Why Do We Suffer? "The supreme test, the supreme initiation, is that at the time when you need the divine presence, you cannot feel it. " What we mean by the divine presence is the divine being beyond the qualities. And here we are right up against the secret of life, because for God's presence to be felt, we cannot be there any more. That is why they say the one who sees God cannot live: Our consciousness of our self stands in the way of our awareness of the divine presence. Society: Religion and Spirituality: Islam: Sufi. Sufism, Sufis, and Sufi Orders: Sufism's Many Paths. Sufism's Many PathsDr.
Alan Godlas, University of Georgia Sufism or tasawwuf, as it is called in Arabic, is generally understood by scholars and Sufis to be the inner, mystical, or psycho-spiritual dimension of Islam. Today, however, many Muslims and non-Muslims believe that Sufism is outside the sphere of Islam. Nevertheless, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, one of the foremost scholars of Islam, in his article The Interior Life in Islam contends that Sufism is simply the name for the inner or esoteric dimension of Islam. After nearly 30 years of the study of Sufism, I would say that in spite of its many variations and voluminous expressions, the essence of Sufi practice is quite simple. Soufi Etudes 1. RUMI.