Reviewing the Debate for Sufis and Antinomianism
Abstract
This paper attempts to explain the difference between the approach of Ulema and Sufis by juxtaposing it with Antinomianism of Christianity. This comparison with Christianity serves two purposes: first, it brings forth the fact that such scenarios are not peculiar to Islam. Second, it shows how, while labelling, the religious scholars of Islam assumed the role of religious authorities like the clergy in Christianity. The paper suggests that the basic difference between traditionalist Ulema and Sufis is of the manner in which they approach existence and reality; and that it would not have caused much trouble, had these Sufis were not critical of their contemporary political establishment.
References
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Ibid.
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Ibid.
Ibid.
Ibid.
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For further detail see, Kenneth S. Avery, A Psychology of Sufi Sama, 5.
Ibid.
Regula Qureshi, Sufi Music of India and Pakistan: Sound, Context and Meaning in Qawwali. Cambridge: Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge, 1986), 122.
For a detailed discussion see “The Nature and Origin of Sufism,” by Abu Bakr Siraj Ed-Din, 233-3, in Encyclopedia of Islamic Spirituality Volume One: Foundation.
For a precise and comprehensive discussion see, Sufism and its Political Dimensions: A Historical Perspective, 68-77.
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