"A clear and intelligible exposition of the principles of Sufism, or Oriental Spiritualism, is given by Muhammad al-Misri, a Sufi of the Ilhamiyah school of thought, in the following categorical form (translated by Mr. J.P. Brown, in the Journal of the American Oriental Society). It represents more particularly the way in which this form of mysticism is adapted to the stern and dogmatic teaching (sic) of Islam.

Question - What is the beginning of at-Tasawwuf?

Answer - Iman, or faith, of which there are six pillars, namely, (1) Belief in God, (2) in His Angels, (3) in His Books, (4) and in His Prophets, (5) in the last Day, and (6) in His decree of good and evil.

Q - What is the result of at-Tasawwuf?

A - It is not only the reciting with the tongue these pillars of faith, but also establishing them in the heart. This was the reply made by the Murshid Junaiyd 'l-Baghdadi, in answer to the same question.

Q - What is the distinction between a Sufi and an ordinary person?

A - The knowledge of an ordinary person is but Imanu-i Taqlidi, or "a counterfeit faith," whereas that of the Sufi is Iman-i-Tahqiqi, or "true faith."

Q - What do you mean by counterfeit faith?

A - It is that which an ordinary person has derived from his forefathers, or from the teachers and preachers of his own day, without knowing why it is essential that a man should believe in these six articles for his soul's salvation. For example, a person may be walking in the public streets and find a precious jewel which, perhaps kings had sought for in vain, and rulers who had conquered the whole world had sought for and yet had not found. But in this precious jewel he has found that which is more effulgent than the sun, when it is so bright that it obscures the lesser light of the moon; or even he has found an alchemy which can convert copper into gold. And yet, perhaps, the finder knows not the value of the precious jewel, but thinks it a counterfeit jewel, and one which he would give away even for a drink of water if he were thirsty.

Q - What is the establishment of faith?

A - The establishment of faith consists in a search being made for the true origin of each of these six pillars of faith, until the enquirer arrives at al-Haqiqah "the Truth." Many persons pursue the journey for ten, or twenty, or thirty, or even forty years, and wandering away from the true path, enter upon the path of error, and hence there are known to be seventy-three ways, only one of which is the way of Salvation. At last, by a perfect subjection to the teaching of the Murshid, or guide, they find out the value of the lost jewel which they have found, and their faith becomes manifest, and you might say that, with the light of the lamp, they have reached the sun. They then find out that the Tariqah, or journey of the Sufi, is consistent with the Shari'ah or law of Islam.

Q - In matters of faith and worship, to what sect are the Sufis attached?

A - (To this reply the author says, speaking, of course, of his own people, that they are chiefly of the Sunni sect. But he does not notice that mystic doctrines are more prevalent amongst the Shi'ahs.)

Q - When Bayazid al-Bistami was asked of what sect he was, he replied, "I am of the sect of Allah." What did he mean?

A - The sects of Allah are the four orthodox sects of Islam. (Here our author departs from true Sufi teaching.)

Q - Most of the Sufis, in their poems, use certain words which we hear and understand as showing that they were of the Metempsychosians. They say, "I am sometimes Lot, sometimes a vegetable, sometimes an animal, at other times a man." What does this mean?

