sufi approach to reconciliation

St Francis Magazine Nr. 1 Vol. V (February 2009)

St Francis Magazine is published by Interserve and Arab Vision

www.stfrancismagazine.info - www.interserve.org - www.arabvision.org 1

A SUFI APPROACH TO ISSUES OF GENDER AND RECONCILIATION

By Sophia Kim1

1 Introduction Sufism, the mystical branch of Islam2, has a long history which Sufis claim goes back to the time of the Prophet Muhammad. While the spirituality of the Prophet was passed down by pious people from the time of Muhammad, the name ‘Sufism’ did not come into use until later. According to the Sufis it came about when the majority of Muslims began to concentrate on politics and neglect the religious life, creating a formalistic approach to religion. Sufism was a reaction against this. Others date the for-mation of Sufism to the 8th century and the time when pious peo-ple were struggling to counter the worldly outlook associated with the Islamic conquest. Hasan al-Basri (d. 728) is considered as one of the first Sufis.3 Sufism has a different approach to the issue of gender from that of the formal religion. This is evident in the work of a number of Sufis. Referring to Quran (Q) 37:1804 Helminski, a modern woman Sufi, says that ‘God is without gender… Our Sustainer is

1 The author is a missionary with Interserve in the Arab World. 2 Annemarie Schimmel, My Soul is a Woman: The feminine in Islam (Cairo: AUC, 1998), p. 18. For reference, Martin Lings says of Sufism that ‘it is to Islam what the heart is to the body’. See his book, What is Sufism (London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd, 1975), p. 106. 3 Muhammad Umar Memon, Ibn Taimiya's Struggle against Popular Religion (The Haque: Mouton, 1976), pp. 24-25. For the detailed history see also Lings, What is Sufism, pp. 100-105. 4 Camille Adams Helminski, Women of Sufism: A Hidden Treasure (Boston & Lon-don: Shambhala, 2003), introduction p. xiv. In this book, she tried to rediscover the women Sufis’ roles equal to that of men in the spiritual path, or Sufism.




beyond anything by which we may seek to define Him/Her’. This kind of radical view of the role of women is not unusual in Sufism. Annemarie Schimmel affirms the radical gender views of Sufism. She says: ‘There is one area [in Islam] in which the woman does enjoy full equal rights, and that is in the realm of mysticism.’5 This is also the view of J. Spencer Trimingham who states: ‘Mys-ticism was the religious sphere where women could find a place.’6 Women find recognition within Sufism because of the empha-sis on knowledge as a personal journey of discovery. This par-ticular trait of Sufism is evident in the writings of al-Ghazali. His contribution helped bridge the gap between Sufism and the legal and theological scholars.7 He said: ‘Assuredly there is a price on this knowledge. It is to be given only to those who can keep it and not lose it.’ Junubi goes further and days that this knowledge is of course Sufi knowledge. It does not refer to book-knowledge, something which can be written down or preserved in factual form; because such material would not be diminished by exposing it to someone who might fail to benefit from it. It is the knowl-edge given in the time and manner which verifies and makes live the book-knowledge. ‘Giving knowledge which will be lost’ refers to allowing certain ‘states’ of recognition of truth to be engen-dered in an individual before that person is in a condition to pre-serve that state; hence he loses its advantage and it is lost.” Ex-plaining further, Ahmad Minai argues: ‘It makes it more difficult to find and teach, since the above-named types (intellectuals) have trained people not to look for it.’8 Sufism has been in conflict with orthodox scholars because of its emphasis on the way individuals can find knowledge and truth

5 Schimmel, My Soul, p. 15. 6 J. Spencer Trimingham, The Sufi Orders in Islam (Oxford: Oxford University, 1998), p. 18. 7 For the details of al-Ghazali’s contribution and his theology see Ahmet T. Karamustafa, Sufism: the Formative Period (Cairo: AUC, 2007), pp. 106-108. 8 Idries Shah, The Way of The Sufi: An Anthology of Sufi Writings (New York: Pen-guin Compass, 1990), pp. 62-63.




within themselves. These problems arose in the 12th century.9 Frequently Sufis were attacked by scholars who wanted to main-tain their role in determining what was legitimate in the religious and public lives of Muslims. The criterion for orthodoxy was the shariah,10 the Islamic law, derived by the scholars from the two core sources of Islam: the Quran and the hadiths.11 In view of the fact that shariah based Islam is considered to be orthodox Islam, we shall first consider the concept of ‘woman’ from the shariah based Islamic point of view, and then we look at what the Quran says about the issue. Then we will examine the concept from the Sufis point of view. This will help us consider a Sufi approach to reconciliation in gender. Lastly, we shall discuss the limitations of the Sufis’ approach, and suggest a possible con-tribution that Sufism might make to issues of gender and recon-ciliation. 2 The concept of ‘Woman’ in Islam 2.1 Understanding the background The Islamic concept of ‘woman’ did not suddenly form in a day, rather it was the result of a process. To understand this we need to consider how and by whom ideals about ‘woman’ were concep-

9 For the detailed history see Karamustafa, Sufism, pp. 87-108. 10 There was an attempt to define orthodox dogma in the ninth century but it was nullified and never tried again. Therefore there is no orthodox dogma in Is-lam but there is the sacred law. See H.A.R. Gibb, Mohammedanism: An Historical Survey (London: Oxford University press, 1964), p. 15. 11 Sufis were criticized for disregarding laws. For example, they were accused of disregarding the five times prayer a day. It was true that Sufis normally seek God by their own way rather than following the official rules. Many of them prayed more than the rules demand and some of them even saved sleeping time to pray more to be closer to God. Therefore, for them the official prayer time was not very important and this caused problems. See Oliver Leaman, A Brief In-troduction to Islamic Philosophy (Cambridge, 1999), pp. 66-67.




tualized through examining the prevailing conditions and circum-stances of the time. The formation of Islamic law through the interpretation of scriptures took place primarily in the Umayyad and the Abbasid eras.12 At that time the status of women was very low, compared with that of men. Few records about women from the Abbasid period can be found. The Islamic conquests had reduced many to slavery, among them women who became concubines in the large harems of the conquerors. Buying and selling women was com-mon. Legal marriages were considered a hindrance to life because they entailed responsibility and obligations. The low status of women is evident in this poem by one, Hasan ibn al-Firat, an elite man of the period. He mourned his daughter’s death with these words:

Among the blessing of God undoubtedly is the preservation of sons and the death of daughters.

