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Tasawwuf: The Science of Ihsan

First PublishedLast UpdatedByCallUponHim.com

Its roots in the Sunnah, its golden rule, and an honest look at the debates

The Path of Ihsan:

  1. Ihsan: Worshipping Allah as Though You See Him
  2. Tazkiyah: Purification of the Heart
  3. Tasawwuf: The Science of Ihsan (This page)
  4. Ihsan and the Human Mind

If you are new to the concept of ihsan, start with Ihsan: Worshipping Allah as Though You See Him.

What Is Tasawwuf?

Section titled “What Is Tasawwuf?”

In the traditional scholarly heritage, tasawwuf (تصوّف) is the science devoted to the third pillar of the Hadith of Jibril.

Just as fiqh preserves and explains Islam and aqidah preserves and explains Iman, tasawwuf preserves and explains Ihsan.

Tazkiyah is the work of purifying the heart. Tasawwuf is the science that studies that work: how the heart becomes sick, how it is healed, and how it draws near to Allah.

Shaykh al-Islam Zakariyya al-Ansari, the great Shafi’i jurist, described it as a science through which one learns the states of the soul’s purification, the refinement of character, and the building of both the inner and outer self, in pursuit of eternal happiness.

Where the Name Comes From

Section titled “Where the Name Comes From”

Scholars have offered several explanations for the word:

  1. Suf (wool): the simple woolen garments worn by early worshippers who turned away from luxury
  2. Safa (purity): the purity of heart that the path aims for
  3. Ahl as-Suffah (the People of the Bench): the Companions who lived in the Prophet’s ﷺ mosque, devoted to worship and learning

A Later Name for Something That Was Always There

Section titled “A Later Name for Something That Was Always There”

The word “tasawwuf” was not used in the time of the Prophet ﷺ. But neither were the names fiqh, usul al-fiqh, tajwid, or the sciences of hadith.

In every case, the substance was taught by the Prophet ﷺ and lived by the Companions. The names came later, when scholars organized each body of knowledge into a discipline so it could be studied and preserved.

Tasawwuf is the same. Its core content comes directly from the Sunnah.

Rooted in the Sunnah

Section titled “Rooted in the Sunnah”

Each part of tasawwuf has its foundation in authentic hadith:

  1. Its charter: the Hadith of Jibril. Ihsan was taught alongside Islam and Iman, and the Prophet ﷺ said Jibril came “to teach you your religion.” The inner dimension is not an extra; it is part of the deen (Sahih Muslim 8a).

  2. Its goal: nearness to Allah and His love. In a hadith qudsi, Allah says that nothing brings His servant closer to Him than the obligations He has set. Then the servant keeps drawing closer through voluntary worship until Allah loves him, and when Allah loves him, He becomes the hearing with which he hears, the sight with which he sees, the hand with which he acts, and the foot with which he walks (Sahih al-Bukhari 6502). This hadith is the roadmap of the path: the obligations first, then voluntary worship, then the love of Allah. Imam al-Bukhari placed it in his Book of softening hearts.

  3. Its work: purifying the soul. The Prophet ﷺ himself prayed: “O Allah, give my soul its taqwa and purify it, for You are the best to purify it. You are its Protector and Master.” In the same supplication he sought refuge from a heart that is not humble before Allah (Sahih Muslim 2722).

  4. Its central practice: dhikr, alone and together. The Prophet ﷺ said that whenever people sit together remembering Allah, angels surround them, mercy covers them, tranquility descends upon them, and Allah mentions them to those who are with Him (Sahih Muslim 2700a).

  5. Its states of the heart. Hanzalah, a Companion, feared he had become a hypocrite. In the Prophet’s ﷺ presence, he felt Paradise and Hell as though he could see them, but at home that feeling faded. Abu Bakr said he felt the same. The Prophet ﷺ told them that if they stayed in that state of remembrance, the angels would shake their hands in their beds and on their paths, and then reassured Hanzalah that there is a time for this and a time for that (Sahih Muslim 2750a). Imam Muslim titled the chapter on this hadith with the virtue of constant dhikr, reflection on the Hereafter, and muraqabah, the same watchfulness described in the definition of ihsan.

