What is Sufism - Farm of Peace

What is Sufism?

Sufism or Tasawwuf, often referred to as Islamic mysticism, is the inward journey and practice to find the truth of Divine love and knowledge, also called gnosis. It is a path of direct personal experience of God or–as we Sufis say–Allah, meaning “the One.”

Early Islamic mystics were often seen in woolen garments from which scholars believe the word Sufi comes from. Suf means “wool” in Arabic and just as the wool is malleable in the hands of the Creator, so too is the student in the hands of God.

The practices of Sufism and the journey of the Murid or student, are intended to purify the heart to become a clear mirror of Divine love, embodied on earth. The Sufi way of living a life pure of heart is guided and supported by following the Pillars of Islam, using the practices handed down through the centuries and the teachings of those masters who came before us.

The Farm of Peace is part of the Shadhiliyya Tariqa (or community) also known as the Shadhuli Tariqa. You can read more about its history here.

Our Sufi Teacher, or Guide, Sidi Muhammad Sa’id al-Jamal ar-Rifa’i ash-Shadhili, was born in Tulkum in the Holy Land in 1935 and returned to his Lord on November 11, 2015. He brought the teachings of Sufism to our Communities in the US for over twenty years. His teachings live, and are taught, through his students, books, and his timeless text, Music of the Soul:

The Farm of Peace is part of the Shadhiliyya Tariqa (or community) also known as the Shadhuli Tariqa. You can read more about its history here.

Our Sufi Teacher, or Guide, Sidi Muhammad Sa’id al-Jamal ar-Rifa’i as-Shadhili, was born in Tulkum in the Holy Land in 1935 and returned to his Lord November 11, 2015. He brought the teachings of Sufism to our Communities in the US for over twenty years. His teachings live, and are taught, through his students, books, and his timeless text, Music of the Soul:

“Know, my brother in heart, that what I have said to you in the last meeting about Tasawwuf, the Sufi way, is one of the most important things in life, and the greatest thing in knowledge – the science of His light. This knowledge, Tasawwuf, illuminates the knowers like the sun. It is the source of all the lights and all the secrets. How could this not be, when it is the heart-mind of the way of the prophets? It is the way of the courtesy, the love, the knowledge of God, from Him to Him., It is the way one can reach God, Who is his Master. Jibra’il and all the angels and all the believers will be his support and his guidance if he wants to follow the way of God and realize the secrets of His knowledge.

“Know, my brother in heart, that what I have said to you in the last meeting about Tasawwuf, the Sufi way, is one of the most important things in life, and the greatest thing in knowledge – the science of His light. This knowledge, Tasawwuf, illuminates the knowers like the sun. It is the source of all the lights and of all the secrets. How could this not be, when it is the heart-mind of the way of the prophets? It is the way of the courtesy, the love, the knowledge of God, from Him to Him., It is the way one can reach God, Who is his Master. Jibra’il and all the angels and all the believers will be his support and his guidance if he wants to follow the way of God and to realize the secrets of His knowledge.

For this, he must be ready to make his heart the house of God, filled with love, to be present at God’s table, and to know by God, in God. On that day, he will be helped by Him. Tasawwuf is the way of wool (as-suf) because the Sufi is like wool between the hands of God. The wool has no will of its own. It is soft and easy and it goes with the waves of the will, whichever way the breath blows.

God knows all the secrets of the Sufi, as the Sufi knows the secrets of God which He has taught him. He is the reflection of the qualities of God, refusing all the qualities which are not of the truth. He is empty of everything but God, forgetting all of the unnecessary sciences. As he is following the way of the truth, he is subsisting (al-baqa’) in the presence of God. The Sufis are sitting in the first row seats, face to face with the immediate presence of God. This knowledge is transmitted by the masters of the earth, the prophets, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon them all, with whom God speaks…”