Men often felt unable to protect their daughters and women rela-tives and, with few exceptions, women were powerless.13 These prevailing cultural norms affected the interpretation of the Quran. Although different renderings were possible, it was the misogynist readings that most often prevailed. For example, according to Hanafi law,14 a woman has the right to prevent her husband taking a second wife. She can do this by adding to the marriage contract a condition stating the husband cannot marry again, at least without her permission. This interpretation, which is conducive toward aiding the status of women, is possible ac-cording to Hanafi interpretation of the Quran.

12 Leila Ahmed, Women and Gender in Islam (London: Yale, 1992), p. 100 13 Ahmed, Women and Gender in Islam, pp. 83, 85. 14 The Hanifi school is one of the four main schools of Islamic jurisprudence




It seems completely possible that the Quran may be read and interpreted in a manner that does not undermine women. How-ever, the prevailing conditions of that age strongly influenced the way the text was interpreted and applied, and the more hostile in-terpretation became fixed. Once these renderings had been for-malized, any new reading or exegesis of the text was forbidden. The existing law was viewed as a divine law that is free from any historical or sociological influences.15 To sum up then, we can say that the dominant culture and cus-toms of the age in which the law was elaborated were highly dis-criminative against women. The spirit of the age influenced the conceptualization of ‘woman’ in Islam. 2.2 Quranic understanding of Woman Helminski16 insists on a different reading of the Quran. She ar-gues that it clearly affirms the rights and value of women. There are women whom it highly honors. The mother of Jesus is men-tioned several times in Surah Imran: she became the mother of Je-sus, the ‘Word from God’. The Queen of Saba (Sheba) followed the call of king Solomon and accepted the truth in Q 27. Else-where it says: ‘Reverence God, through Whom you demand your mutual rights, and (reverence) the wombs (that bore you).’ The Quran forbade the burial of infant girls which was prevalent in

15 Ahmed, Women and Gender in Islam, pp. 87, 90-91, 94. There were some groups such as the Khawarij, the Sufis, and the Qarmatians who rejected the dominant culture of the age and read the Quran in a way that did not ignore its ethical voice. Khawarijis (or Kharijites) interpreted the Quran as not permitting concu-bines or marriage to nine-year-old girls while the majority view generally al-lowed it. They clearly had a fundamentally different view on the woman; for ex-ample, the Qarmatians banned polygamy and the veil. For more details see Ah-med, Women and Gender in Islam, pp. 66, 87, 95-99. 16 Helminski, cofounder and co-director of the Threshold Society in California, is the author of The Light of Dawn and she translated a substantial portion of the Quran into English in this book. Threshold Society is rooted within the tradi-tions of Sufism and inspired by the life and work of Jalauddin Rumi.




Arabia before Islam. Many Quranic verses state that both men and women are faithful. In a time when women were disregarded in the decisions of society, the Quran gave woman the right to witness in legal cases, to own property, and of marriage and di-vorce.17 Using this framework for reading the text, Helminski insists that the current inequality between women and men in Islamic countries is not caused by the scripture itself but by the corrosion caused by male jurisprudence and the dominating influence of cul-tural norms. In other words, the status of woman has deterio-rated as the society became more androgenic and more influenced by different misogynistic cultures.18 Sufi women were not the first to suggest that the Sharia adopted an interpretation that favored men. Some scholars insist that verses in the Quran that favor equality in the treatment of women have been treated as mere recommendations, while the other verses which do not favor them are accepted as strict codi-fied rules. One of the reasons suggested for this is that the Sharia was developed by lawyers who wanted to set rules for people rather than work within the parameters of moral instructions. As a result Islam came to treat women unequally, and Islam became ‘a profoundly patriarchal religion’.19 Schimmel shares this same perspective: that although there are positive aspects of Islamic culture, such as women rulers and hon-orific titles for ladies, a woman’s position is poor in comparison with that of a man. Scholars like Schimmel argue this is not re-flected in the scripture but primarily the result of misinterpreta-tion of it. Quranic verses asserting a woman’s rights are ignored, while verses that state ‘men are above women’ (Q 2:228) have

17 Helminski, Women of Sufism, pp. 1-3; Schimmel, My Soul, p. 57-59. . 18 Helminski, Women of Sufism, p. 3. 19 R. Stephen Humphreys, Between Memory and Desires: The Middle East in a Troubled Age (Cairo: AUC, 2000), pp. 213-214, 224. He says that the Quran plainly recognizes the vulnerable position of women and over and over again urges us to treat them with honor and equity.




been stressed.20 An oft quoted example of the Quran treating women differently from men is in the area of witness, where the testimony of two women is needed while that of only one man is required (Q 2:282). A woman also inherits less than her brothers (Q 4:11). The emphasis on these verses and their interpretation to legitimise the inequality of women has resulted in unfounded as-sertions about the rights and status of women. They have been used as if they were the only lawful interpretation of the text of the Quran.21 In sum, the Quran contains both positive and negative teach-ings affecting women. The interpretation and applications made of the text are seriously biased toward discrimination against women. This only shows the influence of male jurisprudence and a strongly patriarchal culture. With the passage of time, this bias against women has come to be viewed as a reasonable and lawful interpretation. 2.3 The life of women in the Islamic world The results of women being placed in disadvantaged positions can be seen in many different aspects of life. Bill Musk explained some of these areas: women should get permission from their hus-bands before going outside; all major decisions are made by the fa-ther in family; the wife should treat her husband like a guest in the house; society prefers to have sons; the goal for parents who

