Sufi Philosophy

      Sufi Philosophy includes the schools of thought that are particular to Sufism, which is a mystical branch within Islam. Sufi philosophy has several sub-branches, metaphysics and cosmology being the most well known ones amongst them. Many people associate Sufi philosophy with the teachings of Sunni and Shia Islam. As for its origin, it is said to have emerged from the Middle East in the eighth century; however, today there are many advocates and teachers of this philosophy found all around the world. Sufi philosophy really gained its momentum and credibility at around 1000CE, when Sufi literature, which came in forms of manuals, treatises, discourses, and poetry, was used for philosophical thinking and meditations.
      The umbrella of knowledge under which Sufi philosophy is a part of is Rationalism. Rationalists believe that reason is a chief source of knowing; however, they also argue that there are certain instances in which the individual's concepts or knowledge surpasses the sense experience. Moreover, rationalists assert that certain rational principles exist in logic, mathematics, ethics, and metaphysics.
      As mentioned before, Sufi Philosophy is mostly known for its schools of metaphysics and cosmology. Major ideas in Sufi metaphysics incorporate the idea of unity with God and that the cardinal way of knowing is through God and Him only. In Sufi Philosophy, there are also many spiritual states and concepts, some of which are similar to the path of Buddhism. For example, Fanaa is the Sufi term for extinction or annihilating oneself while remaining physically alive. In other words, it is the cathartic stage at which the individual is free of sin and is in unity with Allah, a state similar to nirvana in Buddhism.
      Sufi philosophy is largely religion based and involves multiple spiritual concepts and stages. Like buddhism, Sufism has many states or stages that a Sufi follower strives to meet. These steps ultimately shape the way the individual reasons, changing his or her reasoning into one that is fully dependent on God and full of moral or devoid of sin. Another important concept of reasoning that falls under Sufi philosophy is Marifa, which literally translates to knowledge. This is used to describe the mystical way by which Sufi followers obtain knowledge, which is through a means of ecstatic experience (bliss or inner peace) rather than sense or empirical experience.
      Upon first studying this philosophy, I viewed it more as a religion than a way of reasoning because of the many spiritual concepts it is related with. Thus, as a way of thinking, this philosophy can be viewed as demanding due to the certain stages an individual is required to meet. Apart from that, a way of thinking that involves ultimate truth through God is at once questionable and relatable.

Citations
Markie, Peter, "Rationalism vs. Empiricism", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2013 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2013/entries/rationalism-empiricism/>.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sufi_philosophy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rationalism