  6. Its detachment from the world (zuhd). The Prophet ﷺ took Abdullah ibn Umar by the shoulder and told him to live in this world as though he were a stranger or a traveler passing through (Sahih al-Bukhari 6416).

  7. Its method: learning through companionship. The Companions were transformed by sitting with the Prophet ﷺ, as Hanzalah’s story shows. Even the Hadith of Jibril teaches this: Jibril came in person and sat knee to knee with the Prophet ﷺ to teach. The Prophet ﷺ compared a righteous companion to a perfume seller, from whom you always gain some fragrance (Sahih al-Bukhari 5534), and said that a person follows the way of his close friend, so let each of you look carefully at whom you befriend (Sunan Abi Dawud 4833, graded hasan by al-Albani; see Hadith Grades). This is why tasawwuf has always emphasized learning from a righteous, knowledgeable teacher, and not only from books. For a high-level overview of how that teaching was later organized, see The Sufi Orders.

  8. Its place in the hadith collections. The great hadith masters gave this subject whole books of their own: Ar-Riqaq (softening the heart) in Sahih al-Bukhari and Az-Zuhd war-Raqa’iq in Sahih Muslim.

Its Golden Rule: The Path Never Leaves the Shariah

Section titled “Its Golden Rule: The Path Never Leaves the Shariah”

The hadith qudsi above sets the order: the obligations are the most beloved way to Allah. No spiritual path can skip them or replace them.

The early masters of tasawwuf said the same. Al-Junayd of Baghdad, among the most respected of them, taught that this knowledge is bound by the Qur’an and the Sunnah, and that whoever has not learned the Qur’an and written down hadith should not be followed in it.

That is why so many of the great scholars of tasawwuf were also scholars of law and hadith. Imam al-Ghazali was a leading Shafi’i jurist. Imam an-Nawawi, whose Forty Hadith records the Hadith of Jibril, opened his Riyad as-Salihin with chapters on sincerity, repentance, patience, and muraqabah.

Why Do Muslims Differ About It?

Section titled “Why Do Muslims Differ About It?”

Despite these roots, tasawwuf is one of the more debated topics among Muslims today. The disagreement generally comes from three places:

  1. The name: Since the word does not appear in the Qur’an or hadith, some prefer to use only scriptural terms such as tazkiyah and ihsan.
  2. Later additions: Over the centuries, some customs, practices, and claims became attached to tasawwuf in different places. Some of these clearly contradict the Qur’an and Sunnah. Others are matters on which Sunni scholars have honestly disagreed. Both are listed below.
  3. Judging by different examples: Critics tend to point to excesses they have seen. Supporters point to the core of the science and the scholars who carried it.

The traditional position addresses all three.

The masters of tasawwuf were themselves among the first to criticize deviations; al-Qushayri wrote his famous Risalah partly out of concern that the path was being corrupted in his own time. The measure has always been the same: whatever agrees with the Qur’an and Sunnah is accepted, and whatever contradicts them is rejected, no matter who says or does it.

Being Transparent: What Is Rejected and What Is Debated

Section titled “Being Transparent: What Is Rejected and What Is Debated”

Not every criticism of tasawwuf is about the same kind of thing. To be fair to our readers, we separate two categories:

  1. Clear corruptions: practices and claims that contradict the Qur’an and Sunnah. Traditional Sunni scholars, including the masters of tasawwuf, reject these.
  2. Matters of scholarly difference: practices on which respected Sunni scholars have held different views, each with evidence.

Category 1: Clear Corruptions, Contrary to the Qur’an and Sunnah

Section titled “Category 1: Clear Corruptions, Contrary to the Qur’an and Sunnah”

These are not part of authentic tasawwuf, whoever practices them and whatever name they go under.

