What is Sufism?

In this video, I explain what Sufism is and dispel some of the misconceptions surrounding this fundamental aspect of Islam.

Sufism, which is also known as Tazkiyyah, is quite simply the spiritual dimension of Islam, and it's goal and aim is the purification of the self so that nothing but spiritual excellence remains. This state and station of spiritual excellence is known as Maqam al-Ihsan.

Sufi knowledge and training is based upon a system known as Tariqa, which literally means the Path or the Way, and necessitates a living lineage that can be traced directly back to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ in an unbroken chain of transmission.

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I welcome your comments below. Although I may not be able to personally respond to each one, please know that I read each and every single comment, and I value your feedback as we continue to develop content for this channel.

Thank you, and best and most blessed regards. To your divine and eternal success.

[KatariaGujjar]

"The greatest struggle is the conquest of self." That's the essence of sufism.

[emelbulut]

This reminds me of how my parents and grandfather used to speak of Islam. I am grateful for your video. It hits home, brings back memories and sparks my curiosity. Thank you.

[wenwyn]

I wish the wisdom shared in this video is what we associated with the message of Islam in the U.S. Maybe one day it will be. Thank-you so much for sharing your insight. I was deeply moved.

[maramnasagain]

I discovered sufism two years ago from a novel on Rumi (I was 17 back then). It really made me discover a very soft aspect of Islam i've never learned it existed because we are sadly so absorbed by the form. I got really curious about it, looked into it and i've come to the conclusion that it's not an aspect of islam, that it's real Islam and prophet Muhammed PBUH was the first Sufi. Your channel is incredible, it makes us connect us on a deeper level to Almighty Allah. May Allah bless you, keep it up brother Ihsan, indeed your name suits you perfectly.🤩

[Skypad]

"religion without spirituality can become a antithesis to its purpose" you are so damn right there. I've come to realise that many of the major religions today are just blind and materialistic, they never try to actually contact the greater powers on the spiritual level. I believe by spiritually connecting ourselves to the greater powers, we can believe in them more, they will feel more real to us, it will make religion feel so much more essential and rewarding. 

I'm liking sufism.

[thechristbal]

(Myself Baptist Christian) Thank you so much Sir for enriching my knowledge. it was worth spending 37:05 minutes here. in fact, not only Sufism but every religion has the same message. we, the humans are the sinners since inception and we still struggles with two dimension of life- physical and spiritual. In Christianity too, Protestantism emerged because of the extreme incorporation of forms and law into the religion that eventually tended to devalue the inner essence of religion. God Bless You.

[ballshippin]

I don't know why so many mainstream Muslims despise Sufism. I'm not even a Muslim and it sounds like a pretty good philosophy/religion. It sounds very similar to Zen Buddhism and Taoism. Good video by the way

[Agerskiold]

I am a Christian - But this just spoke to me in a new way. Thank you for this video

[mHvip]

i started realising about the formality and moralisation in Islam a few weeks ago. and I was kind of upset about it because of the way muslims are living now and the way some of them thinks. I've always been interested in spirituality and without realising I started to learn some stuff about enlightment and some other concepts. I thought it might be Buddhism but I still learn about it because I really like to focus on spirituality. Thankfully I found out about sufism omg. I'm so glad. I thought I'm the only one realising about how the Islam is now. It turns out some people realize about it long ago. I'm so happy. Thank you for the video

[chaitanyaRupini]

Incredible video. Thanks so much for posting it. It clearly explains the path, the label, the misconceptions etc. I am a Hindu but can relate to all that is said as essentially all religions preach the same divine qualities.... Once again thanks God bless!

[Akayoueche]

This is absolutely beautiful MashaAllah. Thank you for debunking misconceptions and thank you for vocalising how I have been feeling lately. I have been feeling a lack of spirituality and you explained many reasons why. May Allah reward you, ameen

[Smrrain]

Asalaamualeikam, Thank you so much for this video! It is by far the most complete, clear and understandable explanation of Sufism I have ever heard! It is also applicable to all the other religions(containers) too. The spirit is life. May we all seek the spiritual wisdom within the Tradition of choice. May all our journeys be Toward the One!

[MB-tbjy]

Ihsan Alexander, I'm really glad that you're making this video. I am really bothered by people's ignorance of Tassawwuf because it's just damaging in several different ways. It has gone so far at times that I've refused to even use the word Sufi out of shame, of associating myself with strange stereotypes. When I try to advise people, my first go to method is unfortunately to avoid using the word Sufi. This really needs to be talked about especially in regards to Westerners. Why Westerners? Because a lot of them will rather take there information from wrong sources (speculative orientalists, new-agers, Muslims who don't observe Shari'ah) and forward it. A video which often tops the list on YouTube search result is the "top 10 facts about Sufism" by FTD reports. And it's full of misinformation, some of which is even blasphemous in the view of tawhid.

[athena]

The mystic esoteric religions/spirtualities of the world will show us the light of truth. Gnosticism, Sufism, Kabbalah, Hermeticism/Alchemy, Hinduism, Vajrayana and so on. Through them, we see the universal truth.

[BeautywithAmaris]

Thank you. The way these words were spoken have struck a cord and brought awareness to how much of an ego driven path i was leading. My spiritual path towards reality has just begun, but the more i look, the more i realize that realty is within us, within the heart. I am grateful to have come across this video

[tommytucker]

I'm not religious but this is the only type of Islam that has interested me.

[AshwiniSharma]

It was enchanting to listen to this guy. So calm and balanced. Amazing (y)

[ltopomcfly]

Great video. Ihsan Alexander is like the Muslim, positive version of Sam Harris, but spiritual and actually well-informed about Islam.

[Fulani]

Great explanation of Sufism.  I am not a Sufi, but have always been interested in knowing more.  When I became a Muslim the thing that people said to me was to stay away from Sufism because of that "warning" I knew I needed to learn more about it.  Since then I decided to research for myself it has now been years since I first read about Sufism and it has helped me tremendously. I realized that it was not a path that one should fear, but that it was actually closer to me than any other form of Islam in many ways because my connection to Allah is much more than religion which allow me to be tolerant of others as I recognize the benefit of seeking to have piety and a spiritually healthy heart. I no longer claim to be Sunni, Shia etc.  I am a Muslim.

[paxdriver]

There are sooo many important points you made so well in rapid succession. Thanks much for the upload.