Sufism: An Introduction to the Mystical Tradition of Islam

by Carl W. Ernst

The soaring voice of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, the ecstatic dance of the Whirling Dervishes, the rapturous verse of Jalaluddin Rumi—all are expressions of Sufism, often regarded as the mystical tradition of Islam. Who are the Sufis? They are more than mystics; they are empowered by the Qur'an and the Prophet Muhammad. They are guided by saints and masters. They belong to orders ranging from North Africa and Turkey to India and Central Asia. In addition to prayer and fasting, they practice techniques of meditation. They recite poetry, delight in music, and perform dance, all towards one goal—union with God, the Divine Beloved. This comprehensive introduction clarifies the concept of Sufism and discusses its origin and development. In addition, the author discusses the important issues of Sufism's relationship with the larger Islamic world and its encounters with fundamentalism and modern secularism, along with the appropriation of Sufism by non-Muslims and the development of Sufi traditions in the West.

Genres: Religion, Islam, Spirituality, Mysticism, History, Nonfiction, Read For School

288 pages, Paperback

First published September 23, 1997

About the author

Carl W. Ernst is the Kenan Distinguished Professor of Islamic studies at the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is also the director of the Carolina Center for the Study of the Middle East and Muslim Civilizations.

Ernst received his A.B. in comparative religion at Stanford University in 1973, and his Ph.D. at Harvard University in 1981.

Ernst's recent book, Following Muhammad: Rethinking Islam in the Contemporary World (UNC Press, 2003), has received several international awards, including the 2004 Bashrahil Prize for Outstanding Cultural Achievement.

Reviews

[Anna Kendig · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who has learned little bits and pieces about Sufism through an appreciation for the ecstatic religious poetic tradition made famous by those like Jelaluddin Rumi and Hafiz/Hafez, this book was invaluable. It helped to correct a lot of romantic notions about Sufism that are often put forward by lovers of these great poets who have not taken the time to respect and learn about the traditions from which they came - namely, the strain of Islam known in the West as "Sufism," but which represents a myriad of traditions and ideas within Muslim thought and practice. Ernst attempts to clarify the confusions and misapprehensions about Sufism that have been present since colonial times, and even within the Muslim community itself, without creating more rigid categories of his own. I found this helpful, but it could become frustrating for those looking for succinct responses. Highly recommended, but only for those with enough interest to wade through a book which lays out its information slowly, and has no bullet points for easy reference.

[Syed Emir Ashman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ernst presents here a very decent introduction to sufism. It is a well researched book that offers novices to this most mysterious (and contentious) of traditions a general overview on tassawuf. It is a good starting point for those with no prior knowledge on the subject-matter.

The only thing I’d say is that there was a bit of a focus on sufism as it developed in South Asia - due I suspect, to the author’s expertise. Doesn’t take away from the book at all though. I still enjoyed it thoroughly.

[Ryan Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really looking for something more nuts and bolts, and a bit more historical perspective, but I shouldn't criticize for not being what I wanted it to be. As an 'introduction' to Sufism, this book serves fine, although I would be more inclined to describe it as an 'overview', especially if you are trying to understand modern Sufism. The first part definitely helps explain why it has been difficult to find good introductions to this religious tradition.

[Krishnanand Khambadkone]

This book can also be called Sufism 101. A very good introduction to this branch of Islam that is basically associated with Shia'ism since it's adherents follow the tenets of Ali and the Imams. Sufism is probably the only moderating factor in this otherwise widely misunderstood religion and may be the answer to solving it's centuries long confrontations with other faiths.

[Hanif Salim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite an extensive introduction to Sufism covering its history, rituals and practices and relationship with the state and modern world. The book itself is of an academic nature so can be quite tedious to those who wish to have a quick introduction to the subject. Nonetheless, it provides in-depth overview of aspects of Sufism that is interesting and noteworthy.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little scattershot at times, but a very good reference and introduction to a topic I didn't know anything about. Worthwhile.

[Steve Woods · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great introduction. Well worth the read.

[Dan Zwirn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A clearly articulated ‘101’ to the history and underlying tenets of Islamic mysticism; shows the many parallels to the underlying core of several other religions.

[Saif Elhendawi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very useful guide to the practical parts of Sufism, Ernst expertly and professionally deals with the topic. He avoids falling into the biases of western orientalists trying to appropriate and classify Sufism and Islam into categories that suit the political or imperial goals of their patrons. Instead, this book takes the matter seriously, without dismissing any Sufi tradition as superstition or pigeon holing it into a mystical tradition that is outside the realm of Islam. He gives a detailed historical context and background to the Sufi practices and traditions, including Sufi orders, master and student relationship, Sufi poetry, music and dance. He also explains some of the contexts by which saint veneration, miracles and other controversial aspects of Sufi practice can be considered. He consistently allows for the complexity of the topic to be appreciated and offers several references and further readings in the notes for those interested in delving further. Particularly, he is able to fully analyze and contextualize the contemporary Sufi movements in terms of mass media, modernism, fundamental Islam and religious scholarship in general. I would recommend this book for anyone interested in Sufism as it clarifies terminology and serves as a helpful starting point to understand the complex poetry and traditions of Sufism.

