Sufism’s Contribution to Mysticism: Moving Beyond the View of Mysticism as an Individualised, Anti-Textual and Non-Regulated Divine Experience
Type
conference keynote
Date Issued
2026-07-01
Author(s)
Abstract
Sufism’s Contribution to Mysticism: Moving Beyond the View of Mysticism as an Individualised, Anti-Textual and Non-Regulated Divine Experience
The conflation of Sufism with mysticism has long structured both popular and scholarly representations of the tradition, whilst remaining deeply contested. Critics have argued that if we are to approach mysticism in the classical sense, the term obscures central features of Sufism, namely its often-constitutive relationship to Islamic law, its distinctive institutional patterns, and its characteristic embeddedness in social and political life. When approaching mysticism in a classical sense, the characterisation of Sufism as “mystical Islam” runs the risk of misrepresenting it as a primarily individual, fluid, otherworldly form of religious experience, one only partially, distantly, and loosely related to Islam. This paper argues that the use of the term mysticism in relation to Sufism, although requiring critical scrutiny, remains analytically productive. It not only illuminates aspects of Sufism that are constitutive of its core, but, more importantly, the case of Sufism can serve, in line with contributions from other traditions, to develop a more nuanced and diverse understanding of mysticism itself; one that challenges its underlying classical, and largely theoretical, assumptions, particularly, with regards to its emphasis on the private, individual, and the “unmediated" character of religious experience. (Mediation is in itself one of the core debates around the Islamic or “non-Islamic” character of Sufism.)
The paper advances three interrelated arguments. First, it demonstrates that Sufism articulates a rigorously developed mystical epistemology and praxis, centred on the doctrines of spiritual stations (maqāmāt) and states (aḥwāl), experiential knowledge (maʿrifa) as a central means of accessing the divine, and an elaborate theology of divine love (maḥabba, ʿishq), which lies at the core of the mystical quest rather than constituting a secondary effect of it. Second, it shows that, against the anti-textual character often attributed to classical notions of mysticism, Sufis have developed sophisticated scriptural hermeneutics in which the Qurʾān itself functions as a main gateway to the mystical experience. Third, it argues that this mystical core is not opposed to mediation but is, instead, constituted through it, despite the intense debates this question generates within the Islamic tradition. This occurs, sometimes in the form of close adherence to religious law (sharīʿa), oftentimes through regulated institutional frameworks, and in almost every case, by following the authority of a spiritual master. In this sense, Sufism challenges two central assumptions associated with the classical view of mysticism; first, that the mystical experience is purely individualised; and second, that in being so, it necessarily stands apart from the core of the tradition it stems from, Islam.
Drawing on examples from Sufi scholars and traditions from across the world, both historical and contemporary, the paper illustrates how the study of Sufism as a mystical tradition enriches our understanding of mysticism, but also of Islam. It argues that approaching Sufism in this way, rather than distorting it, critically reworks our understanding of mysticism by complicating its narrower classical formulations, while also foregrounding Sufism as both a contested and yet a constitutive dimension of the Islamic tradition to which it belongs.
The conflation of Sufism with mysticism has long structured both popular and scholarly representations of the tradition, whilst remaining deeply contested. Critics have argued that if we are to approach mysticism in the classical sense, the term obscures central features of Sufism, namely its often-constitutive relationship to Islamic law, its distinctive institutional patterns, and its characteristic embeddedness in social and political life. When approaching mysticism in a classical sense, the characterisation of Sufism as “mystical Islam” runs the risk of misrepresenting it as a primarily individual, fluid, otherworldly form of religious experience, one only partially, distantly, and loosely related to Islam. This paper argues that the use of the term mysticism in relation to Sufism, although requiring critical scrutiny, remains analytically productive. It not only illuminates aspects of Sufism that are constitutive of its core, but, more importantly, the case of Sufism can serve, in line with contributions from other traditions, to develop a more nuanced and diverse understanding of mysticism itself; one that challenges its underlying classical, and largely theoretical, assumptions, particularly, with regards to its emphasis on the private, individual, and the “unmediated" character of religious experience. (Mediation is in itself one of the core debates around the Islamic or “non-Islamic” character of Sufism.)
The paper advances three interrelated arguments. First, it demonstrates that Sufism articulates a rigorously developed mystical epistemology and praxis, centred on the doctrines of spiritual stations (maqāmāt) and states (aḥwāl), experiential knowledge (maʿrifa) as a central means of accessing the divine, and an elaborate theology of divine love (maḥabba, ʿishq), which lies at the core of the mystical quest rather than constituting a secondary effect of it. Second, it shows that, against the anti-textual character often attributed to classical notions of mysticism, Sufis have developed sophisticated scriptural hermeneutics in which the Qurʾān itself functions as a main gateway to the mystical experience. Third, it argues that this mystical core is not opposed to mediation but is, instead, constituted through it, despite the intense debates this question generates within the Islamic tradition. This occurs, sometimes in the form of close adherence to religious law (sharīʿa), oftentimes through regulated institutional frameworks, and in almost every case, by following the authority of a spiritual master. In this sense, Sufism challenges two central assumptions associated with the classical view of mysticism; first, that the mystical experience is purely individualised; and second, that in being so, it necessarily stands apart from the core of the tradition it stems from, Islam.
Drawing on examples from Sufi scholars and traditions from across the world, both historical and contemporary, the paper illustrates how the study of Sufism as a mystical tradition enriches our understanding of mysticism, but also of Islam. It argues that approaching Sufism in this way, rather than distorting it, critically reworks our understanding of mysticism by complicating its narrower classical formulations, while also foregrounding Sufism as both a contested and yet a constitutive dimension of the Islamic tradition to which it belongs.
Language
English
Keywords
Sufism
Islam
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
No
Event Title
Mysticisms Beyond the West
Event Location
Campion Hall, University of Oxford
Event Date
29th June - 1st July
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Contact Email Address
marta.dominguez@unisg.ch
File(s)![Thumbnail Image]()
Name
dominguez diaz keynote.pdf
Type
Main Article
Description
The paper is the Keynote talk I was invited to give at the conference Mysticisms Beyond the West, organised by the Faculty of Theology and Religion at Oxford University. (see program here: https://www.theology.ox.ac.uk/event/conference-mysticisms-beyond-the-west )
Size
217.06 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
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