  1. Abandoning the Shariah in the name of a spiritual rank. Some claim that a person who has “arrived” no longer needs to pray, fast, or follow the law. This is false. Allah commands His Messenger ﷺ to worship his Lord until certainty (death) comes to him (Qur’an 15:99), and the hadith qudsi says the obligations are the most beloved way to Allah (Sahih al-Bukhari 6502). The Prophet ﷺ, the closest of all creation to Allah, never stopped praying. Al-Junayd condemned this claim in the strongest terms.

  2. Prostrating to anyone other than Allah, whether to a teacher, a living saint, or at a grave. Prostration is worship, and the Qur’an commands it for Allah alone (Qur’an 41:37).

  3. Calling upon the dead or the saints as though they have power alongside Allah, asking them directly to grant children, cure illness, or remove harm, believing they act independently. All worship and all du’a belong to Allah alone (Qur’an 1:5, 72:18, 10:106). This is different from tawassul, which is a debated matter covered below.

  4. Turning graves into places of worship. This includes praying to graves, circumambulating them (tawaf) as one does the Ka’bah, and treating them as shrines of worship. Five days before his death, the Prophet ﷺ warned that earlier nations took the graves of their prophets and righteous people as places of worship, and said: do not take graves as places of worship, I forbid you from that (Sahih Muslim 532). He also forbade plastering graves, sitting on them, and building over them (Sahih Muslim 970a).

  5. Blind obedience to a teacher, and teachers who exploit followers. No teacher may be obeyed in disobedience to Allah. The Prophet ﷺ said there is no obedience in sin; obedience is only in what is right (Sahih al-Bukhari 7257). Teachers who demand money, control their students’ lives, or place themselves above the Shariah have abandoned the path they claim to teach. The Qur’an criticizes those who took their scholars and monks as lords besides Allah (Qur’an 9:31).

  6. Claims that Allah dwells in a person or merges with creation. Allah is utterly unlike His creation: there is nothing like Him (Qur’an 42:11). Mainstream Sunni scholars, including the masters of tasawwuf, rejected any claim of God being incarnated in, or united with, a created being.

  7. “Secret knowledge” that overrides the Shariah. Some claim hidden inner meanings that cancel the clear rulings of the religion, or claim to receive new laws. The religion was perfected in the Prophet’s ﷺ lifetime (Qur’an 5:3), and he is the Seal of the Prophets (Qur’an 33:40). No inner insight can make permissible what Allah has forbidden.

  8. Fabricated hadith and invented stories. Spreading made-up sayings of the Prophet ﷺ or unfounded miracle stories to inspire people is a serious sin. The Prophet ﷺ said whoever deliberately lies about him should take his seat in the Fire (Sahih al-Bukhari 110).

  9. Sin presented as spirituality. Gatherings that involve intoxicants, immodesty, or other clear sins do not become acceptable because they are called spiritual (Qur’an 5:90).

Category 2: Matters of Scholarly Difference

Section titled “Category 2: Matters of Scholarly Difference”

On these issues, respected Sunni scholars have reached different conclusions from the evidence. The traditional scholarship this site follows has generally permitted them, within the limits of the Shariah. Other scholars have restricted or rejected them. Both sides are presented so readers can understand the discussion.

  1. Tawassul (asking Allah by means of the Prophet ﷺ or the righteous).

    • Those who permit it cite the hadith of the blind man, whom the Prophet ﷺ taught to pray: “O Allah, I ask You and turn to You through Your Prophet Muhammad, the Prophet of mercy…” (Jami’ at-Tirmidhi 3578, graded sahih by Darussalam). This was the position of most scholars of the four schools.
    • Those who restrict it point to Umar asking al-Abbas to pray for rain after the Prophet’s ﷺ death (Sahih al-Bukhari 1010). They understand tawassul as asking a living person to make du’a for you, or asking Allah by His Names and by your own good deeds.
    • Both sides agree that du’a is directed to Allah alone, and that only Allah answers it.