20 One of the examples is Q 4:34, which says: ‘Men are the protectors and main-tainers of women because Allah has made one of them to excel the other… Therefore the righteous women are devoutly obedient (to their husbands)’. While the part that women should be obedient to the husbands is often stressed, the former part which explains the reason why the wife should be obedient to the husband, i.e. because he protects her and maintains her with food and money, is easily ignored. See Schimmel, My Soul, p. 14. 21 For example, it is said that Eve was told that ‘no woman shall participate in that which is best in life: the common Friday prayers’. See Schimmel, My Soul, pp. 56-57.




have daughters is to ensure they remain virgins until their mar-riage; a husband rules over the wife in family and if they divorce the children belong to the father; men enjoy a free life while women face many restrictions.22 Even in areas where the Quran and the Shariah protect women’s rights, custom sometimes overrides the rules and pre-vents women from accessing their lawful rights. Dowry is one example of this. Dowry, while paid to the bride’s male guardian, is the property of the woman: it is there for her to use in event of widowhood or divorce. In reality, however, the money is often used to cover wedding expenses. In matters of inheritance as well, daughters have the right to a share in their father’s land, but in many cases they are persuaded to hand over their shares to their brothers.23 The hadiths, which carry the same authority for Muslims as the Quran, have also been used to support discrimination against woman. The Quran says in Q 16:97: ‘Whoever works righteous-ness - whether male or female - while he (or she) is a true believer verily, to him We will give a good life, and We shall pay them certainly a reward in proportion to the best of what they used to do (i.e. Paradise in the Hereafter)”. On the other hand, one of the Tradition states that the majority of those in hell are women. Ac-cording to another hadith, the Prophet said: ‘Prayer is annulled by a dog, a donkey and a woman (if they pass in front of the praying people).’24 Because of this framework of understanding about the status of women Bill Musk suggests that mentioning equality between man and woman in the Islamic world is meaningless. Because the roles of man and woman are conceptualized differently from in the West, they should be accepted as a matter of fact. Therefore, the

22 Bill A. Musk, Touching the Soul of Islam (Crowborough: MARC, 1995), pp 24-34. 23 Humphreys, Between Memory and Desires, pp. 215-216. 24 Vivienne Stacey, Women in Islam (London: Interserve, 1995), pp. 11, 16-17.




starting point for conversations needs to be premised on this un-derstanding of difference.25 Whenever non-Muslims expose this kind of discrimination in the teachings of Islam, the scholars make a number of counter-arguments highlighting many Quranic verses that treat man and woman alike, pointing to a few cases of successful women in soci-ety or in politics.26 There is ample evidence that women did play an important role in early Islamic history. When the hadiths be-gan to be collected, women played a significant role in their transmission. It is also true, however, that the acceptance of the transmission was finally dependent on men.27 This discussion has demonstrated that the door for fair treat-ment of women is not necessarily closed in Islamic scripture. It is the interpretation and use of the scripture that determines the possibilities. 3 The concept of woman in Sufism 3.1 Women as symbols for the soul Sufism focuses on the spiritual experiential side of Islam. As the designation reminds us, Sufis interpret the Quran spiritually, so Sufi theology is full of symbolism. Sufis do not understand a word according to its literal meaning, rather they try to seek for an in-ner meaning.

25 Musk, Touching the Soul of Islam, pp. 35-40. 26 Ibid., p. 35. Sherif Adbdel Azeem, Women in Islam Versus Women in The Judeao-Christian Tradition: The Myth & The Reality (WAMY, 1995), pp. 40-42. This book conveys an Islamic message. The writer emphasizes how much Islam re-spects women and the rights they have in Islam. ‘Do Muslim women in the Muslim world today receive this noble treatment described here? The answer, unfortunately, is: No.’ He think the ‘poor status of Muslim women today’ is due to a misconception about Islam. 27 Schimmel, My Soul, p. 10.




In line with this interpretative tool, ‘woman’ appears as a sym-bol of a yearning soul. Zulaikh, the wife of Potiphar, is an exam-ple of this use of words and search for meaning by Sufis. They see their yearning for God as a figure in Zulaikh’s eager desire for Yusuf (Joseph in the Bible). The Sufis have reinterpreted the cen-tral themes, and add to the story the happy marriage of Yusuf and Zulaikha. Zulaikha represents the Sufis and their longing for God. She shows how their ardent love for God involves suffering and misunderstanding. Zulaikha has become for Sufis the symbol for ‘the soul at peace’, the soul that finally comes to be with God as a result of their unceasing love for God as they endure terrible hardship. We see this in the story told by Attar in his Ilahinama, or Book of God: Zulaikha did her best to seduce Yusuf, but all her efforts resulted in failure. After all the trials, weeping, suffering and yearning, she became a miserable old woman sitting at side of the road hoping to have a glimpse of Yusuf:

One day Joseph the Pure was walking along when he saw Zu-laikha seated on the ground; The world hidden from her eyes, but then she had averted her eyes from the world; Afflicted with sickness and poverty, beside herself in a hundred different ways; Every moment suffering more than a hundred grieves, more concerned about Joseph than Joseph himself; Sitting on the road as though hoping that she might receive some of the dust raised by his feet; That perhaps some dust might rise from the road traveled by that king-like one. … Gabriel descended and said: ‘We shall not remove her, For she has within her a whole world of love for him whom We love. Since her love for thee is unceasing I too love her for thy sake. … Though for a lifetime I have driven her to despair yet I will now make her young again for thee.




