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However, I'm aware that most of my viewers have no interest within Sufism, therefore I urge you, if you don't like Sufism or you don't want to learn about Sufism, just skip this video and come back for the next one. If you enjoy my work however, leave me a thumbs up, subscribe to the channel if you haven't already, check out the links in the description box below to further support. And now, with no further ado, let's have a look. I think there's Ottoman music. That's pretty epic. I like it. Yeah, probably Ottoman music. Hello and welcome. Are you ready to embark on a journey deep into the depths of our hearts? This video will take you into the captivating world of Sufism. I'm ready. I hope you guys are too. Sufism is a mystical teaching known not only in the Islamic world, but around the world. We will take a closer look at the basic principles and teachings of Sufism, witness the lives of great Sufis such as Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi and delve into Sufism's relationship with others. It's always Rumi isn't it? I think Eric does like, even I don't be way more interesting. We will also explore the music, literature and rituals of Sufism. What is Sufism's connection to the modern world? We will take a detailed look into this as well. If you're ready, let's start our journey together into this teaching that illuminates our hearts. There's a thicker circle. So to anybody that ever had any type of spiritual experience, be it psychedelically induced or naturally through meditation or isolation or eschatism, this is what you see in those altered states of consciousness. Those patterns, those circles which then people describe as other realms of consciousness or even other dimensions that they can access. So those are described to be spiritual realms that you cannot see within your waking state. However, through extensive meditation, you're able to enter this unseen realm. And therefore when we see those Sufis now in the thicker circle, this is a representation of those realms. It is a manifestation of the unseen, if you will, into the physical world. Very interesting. Yeah, you can see how this has a trans-like optic to it. Very hypnotic. This is something that we see in multiple religions over the millennia. It's not exclusive to Sufism. It's not exclusive to Islam. Through repetitive hypnotic movements, people get into an altered state of consciousness. They get into a trans-like state which then in turn brings them into spiritual ecstasy. So through the repetition, the human is meant to get out of his head and into the heart, so to speak. Because you're repeating in some religions, you're chanting certain things. You're repeating those words over and over again in Hinduism. This is called a mantra. And through that you let go of your everyday consciousness. You let go of your ego, if you will, and you get back into your heart. First into your body, then into your heart. And like that you can forget about yourself and get a deeper connection to God. It's very fascinating to me. Yeah, this would be the ecstatic state. Even in mosques, man, this beautiful, sacred geometry that you can see within mosques... This is something that you can experience with an altered state of consciousness and I'm aware that this is super confusing for people that never had such an experience. I'm trying to describe it as limited as possible and I'm blending in those visuals for you so you can understand what is seen by people that embark on such visionary journeys. Within those meditative states of consciousness, people experience amazing geometry that is out of this world. And yet again, therefore mystics claim, of course, that it is exactly that geometry that has been perceived in an altered state of consciousness that then is manifested in certain holy sites, be it temples or be it mosques. Within Islam that emphasizes the personal experience of the divine and the attainment of inner purity and enlightenment. Sufism's teachings focus on the pursuit of spiritual knowledge and the development of the heart, which is seen as the seat of the soul. Yes, absolutely. Within Sufism you have the emphasis on experiential knowledge, not so much a literalist approach, but something that you can experience for yourself. Imam El-Razali described beautifully the different stages of knowledge. First, you have the knowledge of the external sciences, which he called Ilm El-Zachir. This refers to knowledge of the physical and empirical world, including the natural sciences, mathematics and other fields of study that pertain to the external observable aspects of reality. Then second, you have the knowledge of the rational sciences, Ilm El-Makur. This level of knowledge involves intellectual and rational disciplines, such as logic, philosophy and theology. It encompasses the understanding of abstract concepts and logical reasoning. And then number three, the knowledge of the legal sciences. Ilm El-Thik, this pertains to the understanding of Islamic jurisprudence, including the principles and rules governing Islamic law, Sharia. It involves the application of legal reasoning and interpretation of Islamic sources. Then level four, knowledge of the spiritual sciences, Ilm El-Batin. This level of knowledge focuses on the internal and spiritual dimensions of the human being. It includes the study of Sufism, Islamic mysticism, ethics and the purification of the soul. Then finally, number five, experiential knowledge, Ilm El-Hal. This level involves direct personal experience