[Natta Kuiski · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid, readable introduction to Sufism. His dismissal of the idea of Sufis as a proselytizing vanguard was, to me, unexpected. It seems like Nile Green in "Sufism: A Global History" was pretty keen on that theory.

My only criticism is the structure felt a little sloppy at times, like his train of thought was frequently off the tracks. As readers we've been conditioned to expect (with good reason!) that ideas within a paragraph, for example, will be closely related to each other, and as the author moves from sentence to sentence to develop these ideas, they will flow from one into the other in a logical manner. I frequently found myself re-reading sections of this book because I felt Ernst was just going from one idea to the next – within a paragraph – with very little, if anything, threading them together.

All in all a good book, though, and I'd recommend it to someone interested in a serious but not stilted introduction to Sufism.

[Logan Streondj · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was what it claimed to be an overview of sufism from around the world, but it was rather dry and analytical. Doesn't seem it really captured the spirit of Sufism, more had the spirit of european onlookers of sufism.
While it mentioned sufis as having mystical experiences there was little explanation as to which mystical experiences they were having. And it does not seem the author attempted to have any.
In brief all i learned is that sufis write poetry, and music and then listen to it while dancing to get into ambigious mystical states.
They also have long teacher student lineages and sometimes are involved in politics.

Personally i am not a fan of poetry so not really my cup of tea. My intuition is that they had to resort to poetry to describe their mystical experience due to intense persecution by fundamentalist Islamic types who fear anyone having mystical experiences.

[Lachlan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ernst refuses to focus solely on the more sensational aspects of Sufism - mystical states and ritual practises - in favour of a broader approach.

Ernst touches on issues are diverse as the historic and textual origins of Sufi practise, the worship of Saints, meditation and mystical experience, poetry, the history and structure of Sufi institutions (orders), Sufi music and dance, and rather engaging analysis of the Western-Orientalist view of Sufism and Islam.

A strong study of Sufism, if a little dry at times. Admittedly, my interest was primarily the metaphysical system/s of Sufism, which Ernst does not discuss.

[Nicholas Waldrop · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic beginner level introduction text to Islamic mysticism. It is a quick and easy read. It covers the major tenants, practices, figures and there of. The author is vehemently self-aware of his perspective and tries to portray this tradition in light from within. However, the only criticism I have is, he tends to avoid the problematic.

[Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well research book on the mystical tradition. This book is not theology but an academic study of Sufism which presents the tradition squarely in Islam

[Owen Cantrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

An scholarly survey of Sufism that provides an overview of major issues. Interesting context, especially regarding the fight over Sufism between Orientalist scholars and fundamentalists.

[Laney Poye · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great overview of how Sufi mysticism influenced culture from China all the way to Europe and everything in-between.

[Mercie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good introduction into Sufism, but a bit dry.

[Ilene Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[Maram]

This is a solid introductory-level book on Sufism that is clear, simple, and well-structured. It presents very interesting ideas, though it can feel quite dry at times.

[Caleb Mattinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides a decent history of Sufism and how it relates to Islam. The issue with this book is I still have no idea what it means for someone today to be a Sufi.

[Sue Dounim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been reading a lot of books on Sufism these past several months, after picking up books by Idries Shah I've had for years. It's led me to amazing places, and you can see in my list of books on Goodreads some reviews I've written. Some are massive scholarly histories and some were basically new age revisionism. Idries Shah's books are neither scholarly nor authentic, but have the value of many good quotes from actual Sufi masters and the presentation of many wonderful "Nasreddin" stories. His worst offense, in my opinion, is ahistorically detaching Sufism from Islam and presenting Sufism as a perennial mystical discipline with prehistoric roots.
I've come back to this book from 1997 by Carl Ernst and I will say pretty emphatically at this point that this is the first book I'd recommend to any open-minded person interested in the Sufi history and practice. He even spends time on its later and modern manifestations in music, poetry, and art.

[Matt Friedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the one hand, Ernst's book is a wonderful and informative introduction to the basics of Sufi thought. On the other hand, he periodically segues into polemics against particularly Protestant Christian thought in a manner which assumes that his principle audience is composed of such Protestants who perhaps need to be shown the error of their orientalist ways. This becomes particularly strained when he seeks to demonstrate that, unlike those dastardly colonial missionaries, the Sufis really had no organized motive for converting others to Islam.

His critique of Fundamentalism more generally in this context (sometimes including Christian as well as Islamic varieties) seems rather more suited to his topic.

[GONZA · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of the book was also quite interesting, perhaps because it spoke of Islam more generally, when then began to go into details such as the names of God or the suras bored me a little bit more.

La prima metá del libro era anche abbastanza interessante forse perché parlava dell'Islam piú in generale, quando poi ha cominciato a scendere in particolari come i nomi di Dio o le sure mi ha annoiato un pochino di piú.

[Playhead · Rating 1 out of 5]

It assumed you had a deep background of Islam and their different orders. I didn't enjoy the book personally. However it's full of information and I can't bench mark it with other Sufism related books as its my first.

[Noran Amin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting. It is a very good guide for those who would like to start reading about Sufism.