She has given thee her own precious soul; if I now bless her let her be to thee as thy soul. Since she is filled with tenderness for Our Joseph, who would think in hatred of taking her life? If she claims to love such a king as thou, her weeping eyes bear witness to her love.” Since this lover has her witnesses with her, her glory increases more and more every day. 28

The main traits of Sufism, that is weeping, fasting, poverty, suffering, and above all ardent love for the Beloved or God, show us how much this story of Zulaikha displays the Sufis’ way to God. Thus, woman has become a personification of the soul in Sufism. Sufis see themselves as the brides of God who long to be with the beloved bridegroom.29 3.2 God as Man and as Woman It is helpful to consider the understanding of woman as explained by some of the outstanding figures of Sufism. Ibn Arabi (d. 1240) who is said to have laid the theological foundation of Sufism,30 is one of the major figures who has placed a high value on the femi-nine element in the divine. He showed how God can be more per-fectly recognized in the feminine. He has described these as ‘forms of divine wisdom which make the heart of the Gnostic rejoice’; ‘friendly girls’, ‘divine ideas’ and ‘charming women’. In his poem, God appears as a woman:

28 For more details see Schimmel, My Soul, pp. 61-68. 29 Ibid., pp. 22-25. 30 Ibn Arabi was accused of heresy several times in his life. His concept of woman was one of the controversial issues: The notion of divinity in the female face offended the scholars; He also mentioned about spiritualized physical union; and his thought about sexual love expanded in later mystical writings. So during his lifetime he was criticized severely. However, in spite of such controversy, he is acknowledged as a major thinker in Islam. See Schimmel, My Soul, p. 105; Ahmed, Women and Gender, p. 100.




My intention with this poem is to portray only her, I have no other attachments besides the one to her, For my attachment to the world of phenomena exists entirely for her sake, because she reveals herself in it.31

For Ibn Arabi, God could not be contemplated independently of a concrete being; but ‘God is seen more perfectly in a human form than in any other, and more perfectly in woman than in man’. He expresses praise: ‘Woman is the highest form of earthly beauty, but earthly beauty is nothing unless it is a manifestation and reflection of the Divine Qualities.’32 Ibn Arabi is also concerned about the Mother-Father aspect of God: God is father-like in that he is majesty, strict and indifferent; he is unknowable, a remote Being beyond our measure. He ques-tions, however, if God is like this only, how are human beings prompted to worship and praise Him? He finds the answer in God’s mother-like aspect, the evidence of which he sees in God’s names, the Names of Beauty. He says God is gentle and compas-sionate like mothers who care for their children.33 By this reasoning, Ibn Arabi believed that there is no level34 women cannot reach, because they are never inferior to men. ‘Men and women have their share in every level, including the function of Pole (qutb).’35 This is attested to by the case of a woman follower of the Baghdad Sufi Sari as-Saqati (d. 867). When

31 Ibn Arabi, Fusus al-Hikam in Schimmel, My Soul, pp. 102-103. 32 Laurence Galian, The Sun At Midnight: The Revealed Mysteries of the Ahlul Bayt Sufis (Tennessee: Quiddity, 2003), pp. 316-317. 33 Galian, The Sun At Midnight, pp. 315-316 34 The Sufis who reached a certain level of the spiritual depth are claimed to have special tasks depending on their position within their level. According to Hu-jwiri, who explained the mystic path in his book Kashf al-mahjub, the supreme head is Qutb (Pole) and below him there are Akhyar (the good doers), Abdals (the substitutes), Abrars (the pious ones), Awtad (the supporters), and the lowest is Nuqaba (the overseers). See A. Reza Arasteh, Growth to Selfhood: The Sufi Contri-bution (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1980), p. 102. 35 Ibn Arabi, Futuhat III, p. 89, cited in Helminski, Women of Sufism, p.113.




she was told that her son had drowned she did not believe it, and somehow the boy was found alive. Her disbelief was based on the fact that God has not told her about her son’s death.36 Jalaluddin Rumi (1207-1273), one of the other outstanding fig-ures in Sufism, praised woman as the most beautiful creature of God through which He shows his creative power best. ‘Woman is a ray of God. She is not just the earthly beloved: she is creative, not created.’ It is not strange that women were highly respected and honored in the Mevlevi order.37 They were called ‘sisters’ on the basis of the Quranic verse: ‘The believers are brothers.’38 In the time of Rumi, men and women were together in spontaneous semas, the mystical whirling ceremony of the Mevlevi order, al-though as time passed there was gender separation with women and men each holding their own sema.39 3.3 The meaning of ‘man’ and ‘woman’ Sufism views ‘man’ and ‘woman’ from a spiritual definition. Raibia al-Adawiyya is a woman Sufi who lived during the early period of Sufism and is famous for introducing the core Sufi concept of love for the first time. People honored this eighth-century Sufi woman with the designation ‘man’. They said: ‘When a woman walks in the way of God, she cannot be called a “woman”.’40 This habit of calling a pious woman a man (of God) came about in response to the orthodox Muslim conceptualisation of woman as an inferior being. This belief was based on the Quranic verse: ‘Only the purified may touch it’ (Q 56:79), which has been inter-preted to mean that women, during their days of impurity, cannot

36 Schimmel, My Soul, p. 39. 37 Rumi was called Mevlevi meaning ‘Our Master’ and Mevlevi order was raised after him. 38 Q 49:10 says: ‘The believers are nothing else than brothers. So make recon-ciliation between your brothers, and fear Allah, that you may receive mercy.’ Schimmel, My Soul, p. 45. 39 Helminski, Women of Sufism, pp. xxiv-xxv, 125. 40 Schimmel, My Soul, p. 20.