and realization of spiritual truths. It goes beyond theoretical knowledge and encompasses the transformative and experiential aspect of one's relationship with God. So within Ilm El-Razali's worldview, all of those knowledges had to be balanced. So it was not enough to be just a philosopher. It was not enough to just study thick. You had to balance all of those knowledges and then ultimately attain knowledge that is experiential, spiritual knowledge that you witness firsthand to deepen your connection to God. Sufi practitioners seek to achieve a direct personal experience of God through meditation, chanting and other spiritual practices. Sufism emphasizes the importance of love, compassion and humility and seeks to transcend the material world in pursuit of the ultimate truth. Sufism is not a separate sect of Islam, but rather an approach to the faith that is practiced by individuals within various Islamic traditions. Yes, and this is very important to understand as well. During the golden ages of Islam, certain Imams, as I already mentioned, Imam El-Razali, for example, or even even Arabic, they were not seen as separatists. They were not seen as Sufis. They were just seen as Muslims, people that were highly regarded, people that studied the Sharia. They were great sheikhs of their time. They were simply Muslims adherent to the Sharia, of course, that wanted to deepen their relationship with God. Sufism places a great emphasis on the importance of love, faith and devotion in the pursuit of spiritual knowledge and enlightenment. Love, in particular, is regarded as the most important of these three teachings, as it is seen as the highest expression of the soul's connection to God. Sufi practitioners believe that the ultimate goal of the spiritual path is to achieve a state of complete union with God and that love is the means by which this union is attained. Faith and devotion are also seen as essential to the Sufi path as they provide the foundation for the pursuit of spiritual knowledge and the development of the heart. Yes, because within the Sufi's worldview or the mystic's worldview, love is one of the highest attributes of God, if not the highest attribute and therefore by aligning ourselves with love, by practicing love for our fellow men, we are getting closer and closer to the truth of God, because we know that God is El Wudud, he is the most loving. And because we know that this is an attribute of Allah, an attribute of God, this is why we try to align ourselves with that attribute to draw closer to God. Sufi teachings emphasize that faith and devotion must be rooted in a deep understanding of the divine and that this understanding can only be achieved through personal experience and spiritual practice. Through these teachings, Sufism offers a path to the attainment of inner peace, enlightenment and the realization of the ultimate truth. The Sufi path is based on the principles of Tasawaf, which is the mystical aspect of Islam. The basic principles of Tasawaf include one, ta'afid, oneness of God, the belief in the oneness of God is central to Sufi teachings and is seen as the foundation of all spiritual practice. Yes, and this way it gets very complicated and extremely hard to word, of course, because those things are experiential after all. It is like describing how it feels like to get a pump in the gym. If you never had a pump in the gym, it is absolutely impossible to really describe it. You can say, well, blood is rushing into my muscles and I'm flexing them. Great, but if you don't have that muscle mass and you never lifted that weight and you never got the pump, you have no experience about that state and therefore you can't really talk about it. However, this mystical state of oneness is something that we can find within non-dual teachings. And yet again, non-duality is something that we can find in all the mystical traditions, even within Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc. We are talking about the oneness of God, ta'afid, and that oneness, the Sufis, take even further. They say that the oneness of God, the absoluteness of God of al-hak is essentially the only reality there is, ultimately leading to saying that everything else is not real. So if you look at us human beings, we are temporal, we will decay, we will die, and therefore we are a sub-reality, if you will, and by that standard not really real. The only thing that is real is God, hence he is the absolute reality, the absolute truth. And once we realize that we lose our self, we lose our ego, we realize that we are not real to begin with and that there is nothing but God. It is an extreme ta'afid, if you will, pushed to the extreme. Then this just Islam, those are just Muslims that are even more invested in getting a closer relationship to God. There is nothing wrong with that. No, we are not speaking about Sufis that start worshipping graves. This has nothing to do with Islam. Sufis understand that the spiritual path can be long and difficult and emphasize the importance of patience and perseverance in overcoming obstacles and attaining spiritual growth. Through these principles, Sufis seek to attain a state of inner purity and enlightenment and ultimately to achieve a direct and personal experience of God. Sufism emerged within the Islamic world in the 8th century CE and its origins are rooted in the teachings of early Islamic mystics and ascetics. The term Sufi is... Yeah, this is the claim of the video and if you take that perspective I understand why some people would say, ah, this is a bid'ah. However, you