Can Ṣūfism be Accepted as a Science of Morality?: Indeterministic Approaches to Deterministic Morality

Abstract

Ṣūfism is accepted as a science of morality among religious sciences; according to the claims of the ṣūfis, it is a science that deals with the issue of the morality improvement, which is not considered a problem by any of the religious sciences. Rather than systematically using this expression, ṣūfis concentrated on the ideal morality that can be attained by improving the temperaments of the human soul (nafs). Ideal morality can be defined as a state of spirit that serves as a foundation for knowing God, which isthe purpose of human existence, and reaching God by following His commandments. For this purpose, ṣūfism developed a method for striving (mujāhada) and austerity (riyāḍa) to a certain extent, where the concept of existence can form the basis of the method. Consequently, ṣūfism described himself as maʿrifatu’n-nafs, which means the way of knowing oneself. However, neither in the past nor at present, there has been any substantial research conducted on the relationship between the science of morality and ṣūfism. In this regard, the claim that ṣūfism is a science of morality remains an unfounded and baseless statement. In this article, we have tried to reach a conclusion by analyzing various aspects of the relationship between ṣūfism and science of morality. In our opinion, even if ṣūfism is considered as a relative morality among religious sciences, it cannot be regarded as a science of morality that we are familiar with from the perspective of philosophical sciences. This situation is true, both in terms of the method it follows and not having the content of the science of morality from the point of content and context. Thus, according to the claim of this article, the assertion that “Ṣūfism is the science of morality” will remain an unfounded claim.

Keywords

• ṣūfism
• morality
• renunciation
• soul
• prophethood
• ʿināyat.