There are many words that, through widespread loose usage, cease to mean anything. Take ‘spiritual’, for instance. Introverts of various degrees, those who like slow music, individuals that are not very particular about their personal hygiene, and the sort of men that are found occupying airport bar stools are all apt to claim from time to time that they are ‘very spiritual’. (To be fair, the man imbibing on the bar stool does have valid justification for his claim– provided ‘spiritual’ is taken to pertain to spirits.)
‘Sufi’ is similarly a problematic word that is very hard to make head or tail of. Not that the word does not have a meaning. It does. In fact, it has way too many meanings, which is all right because that is how all languages work. The problem is that it is rarely made clear what a person precisely means when he uses the word. Very often, this results in sitcom-like situations where two individuals use the same word with very different things in their minds, much to the amusement of bystanders.
However, what often makes situations worse than merely comical is the fact that many of the notions about the word are way too vague and ambiguous to be of any help to anybody. Therefore, not infrequently, not only the second or the third person, but the first person himself is unclear as to what he means by the word.
No wonder the word is so popular. Any word that ambiguously covers a large spectrum of meanings without forcing one to commit to any of them must be a godsend for intellectually lazy individuals, particularly those who have a high opinion of themselves. Especially when there is a broad consensus that whatever the word may precisely mean, its connotation is positive.
When it comes to the etymology of the word, according to one popular narrative ‘Sufi’ originates from the word ‘sūf’ (Arabic for wool). The story goes on to explain that because Sufis, as part of their ascetic, self-denying lifestyles, often wore hot and uncomfortable attire (hair shirts), over time they came to be referred to as the ‘wool’-ones. Imaginative though this hypothesis is, from the linguistic viewpoint it scarcely holds water.
If the ‘who’ question is hard, the ‘what’ question is even harder. Today, ‘Sufi’, as an adjective, describes many nouns. There is Sufi poetry, Sufi music, Sufi literature, Sufi architecture, Sufi healthcare, Sufi diet, and what have you. It is anybody’s guess what any of these items even means. Trust me when I say that I do not even want to find out.
Al-Biruni presents a more sensible theory. He believes that when Muslims first encountered Western thought in the form of Greek philosophy, they liked and adapted the noun ‘Sufi’ (from ‘sophy’ of ‘philosophy’, which means wisdom) to mean a wise man. This later led to the word ‘Tasawwuf’ as the name of the institution. The problem was that ‘philosopher’ had already been transliterated into Arabic as ‘felsūf’ (with the Arabic letter ‘seen’). Therefore, to avoid being seen to be linked in any way with the Western philosophical tradition, they were careful to transliterate ‘Sufi’ using the Arabic letter ‘saad’ instead. This hypothesis is much more credible for those with a taste for languages.
Be that as it may, the word has had a long journey ever since. While most dictionaries define ‘Sufi’ abstractly as a Muslim mystic or ascetic, today the word is associated variously (and ambiguously) with anything from a believer of unity-of-being (monism) and the illusory nature of the apparent separateness found in the universe; to a practitioner of spiritual exercises as tools to reach the Truth; to somebody associated in any way with the pir-mureed (spiritual guide-disciple) system; to anybody who prefers esoteric (private) interpretations of religious texts; all the way to one who puts emphasis on the ‘spiritual’ side of life as opposed to its ritualistic and legal aspects. The spectrum hardly ends here, for my next-door neighbour believes he is a Sufi because of his love for Qawwali music– of a rather low calibre, which sadly I have no way to avoid overhearing. So much for the ‘Who is a Sufi?’ question, which is not easy to answer on account of the wide range of possible answers.
If the ‘who’ question is hard, the ‘what’ question is even harder. Today, ‘Sufi’, as an adjective, describes many nouns. There is Sufi poetry, Sufi music, Sufi literature, Sufi architecture, Sufi healthcare, Sufi diet, and what have you. It is anybody’s guess what any of these items even means. Trust me when I say that I do not even want to find out.
P.S. I have just realized that there is a definition of Sufi which I have missed, and which merits an honourable mention because it used to be quite popular till only a few years ago. In fact, many seniors continue using it to this day. Although it suffers from the drawback of disqualifying at least one half of humanity from the glory of being a Sufi, it has the compensatory distinction of being completely unambiguous. It is due to this precision that out of all others this interpretation happens to be my favourite. As per this definition, any individual who happens to sport a beard is a Sufi– no questions asked.