touch or recite from the Quran. At the same time, the Quran calls on women to fulfill all religious obligations in the same way as a man. It is for this reason that it is said that those who truly walk God’s path cannot be a low and dangerous ‘woman’, but a ‘man’.41 There are many stories about friendship between male and fe-male Sufis, indicative of the fact that the issue of gender is consid-ered as something ‘worldly’. When Dhun-Nun, the great Egyp-tian Sufi master who died in 859, rejected a gift because it was given by a woman Sufi, he had to be reprimanded for not seeing the actual Giver, God, but focusing instead on the secondary giver. Sufi practice demands that when one of them notices the gender difference in their appreciation of beauty, something they call a worldly glance, their relationship can no longer be contin-ued.42 There are also many other Sufi sayings and poems which share this understanding: Ismaili poet-philosopher Nasir-iKhusrau (died 1072) said that: ‘The Prophet was the only true man, while all others are but ‘women’; in the Indian Chshti order Fatima of In-darpat was designated as ‘a man who was sent to earth in the physical form of a woman’. On the other hand, those who are not able to meet God’s demands are considered worse or lower than ‘women’, even though they are men. Attar stated: ‘He who is not pregnant from the pain of love, he is a woman, he is not a man’; and a Persian verse says: ‘Not every woman is a woman, not every man a man, God did not make identical the fingers of one hand.’ Jami, the writer of the hagiographic work Nafahat al-uns, sings in his poem: ‘Don’t call her a “woman” for even one strand of her hair is still better than a hundred men.’43 It is evident then that Sufism does not consider male and fe-male according to gender. Ibn Arabi explained well that, ‘Every-thing we said of these people under the name of “men” also applies

41 Ibid., p. 76. 42 Ibid., p. 40. 43 Ibid., pp. 77-79.




to the women among them.’ Sufism, with its focus on spirituality, identifies with the spiritual state of a person. What is more impor-tant for Sufis is the soul or spirit, which has nothing to do with the appearance.44 Physical gender is simply the outward appear-ance. 3.4 The duality of the concept There are negative images of woman in Sufism. Some of the views on woman in Islam, and also arguably in other religions in-cluding Christianity and Buddhism, are not very positive: often they depict the woman as the tempter of the ‘men of God’. This kind of concept is also found in Sufism. In Sufism, the Soul, or nafs which is feminine in Arabic, serves as a symbol for the woman who is believed to be both anti-religious and easily seduced by the world. For Sufis, the soul is something which has to be tamed against worldliness and its natural tendencies that take it away from God.45 Likewise, the world, dunya, also grammatically feminine, is used to represent ‘woman’. The world is contrary to religion: it always acts to seduce pious believers away from God with the secular. In Sufi literature, the world is compared with an old woman who captured a highborn falcon. She puts it in prison and shuts its eyes by covering the head so that the falcon comes to forget everything to do with its noble origin and free world.46 As we saw earlier, while the Sufis acknowledged the worldly tendency of the soul, they were also convinced of the possibility of the soul reaching perfection. This is because the Quran has two other verses which contain the term nafs, and these mean some-thing different from ‘self’ in their usage here. They are ‘accusing soul’ found in Q 75:2 and ‘soul at peace’ in Q 89:27. The Prophet

44 Ibid., pp. 79-80. 45 Ibid., pp. 69-71. 46 Ibid., pp. 71-73.




said that ‘man’s worst enemy was the nafs and that the struggle against it was the ‘greatest jihad’’,47 whereas Sufis believed that by taming the soul through love and longing for the Beloved, they could be with God.48 The Sufi way is the long journey toward per-fection. Summing up, the concept of woman is given dual meaning in Sufism: ‘woman’ is represented as a soul longing for the Beloved, therefore it is used as a symbol for all those who sincerely seek God regardless of one’s gender. Sufism tries to give room for what it considered the feminine aspect of God, not only the mas-culine. On the other hand, Sufism did not escape completely the cultural and orthodox conceptualization of woman: she is repre-sentative of the image of the non-religious, secular world, the tempter away from God. Those who fall into the hand of the old woman come to great misery. At the same time, Sufis go further and see the hope for perfection in spite of these negative images of ‘woman’. The old woman also represents the soul that strives for the highest goal according to Sufi literature.49 4 A Sufi way of gender reconciliation 4.1 The respected position of women in Sufism The over-arching concept of the man’s superiority to the woman reflected in culture and orthodox religious interpretations is not the whole view of Sufism, as has been argued above. It is said that when the highly-respected Sufi master Hasan al-Basri met Rabia

47 Ibid., p. 70. 48 See 3.1 Women symbols for the soul. 49 In Sufi literature, the old woman is depicted by the Egyptian mystic Dhun-Nun as poor common people bearing religious truth. For Ibn Arabi, old women were wise figures. Sanai tells a story about the old widow who complained fear-lessly to the mighty Sultan Mahmud of Ghazna (ruled 999-1030). See Schimmel, My Soul, pp. 82-87.




al-Adawiyya (771-801) he was shocked by her spirituality and said: ‘At the end when I looked at her I saw myself as bankrupt (spiritually).’ Another story says that the holy Kaaba had gone out to meet her when she was on her way to pilgrimage. It says that at that time, one of the eminent Sufis, Ibrahim, was also mak-ing pilgrimage and found that the Kaaba and Rabia arrived to-gether in Mecca. He was astonished by the degree to which the Kaaba gave honor to this woman Sufi. While most of the stories about Rabia would be considered legends, they are informative because of the expression they give to the Sufi concept of ‘woman’. They demonstrate that with the Sufi was there are things more important than gender.50 Women have occupied many respected positions in Sufism. Rabia is honored as having introduced the core concept of love into Sufism.51 Women acted as patron saints and shaykhas, or women shaykhs (the head) in some convents or khanqah.52 They have been entrusted with fulfilling the express wishes of Sufi mas-ters. When the mystic-martyr Hallaj was executed, his sister took his ashes and tossed them into the Tigris in accordance with his will. On that night Hallaj appeared to her in a dream and ex-plained his spiritual ways and their meanings. Likewise, the his-tory of Sufism shows that women relatives have succeeded emi-nent Sufis after their death and continued their roles. 53 In Sufism ‘woman’ is treated as one who is not defective, and has the ability to realize and reveal the truth. This is seen in the stories used on occasions by Sufi masters as a tool of instruction.