A - Brother, the prophet has said: "My people, in the future life, will rise up in companies" - that is, some as monkeys, others as hogs, or in other forms - as is written in a verse of the Qur'an, Surah [78:18]: "Ye shall come in troops," which has been commented on by al-Baizawi, who cites a tradition to the effect that, at the resurrection, men will rise up in the form of those animals whose chief characteristics resemble their own ruling passions in life; the greedy, avaricious man as a hog; the angry, passionate man as a camel; the tale-bearer or mischief-maker as a monkey. For though these men, while in this life, bore the human form externally, they were internally nothing different from the animals whose characters are in common with their own. The resemblance is not manifest during the life, but becomes so in the other existence, after the resurrection. Let us avoid such traits; repentance before death will free us from these evils. The Prophet said with regard to this: "Sleep is the brother of death. The dying man sees himself in his true character, and so knows whether or not he is, by repentance, freed from his ruling passion of life. In like manner, he will see himself during his slumbers, still following in the path of his passions." For instance, the money-calculator, in sleep, sees himself engaged in his all-absorbing occupation; and this fact is a warning from God not to allow himself to be absorbed in any animal passion or degrading occupation. It is only by prayerful repentance that anyone can hope to see himself, in his sleep, delivered from his ruling carnal passion, and restored to his proper human, intellectual form. If in your slumbers you see a monkey, consider it as a warning to abandon or abstain from the passion of mischief; if a hog, cease to seize upon the goods of others; and so on. Go and give yourself up to an upright Murshid, or spiritual guide, who will, through his prayers, show you in your slumbers the evil parts of your character, until one by one they have passed away, and have been replaced by good ones - all through the power of the name of God, whom he will instruct you to invoke (zikr); at length you will only see in your slumbers the forms of holy and pious men, in testimony of that degree of piety to which you will have attained. This is what is meant by that expression of certain poets, referring to one's condition previous to the act of repentance, when the writer says, "I am sometimes an animal, sometimes a vegetable, sometimes a man"; and the same may be said by the Sufis, in application to themselves, as of any other part of creation, for man is called the akhiru 'l-maujudat or "the climax of beings': for in him are comprised all the characteristics of creation. Many mystical books have been written on this subject, all showing that man is the larger part, and the world the smaller part, of God's creation. The human frame is said to comprise all the other parts of creation; and the heart of man is supposed to be even more comprehensive than the rainbow, because, when the eyes are closed, the mental capacity can take in the whole of a vast city; though not seen by the eyes, it is seen by the capacious nature of the mind. Among such books is the Hauzu 'l-Hayat or the "Well of Life," which says that if a man closes his eyes, ears, and nostrils, he cannot take cold; that the right nostril is called the sun and the left the moon; that from the former he breathes heat, from the latter cold air.

Q - Explain the distinctive opinions of the Sufis in at-Tanasukh, or the Transmigration of Souls.

A - O Brother! Our teaching regarding al-Barzakh [Qur'an 23:102] has nothing whatever to do with at-Tanasukh. Of all the erring sects in the world, those who believe in Metempsychosis, or Transmigration of Souls, is the very worst.

Q - The Sufis regard certain things as lawful which are forbidden. For instance they enjoin the use of wine, wine-shops, the wine-cup, sweethearts; they speak of the curls of their mistresses, and the moles on their faces, cheeks, etc, and compare the furrows on their brows to verses of the Qur'an. What does this mean?

A - The Sufis often exchange the external features of all things for the internal, the corporeal for the spiritual, and thus give an imaginary signification to outward forms. They behold objects of a precious nature in their natural character and for this reason the greater part of their words have a spiritual and figurative meaning. For instance, when, like Hafiz, they mention wine, they mean a knowledge of God, which figuratively considered, is the love of God. Wine, viewed figuratively, is also love: love and affection are here the same thing. The wine shop, with them, means the murhidu 'l kamil, or spiritual director, for his heart is said to be the depository of the love of God; the wine-cup is the Talqin, or the pronunciation of the name of God in a declaration of faith, as : "There is no God but Allah!" or it signifies the words which flow from the Murshid's mouth respecting divine knowledge, and which, when heard by the Salik, or "one who pursues the true path," intoxicates his soul, and divests his heart of passions, giving him pure spiritual delights. The sweetheart means the excellent preceptor, because, when anyone sees his beloved, he admires her perfect proportions, with a heart full of love; the Salik beholds the secret knowledge of God which fills the heart of his spiritual Preceptor, or Murshid, and through it receives a similar inspiration, and acquires a full perception of all that he possesses, just as the pupil learns from his master. As the lover delights in the presence of his sweetheart, so the Salik rejoices in the company of his beloved Murshid, or preceptor. The sweetheart, is the object of a worldly affection, but the preceptor of a spiritual attachment. The curls or ringlets of the beloved are the grateful praises of the preceptor, tending to bind the affections of the disciple; the moles on her face signify that when the pupil, at times, beholds the total absence of all worldly wants on the part of the preceptor, he also abandons all the desires of both worlds - he perhaps even goes so far as to desire nothing else in life than his preceptor; the furrows on the brow of the beloved one, which they compare to verses of the Qur'an, mean the light of the heart of the Murshid; they are compared to verses of the Qur'an, because the attributes of God, in accordance with the injunction of the Prophet: "Be ye endued with divine qualities,' are possessed by the Murshid.

Q - The Murshids and their disciples often say: "We see God." Is it possible for anyone to see God?

