esoteric, the inner part. The Sufi can be a man or a woman, young or old, black or white, a professional or a homemaker. Labels do not matter to a Sufi.

The Sufi is grounded in ethical principles. He knows that these principles connect him to his core. He knows that, no matter how much change there is around him, the ethical principles are changeless. Principles provide an anchor for the Sufi. The quest of the Sufi is to listen to his conscience and to follow it in both good and trying times. The Sufi knows that he can never get lost if he follows the true or straight path.

The Sufi is a person of timelessness and placelessness, living in the world but not of the world. While he is a mystic, he is not a hermit living on a mountain somewhere. Rather, he lives a balanced life, avoiding excessive materialism and striving for spirituality at his core. A Sufi views his role in this life as that of an instrument or vessel through which he takes with one hand and gives with another. He goes with the flow, living in the moment but without losing sight of his vision.

(Excerpt from the book, The One Minute Sufi by Azim Jamal)

Share this post on social media

leave a comment