Dirasat fi al-Tasawwuf
- Author died
- 1407 AH
- Editions
- Dar al-Imam al-Mujaddid lil-Nashr wa-al-Tawzi'
Dirasat fi al-Tasawwuf (Studies in Sufism) is an Arabic treatise by the Pakistani Salafi scholar Ihsan Ilahi Zaheer (1360–1407 AH / 1941–1987 CE) that presents a critical examination and polemical critique of Sufi doctrines, rituals, and technical terminology .
Background and Composition
The book was conceived by the author as the second part and sequel to his earlier study, al-Tasawwuf: al-Mansha' wa-al-Masadir (Sufism: Origins and Sources) . Zaheer completed drafting the introduction to Dirasat fi al-Tasawwuf in Lahore on 9 Jumada al-Ula 1407 AH (10 January 1987 CE) . He sent the draft manuscript to a colleague to solicit a preface shortly before he was fatally injured in a bomb explosion in Lahore later that year .
Because the author died before performing a final revision, the text was published from his draft containing his handwritten marginal notes and crossed-out passages . In his preface, Zaheer noted his intention to author a third volume on Sufism before the end of the year, though his death intervened . The book was published in Lahore by Idarat Turjuman al-Sunnah .
Contents and Structure
While his preceding book addressed the historical origins and external influences on early Sufism, Zaheer dedicated Dirasat fi al-Tasawwuf to examining Sufi practices, doctrines, and terminology . The work is organized into thematic sections (abwab), including:
- Extremism as an Inherent Trait of Sufism (al-Tatarruf min Lawazim al-Tasawwuf): Argues that Sufi asceticism departs from lawful asceticism (al-zuhd al-mashru') through excessive self-mortification, abandonment of lawful matters, and contravention of Islamic legal boundaries .
- Sufism and Contradiction of the Sharia (al-Tasawwuf wa-Mukhalafat al-Shari'ah): Contrasts Sufi stances with adherence to the Quran and the Sunnah .
- Sufism as a Scheme against Islam (al-Tasawwuf Mu'amarah didd al-Islam): Asserts that extraneous philosophical and religious currents—such as Neoplatonic, Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, and Zoroastrian concepts—were channeled through Sufism, weakening adherence to Islamic teachings and the concept of jihad .
- Sufism: Its Innovations and Characteristics (al-Tasawwuf: Bida'uhu wa-Khasa'isuh): Analyzes ritual practices and institutions developed within Sufi circles, including devotional dance, singing (sama'), ecstasies (wajd), specialized litanies (adhkar and awrad), the mental visualization of the master (tasawwur al-shaykh), discipleship conventions, and seclusion in hospices (khanqahs) .
- Sufi Terminology (Mustalahat al-Sufiyyah): Discusses the specialized vocabulary adopted by Sufi authors and argues that their expressions deviate from conventional linguistic and scriptural usage .
Method and Sources
The author's methodology relies primarily on citing excerpts directly from classical and later Sufi literature, hagiographies, and manual collections—such as al-Ta'arruf li-Madhhab Ahl al-Tasawwuf by Abu Bakr al-Kalabadhi, al-Risalah al-Qushayriyyah, and al-Tabaqat al-Kubra by Abd al-Wahhab al-Sha'rani—to support his critique using the Sufi tradition's own texts .
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