50 Ahmed, Women and Gender in Islam, pp. 96-97. 51 The term Awliya or saints has been used by the Sufis to denote holy persons or those who are granted special favor by God and are regarded as being close to Him because of their holiness. See Carl W. Ernst, The Shambhala Guide to Sufism (London: Shambhala, 1997), p. 59. 52 Khanqah is a residential teaching center for Sufi disciples. This was designed to house Sufis, provide places for communal worship, feed the residents and guests, and is the site of the burial and subsequent veneration of the masters. 53 Helminski, Women of Sufism, pp. 99-100; Schimmel, My Soul, p. 43.




In some of these tales women appear as the revealer of the truth. An example of this is the story of ‘Fatima the Spinner and the Tent.’ In this story Fatima, the daughter of a spinner, faced a hard path in life that required her to adapt herself to new circum-stances whenever her life turned a different way. In the end she “realized that what had appeared to be an unpleasant experience at the time, turned out to be an essential part of the making of her ultimate happiness.”54 4.2 Women Sufi Masters Many women have been Sufi masters throughout Sufi history.55 Sufis insist that the Prophet’s daughter Fatima had a deep and mystical understanding and that this mystical dimension has been developed from Fatima and her experience. Rabia, a highly es-teemed woman Sufi, explained the relationship between the divine and the seekers of Him in terms of the Beloved and the lovers, a concept that has become central to Sufi understanding and teach-ings. Through this conceptualization of the relationship between the divine and humans, Sufism gave voice to those who seek God not because of fear of hell nor desire for paradise, but for love for God. Q 5:59, ‘He loves them and they love Him’, became the cor-nerstone of Sufism’s expression of the love between God and man.56 Because Rabia articulated this concept she is highly hon-

54 For the details see Shah, Tales of the Dervishes, pp. 72-74. There are two other books on Sufi tales by the writer: The Way of The Sufi, and The Hundred Tales of Wisdom (Wiltshire: Redwood, 1994). 55 The terms masters, spiritual leaders, and shaykhs are synonyms. There are three positions for them: the head of a Sufi order, one who is within a Sufi order but the position is under the head, and one who does not necessarily belong to any order but is highly valued because of his or her spiritual state. See Kelly Pemberton, ‘Women Pirs, Saintly Succession, and Spiritual Guidance in South Asian Sufism,’ in The Muslim World Volume 96 (January 2006), p. 62. 56 Helminski, Women of Sufism, pp. xx, 102.




ored and called ‘the Crown of Men’ and ‘one of the great ones of the world.’57 It is notable that many well-known Sufi masters have been women. The great Sufi Ibn Arabi had two women Sufi masters: Shams of Marchena and Fatima of Cordova. He served Fatima for several years as a disciple and confessed that her influence on him was enormous.58 Ibn Arabi described Shams, known as the Mother of the Poor, as ‘a high-ranking mystic with extraordinary intuition’. The poems known as Tarjuman al-ashwaq (The inter-preter of Longing) were written by Ibn Arabi when he was in-spired by Nizam, daughter of the imam of Maqam Ibrahim in Mecca. Zaynab al Qaliyya, another woman Sufi, was highly ad-mired by Ibn Arabi for her conscientious performance of devo-tional duties. These encounters influenced Ibn Arabi to acknowl-edge that women were not inferior to men but also able to reach the highest spiritual level.59 Other well-known Sufi masters also extol women Sufis. It was Bayazid Bestami’s (d.874) encounter with an old Sufi woman that led him into spiritual enlightenment. When he met Fatima of Nishapur (d. 838) he was amazed by her spirituality. The Egyp-tian Sufi Dhun Nun said of Fatima of Nishapur: ‘She is a saint from among the friends of God, the Glorious and Mighty. She is also my teacher.’60 There are prominent women Sufis throughout Sufi history. Shawana, a Persian, is famous for her weeping. She said: ‘The eyes which are prevented from beholding the Beloved, and yet are

57 Sufism is indebted to Rabia for the situation it holds at the moment. Before her, Sufism was somber and the Sufis were called ‘those who constantly weep’. However through the concept of love Sufism turned into genuine love mysticism, and came to play an active role as the mystical dimension of Islam. See Schim-mel, The Soul, pp. 34-36. 58 Helminski, Women of Sufism, pp. xx-xxi. 59 Schimmel, My Soul, pp. 45-47. Also 3.2 God as Man and as Woman. 60 Abu Abd Ar-Rahman As-Sulami, Early Sufi Women (Louisville: Fons Vitae, 1999), pp. 142-144; Helminski, Women of Sufism, p. xxi.