have to take it into context because the Sufist claim is similar to the Muslims claim if we are talking about the religion of Islam. We are talking about the religion of Islam. Some people will say, or most people will say, of course, that Islam started 610. That's when Islam started. However, if you speak to Muslims, they will tell you, of course, that Islam started with Adam, the first man. And we are talking about Sufism. We are basically talking about the spiritual connection to God through mysticism, if you will. And therefore the Sufis claim will be that Sufism always existed from the first man out on. It's derived from the Arabic word for wall, Suf, and is believed to refer to the coarse woollen garments worn by early Sufi practitioners as a symbol of their renunciation of worldly pleasures. The early Sufis were influenced by a range of spiritual traditions. Yeah, from what I know, allegedly Prophet Muhammad SAW, he was wearing wool sometimes, but the wool was kind of itchy. And the Sufis, on the other hand, they were wearing wool all the time because it was itchy. It was uncomfortable to wear. So they were wearing wool as a representation of denunciation of the dunya, wearing something uncomfortable, getting rid of their nefs. Living in a constant state of a skepticism where they denounce themselves ultimately and like that again, draw closer to God. Including Greek philosophy, Christian mysticism, and Indian mysticism. Sufism also drew upon the teachings of early Islamic figures such as Imam Ali and Hassan al-Basri. Yeah, so yeah, again, we have to be careful with such claims because ultimately this claim can be made about every religion, right? This is what is being said about Islam. Yeah, well, Islam piggybacked of Judaism, then of Christianity, etc., etc. It was influenced by Zoroastrianism. Those claims are always there, but we have to stay objective. We have to stay neutral. We have to look at it as unbiased as we potentially can. And therefore, yet again, Sufism, yes, you have mysticism within Hinduism and within Christianity, but the Sufis will never say that they've been influenced by Hinduism or Christianity, but rather that there is a deeper, underlaying metaphysical truth that can be experienced by any human being, no matter what the religion is. Who emphasized the importance of personal spiritual practice and the purification of the soul. Over time, Sufism developed into a distinct and influential tradition within Islam with its own unique practices and teachings. Sufism became particularly prominent during the Golden Age of Islam, which lasted from the 8th to the 14th century and during which time many of the most famous Sufi masters and poets lived and taught. Today, Sufism is practiced throughout the Islamic world and beyond and has had a profound influence on a range of spiritual traditions, including Christianity, Judaism and Hinduism. So now in turn, the video claims that Sufism had a direct impact on Christianity and Judaism, but previously to that, allegedly Sufism was influenced by Hinduism and Christianity. So there you see, if you look at it externally, you will always claim that there must have been an influence from another religion, but if you look at it internally, then you can find those metatruths that can be experienced despite the religion. Alright, so this is it for today's video. I'm going to cut it off here. This video continues. It is an extensive video over 30 minutes and you can check it out on the channel Rhythm Lab. The video title is Sufism and Universal Spirituality. It is a very well done video, so if you want to learn more about Sufism, I highly recommend it. Go check it out. However, for today, I want to cut it off here because there is really no reason to dive deeper into those metaphysical subjects without experience. If this video was inspirational to you, I highly recommend books from El Ghazali, for example, Ibn Arabi or Rumi. So you can dive deeper into this topic in your own spare time because ultimately there is no point in theorizing about those subjects without any experience whatsoever. The experience has to be made. Then you can talk about it. Ultimately, again, I bring it back to a gym example. I cannot talk about the gym with people that never went to the gym. Of course, I can motivate those people. I can tell them, get your butt up and get to the gym. You're out of shape, eat well, lift weights, etc. But ultimately, we cannot talk about details within the gym if somebody never entered the gym. Such things have to be experienced in order to be understood. I personally very much resonate, as I said, with El Ghazali with a balanced approach of spirituality and literalism. You cannot neglect either one of them. This is something that I saw back in the day when I was in the New Age movement, if you will. We talk a little bits and pieces of everything. Beat Buddhism, beat Hinduism, meditation, psychedelics, etc. And ultimately, you don't have real guidance. However, if you have the Sharia, you have Islam and within the umbrella of Islam, you dive deeper and you seek God even further, more intense. I see nothing wrong with that. Please let me know in the comment section what you think about Sufism, what you think about Tasawov, the spiritual practices within Islam. Alright guys, but this is it for today's video. If you liked it, leave it a thumbs up. Subscribe to the channel if you haven't already and check out the links in the description box below to further support. And now, as always, may God bless you all. Much love and peace.