  2. Celebrating the birth of the Prophet ﷺ (Mawlid).

    • Many traditional scholars, including Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani and al-Suyuti, considered gatherings of Qur’an, praise of the Prophet ﷺ, charity, and feeding people to be praiseworthy. One evidence cited is that the Prophet ﷺ fasted on Mondays and explained that it was the day he was born (Sahih Muslim 1162b).
    • Other scholars consider it an innovation because the Companions did not hold such a celebration.
    • Both sides agree that any gathering must be free from sin and from the excesses listed in Category 1.

  3. Visiting the graves of the righteous.

    • Visiting graves is itself a Sunnah. The Prophet ﷺ said he had once forbidden it, but now people should visit them (Sahih Muslim 977a).
    • The difference is about traveling specifically to visit a grave. The Prophet ﷺ said not to set out on a journey except to three mosques (Sahih al-Bukhari 1189). Most scholars understood this as referring to journeys for the sake of praying in a mosque; others applied it to graves as well.
    • Both sides agree that what happens at a grave must stay within the Sunnah: greeting the dead, praying for them, and remembering the Hereafter.

  4. The forms of collective dhikr.

    • Gathering to remember Allah is clearly praised in the Sunnah (Sahih Muslim 2700a).
    • Scholars differ over particular forms, such as reciting aloud in unison or using set formulas and counts.
    • The difference becomes sharper when musical instruments or dancing are involved, and many jurists across the schools did not permit them.

Key Takeaways

Section titled “Key Takeaways”
  1. Tasawwuf is the traditional science of ihsan, just as fiqh serves Islam and aqidah serves Iman.
  2. The name came later, like the names of fiqh and the hadith sciences, but its substance comes from the Sunnah.
  3. Its golden rule: the path never leaves the Shariah, and the obligations always come first.
  4. Some later practices are clear corruptions and are rejected. Others are matters of honest scholarly difference that call for respect.
  5. Learn the path from qualified teachers grounded in the Qur’an, the Sunnah, and fiqh.

Sources

Section titled “Sources”

Hadith (Sunnah.com)

  1. Sahih Muslim 8a: The Hadith of Jibril, narrated by Umar ibn al-Khattab
  2. Sahih al-Bukhari 6502: Drawing near to Allah through obligations and voluntary worship
  3. Sahih Muslim 2722: The Prophet’s ﷺ du’a for the purification of the soul
  4. Sahih Muslim 2700a: Gatherings of dhikr
  5. Sahih Muslim 2750a: The hadith of Hanzalah
  6. Sahih al-Bukhari 6416: Be in this world as a stranger or a traveler
  7. Sahih al-Bukhari 5534: The righteous companion and the perfume seller
  8. Sunan Abi Dawud 4833: A person follows the way of his close friend
  9. Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Ar-Riqaq and Sahih Muslim, Book of Az-Zuhd war-Raqa’iq
  10. Sahih Muslim 532: Do not take graves as places of worship
  11. Sahih Muslim 970a: Prohibition of plastering and building over graves
  12. Sahih al-Bukhari 7257: No obedience in sin
  13. Sahih al-Bukhari 110: Lying about the Prophet ﷺ
  14. Jami’ at-Tirmidhi 3578: The hadith of the blind man
  15. Sahih al-Bukhari 1010: Umar’s prayer for rain through al-Abbas
  16. Sahih Muslim 1162b: Fasting on Monday, the day of the Prophet’s ﷺ birth
  17. Sahih Muslim 977a: Permission to visit graves
  18. Sahih al-Bukhari 1189: Journeys to the three mosques

Qur’an (Quran.com)

1:5 · 5:3 · 5:90 · 9:31 · 10:106 · 15:99 · 33:40 · 41:37 · 42:11 · 72:18

Further reading

  1. Al-Qushayri, Ar-Risalah al-Qushayriyyah
  2. Al-Ghazali, Ihya Ulum al-Din (especially the quarter on the destructive and saving qualities of the heart)
  3. Ibn al-Qayyim, Madarij al-Salikin