desirous of looking upon Him, cannot be fit for that Vision with-out weeping.’ Famous Sufi masters asked her to pray for them. Ghazali, the famous theologian and Sufi, tells how she appeared to one of her friends in a dream after her death and said: ‘Let your heart be very sad and let the love of God override your desires. Then nothing will harm you to your dying day.’ Another woman Sufi who was famous for her joy, Fedha, said: ‘Joy of heart should be happiness based on what we inwardly sense; therefore we should always strive to rejoice within our heart, till everyone around us also rejoices.’ Karima al-Marwaziyya of Mecca (d. 1070) was connected to the women sodality and it was said she wrote that ‘the most widely known standard works of moderate mysticism still studied throughout the Islamic world’. Bubu Rasti, from Burhanpur in India was another woman Sufi scholar, expert in interpreting medieval Persian texts. Other women saints include Bibi Jamal Khatun (d. 1639), Princess Jahanara (d. 1689), Maryam al-Basriyya who is said to have died in ecstasy, Bahriyya al-Mausuliyya who wept herself blind, and Rabia ash-Shamiya. Their shrines are visited by people seeking for the miracles they are said to perform. There are very few existent writings of women Sufis. Most of the stories about them are handed down orally or in the poems written by their associates.61 4.3 The important roles of Women Sufis in Families Islam does not espouse an ascetic life, and this is also the case with Sufism. Sufis have been encouraged to marry with the union between the spiritual man and the spiritual woman depicted as the ideal. It is said that ‘their house is in the living Kaaba’.62 This is typified by the relationship between the ninth-century Sufi al-Hakim at-Tirmidhi and his wife. His autobiography notes that he

61 Schimmel, My Soul, pp. 37-39, 44, 49, 52; Helminski, Women of Sufism, pp. xxii & 105. 62 Galian, The Sun At Midnight, p. 318.




usually shared his dreams and visions with his wife because he trusted her spirituality. His wife’s dreams were also considered important. Once, in her dream, Khidr63 told her to tell her hus-band to guard the purity of his house. The meaning was, accord-ing to Khidr’s explanation of her dream, that her husband should mind the purity of his speech. At-Tirmidhi said that he and his wife had the same spiritual rank, something shown to him through an angel that appeared in a dream of his wife.64 The role of Sufis as mothers should also be considered. Many famous Sufi masters write in their biographies that their spiritual path began with their pious mothers whose spirituality ‘flew out’ through the whole of daily life. Their constant singing of easy verses while doing the housework transformed all their work into symbols of spiritual activities. They brought up their children in an atmosphere of trust in God and piety,65 using their whole property to educate their sons (and brothers). There are many examples of pious mothers who helped their sons to be great Sufi masters.66 The role of women as initiators and propagators of Sufism should also be noted. Women played a leading role in making mystical Islam popular. Folk poetry containing stories about a seeker of mystical love was spread into rural areas by illiterate women who learned and memorized them; and it was women who carried on the tradition when other traces of Sufism faded away in Turkey, after the Sufi orders were banned by the government in 1925.67

63 Khidr is a mystical figure in popular and Sufi legend and believed to be the immortal prophet who assists pious servants of God. In Q 18:66-82, Khidr ap-pears as an instructor for Musa (Moses in the Bible) in esoteric wisdom. 64 Schimmel, My Soul, p. 41; Helminski, Women of Sufism, p. xxii. 65 Helminski, Women of Sufism, pp. 106-107. 66 For the details see Schimmel, My Soul, pp. 90-92. 67 Helminski, Women of Sufism, pp. xxiv, 99-100, 107.




5 Limitations Sufism offers more space for women than orthodox Islam; it seems that women are treated equally to men. It appears that in the early years women had more rights. They were not only disciples but attended community gatherings and dhikr.68 There are reports that sometimes a Sufi master was accompanied by his female dis-ciples in public. Shibli (d. 945) is said to have visit Hallaj with a female disciple after Hallaj hanged on a cross. Despite these op-portunities women still seem to be constrained by limitations. It is said that Bibi Jamal Khatun’s master, Molla Shah (d. 1661), wanted her to succeed him but the rules of the order did allowed such a thing.69 Indeed, in the history of Sufism we find very few women shaykhas of an order. In these few case when they were al-lowed higher roles, it was because there was no suitable alterna-tive, or because the spiritual lineage of the order was facing a cri-sis. Normally, women were recognized as masters by popular consensus, not in any formal sense. There were shaykhas of certain convents, but rarely have women become the shaykha of an or-der.70 Although it is true that many orders give space to women,71 there is a negative aspect that needs to be considered further. Many of the orders are not legally recognized, and not all recog-nized orders accept women as affiliated members.72 There are generally three ways for women to participate in dhikr: some, such

68 The meaning is ‘recollection of God.’ In Sufism it is the litany that is the core of worship, such as the repetition of a phrase like Allahu akbar or sometimes read-ing of poems by the saints which praise God. 69 Schimmel, My Soul, pp. 42 & 50. 70 Pemberton, ‘Women Pirs, Saintly Succession, and Spiritual Guidance in South Asian Sufism’, pp. 75-77. 71 As an example, there is a report about eight women’s circles and the women masters in Morocco in 1942. See Trimingham, The Sufi Orders in Islam, p. 114. 72 Trimingham, The Sufi Orders in Islam, p. 232. For the details of membership, see p. 176.




as the Rifaiyya order in Cairo or the Mevlevis in the Ottoman Empire, have a specific women’s section in the common room; in other cases, women watch the ceremonies from a nearby room; lastly, from the time of the Middle Ages, there are some women’s convents where women have their own dhikr.73 Anyone who wants to can become a Sufi. The problem facing women is that Sufism is within Islam and so happens to be in Is-lamic societies. This means that Sufi orders still do not accept women as members.74 Throughout history some rulers have for-bidden women to visit shrines, the tombs of saints and other holy places in order to avoid unreligious customs, or to keep out those who are not qualified to approach such holy places.75 On the other hand there are orders where women find a place, such as the Bek-tashi order, one of the most important orders in Turkey.76 It is famous for women’s active participation in all rituals. Women compose sacred songs and they are published with other sacred hymns by men.77 However, it should be noted that the order is plagued by accusations of immorality. It is true that if a master spends too much time with a female disciple these same accusa-tions arise.78 There is another matter to be considered in the light of the contention that the Sufi view is that spirituality is of more impor-tance than gender. Those who piously follow God’s way are called men even though they are women.79 While this may reflect the fact that Sufis are not only bound to the outward appearance of human beings but are more concerned about the spiritual state, it is also indicative of the concept of male superiority. When pi-