A - It is not possible. What they mean by this assertion is that they know God, that they see His power; for it is forbidden to mortal eyes to behold Him, as is declared in the Qur'an [6:103] "No sight reaches Him; He reaches the sight - the subtle, the knowing." The Prophet commanded us to "adore God, as thou wouldst didst thou see Him; for, if thou dost not see Him, He sees thee." This permission to adore Him is a divine favour, and they say that they are God's servants by divine favour. 'Ali said: "Should the veil fall from my eyes, how would God visit me in truth?" This saying proves that no one really sees God, and that even the sainted 'Ali never saw Him.

Q - Can it possibly be erroneous to say that, by seeing the traces of anyone he may be beheld?

A - One may certainly be thus seen. When any person sees the brightness of the sun, he may safely say that he has seen it. There is another example, namely: Should you hold a mirror in your hand, you see a figure in it, and you may therefore say that you see your own face, which is really an impossibility; for no one has ever seen his own face, and you have asserted what is not strictly correct.

Q - Since everyone sees the traces of God, as everyone is able to do, how is it that the Sufis declare that they only see Him?

A - Those who make this statement do not know what they see, for they have never really seen Him. A person who has eaten of a sweet and savoury dish given to him but of which he knows not the name, seeks for it again with a longing desire after it, and thus wanders about in search of what has given him so much delight, even though he be ignorant of what it really was. So are those who seek after God, without knowing Him, or what He is.

Q - Some Sufis declare: "We are neither afraid of Hell, nor do we desire Heaven" - a saying which must be blasphemous. How is this?

A - They do not really mean that they do not fear Hell, and that they do not wish for Heaven. If they really meant this, it would be blasphemous. Their meaning is not as they express themselves; probably they wish to say "O Lord, Thou who createdst us and madest us what we are, Thou hast not made us because we assist Thy workings. We are in duty bound to serve Thee all the more devotedly, wholly in obedience to They holy will. We have no bargaining with Thee, and we do not adore Thee with the view of gaining thereby either Heaven or Hell!" As it is written, in the Qur'an, [9:112] : "Verily, God hath bought of the believers their persons and their wealthy, for the Paradise they are to have," which means that His bounty has no bounds, His mercy no end; and thus it is that He benefits His faithful servants. They would say: "Thou hast no bargaining with anyone; our devotion is from the sincerity of our hearts, and is for love of Thee only. Were there no Heaven, nor any Hell, it would still be our duty to adore thee. To Thee belongs the perfect right to put us either in Heaven or in Hell, and may Thy commands be executed agreeable to Thy blessed Will: if Thou puttest us in Heaven, it is through Thine excellence, not on account of our devotion; if Thou puttest us in Hell, it is from out of Thy great justice, and not from any arbitrary decision on Thy part; so be it for ever and for ever!" This is the true meaning of the Sufis when they say they do no desire Heaven or fear Hell.

Q - Thou saidst that there is no conflict between the Shari'ah, "law," and the Haqiqah, "truth," and nothing in the latter inconsistent with the former; and yet these two are distinguished from one another by "a something" which the Ahlu l'Haqiqah, "believers in the truth," conceal. Were there nothing conflicting, why should it be thus hidden?

A - If it be concealed, it is not because there is a contrariety to the law, but only because the thing hidden is contrary to the human mind; its definition is subtle, and not understood by everyone, for which reason the Prophet said: "Speak to men according to their mental capacities, for if you speak all things to all men, some cannot understand you, and so fall into error." The Sufis, therefore, hide some things conformably with this precept.

Q - Should anyone not know the science which is known to the Sufis, and still do what the law plainly commands, and be satisfied therewith, would his faith and Islam be less than that of the Sufis?

A - No. He would not be inferior to the Sufis; his faith and Islam would be equal even to that of the prophets, because Iman and Islam are a jewel which admits of no division or separation into parts, and can neither be increased no diminished, just as the portion of the sun enjoyed by a king and by a faqir is the same, or as the limbs of the poor and the rich are equal in number: just as members of the body of the king and the subject are precisely alike, so is the faith of the Muslim the same in all and common to all neither greater nor less in any case.

Q - Some men are prophets, saints, pure ones, and other Fasiqs (who know God, but perform none of His commands); what difference is there among them?

A - The difference lies in their ma'rifah, or knowledge of spiritual things"; but in the matter of faith they are all equal; just as, in the case of the ruler and the subject, their limbs are all equal, while they differ in their dress, power, and office."