Concept of Heva: Ardour and overweening ambition according to tasawwuf
Heva means empty, full of air, futile and worthless. It is a concept used by sufis to indicate someone’s nafs, in other words, soul’s inclination towards and dependency on personal desires and lust. If heva overcomes reason in any human being, the person will be under the command of his nafs, thus leading his soul […]
Birgivi : An Awliya of Smyrna
His real name is Muhammad, but he is known after the name of Smyrna’s town of Birgi, where his tomb is located. He was born in the city of Balıkesir in 1521 and passed away in 1573 in the town of Birgi, Smyrna. History remembers him also by the name of İmam-ı Birgivi and he […]
Different degrees of the nafs
In tasawwuf nafs means self, psyche, ego or soul. Some Sufis suggest that there are six degrees of nafs and claim this intellection based on Quranic evidence. Nafs-i-ammara: The kind of nafs that doesn’t care about Allah(j.j) commands and prohibitions and follows mundane pleasures. Nafs-i-lawwama: Here the nafs sometimes follows Allah(j.j) guidelines and feels sorry […]
Azm and Tawakkul : Determined trust in the ultimate judge and the final administrator
Both azm and tawakkul are essential milestones for understanding Islamic faith, especially if one is inclined to compass the strong foundations of this belief system where it takes many of its roots from tasawwuf, Islamic Sufism. Azm means wishing something strongly with determination and being patient and showing perseverance. There are many verses in Holy […]
Characteristics of Wali according to Islamic tasawwuf – 1
The word awliya is the plural form of the word wali, which is an important denomination in Islamic Sufism. The word denomination has a ring of “group of religious congregations having its own organization and a distinctive faith” in it but we must note beforehand that the word wali is a title attained to a […]
Riyazah and Mujahadah : A diet for the soul
The concepts of riyazah and mujahada are two instruments for Taqwa, both related with Islamic tasawwuf. Since for all Sufis, taqwa is the ultimate be-end-goal for all and since Holy Quran has many, rich flavors of different definitions of taqwa, every concept related to taqwa should be studies thoroughly if one is in deed interested […]