73 Schimmel, My Soul, p. 48. 74 Mark J. Sedgwick, Sufism the Essentials (Cairo: AUC, 2000), p. 22. 75 Indeed there are reports about some nonreligious customs between different sexes being practiced near some shrines. cf. Schimmel, My Soul, p. 51. 76 For the order, see Trimingham, The Sufi Orders in Islam, pp. 80-83. 77 Helminski, Women of Sufism, p. xxiii. 78 Schimmel, My Soul, p. 48. 79 See 3.3 The meaning of ‘man’ and ‘woman’.




ous women are called ‘men of God’ it reflects the premise that men are superior to women . 6 The role of Sufism in Gender relations for the Future Sufism could have a role in re-orientating Islam to a more gender sensitive interpretation of the Quran. It says that women and men following in the way of God can learn from each other, and this could have a role in creating a greater balance in gender rela-tions. If, as Sufism teaches, men and women see the Divine in each other they will move closer towards the Divine who has both masculine and feminine attributes. Followers of Sufism say this is the only way life can be elevated to the better place.80 Sufism provides a place for men and women to be together in societies that are generally segregated. This opportunity within the context of religion may allow countries of the Islamic world to move forward in several areas where strict gender segregation constrains development and marginalizes women. Feminism and many other movements that have sought to develop the status of women under the law and in society have been largely unsuccess-ful. When Huda Sharawi threw off her veil in 1921,81 some felt it confirmed that feminism is against Islam and reflects Western values and institutions. The feminist movement has been seen as

80 Galian, The Sun At Midnight, p. 317; Helminski, Women of Sufism, p. xxvi; Schimmel, My Soul, pp. 21-22. 81 Huda Sahrawi is one of the first generation of feminist activists. She and other feminists believed that veiling the face should be abolished and they were wait-ing for the timing. For them veiling the face was one of the foremost gender is-sues. They thought the veil should be used as a tool to help women access the public place by covering the head only, not the face. Then returning from IAW (the International Alliance of Women for Suffrage and Equal Citizenship), she and Saiza Nabarawi uncovered their faces at the railway station in Cairo as a public political act, and several women watching them threw off their own veils in imitation. Margot Badran, Feminists, Islam, and Nation: Gender and the Making of Modern Egypt (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1995), pp. 25, 67, 92




anti-religious in most of its expressions. Some Muslims are sure that in the Middle East the rise of feminism has been closely asso-ciated with the progress of secularism. The tension between Is-lamist and feminist views needs a buffer zone in which to dialogue and develop creative ways of tackling issues of gender discrimina-tion.82 It is appropriate that Sufism should play that role by offer-ing a religious foundation for feminism. To summarize, the concept of ‘woman’ in Sufism is important and meaningful in that it reflects one of the Quranic interpreta-tions in its attitude toward women. Therefore, Sufism has some-thing to contribute in the development of gender relations in the Islamic world because it offers a place where men and women can relate together in balance and harmony. 7 Conclusion Although the many interpretations of Islamic scripture do not close the door on the fair treatment of woman, shariah based Islam has created an anti-women bias. In the Quran itself there are both positive and negative things concerning women. Quranic verses in favor of women were treated as mere recommendations while the other verses which confine and restrict them were accepted as strict rules. One of the reasons for this was the prevailing culture and customs of the age in which the law was elaborated: it was discriminatory against woman, and this milieu influenced the dominant conceptualizations of woman in shariah. Also, the law was developed by lawyers who wanted to set rules for people rather than listen to the moral instructions. The reason for the unfair treatment for women in shariah is a result of particular in-terpretations of the Quran. With the passage of time, this bias against woman was seen as reasonable and lawful interpretation.

82 Humphreys, Between Memory and Desires, pp. 223-226.




Sufism offers a different interpretation of the place of women in society. It seeks a spirituality that must take account of the spiri-tual state of a person. Physical gender is but an outward appear-ance. The more important thing for Sufis is the soul or spirit. This has nothing to do with the physical gender. ‘Woman’ is used as a symbol for all those who sincerely seek God regardless of their gender. In addition, Sufis have tried to include the feminine aspect of God, not only the masculine, in order to understand Him better. At the same time, Sufism is not free of the gender bias against of woman. So, we can conclude that the concept of ‘woman’ has a dual meaning in Sufism. The woman is likened to ideas of the secular world and the tempter. Those who fall into the hand of the old woman come to a place of great misery. At the same time, we should not forget that Sufis go further and see hope for perfec-tion in spite of these negative images of ‘woman’. The old woman is representative of the soul that strives for the highest goal in Sufi literature. Within the history of Sufism, there are many female Sufis hold-ing respected positions, and also female masters of famous male Sufis. So we can conclude that in Sufism women have their space and can enjoy much greater rights. This suggests that Sufism opens more doors for women than orthodox Islam.83 The concept of woman in Sufism is important and meaningful because the idea stems not only from the Sufis but is based on Quranic interpretations that are attentive toward women. From this, Sufism can contribute something for the future in the Islamic World by providing a place where men and women can meet to-gether in balance and harmony. It seems appropriate to conclude the discourse about the Sufis’ approach to reconciliation in gender with Jami’s poem that ex-presses well the Sufi idea on the issues of gender:

83 Helminski, Women of Sufism, p. 101.




If all women were like the one we have mentioned, Then women would be preferred to men. For the feminine gender is no shame for the sun, Nor is the masculine gender an honor for the moon.84

84 Schimmel, My Soul, p. 78.

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