For me, the problem is differing definitions.

There are actions that people will agree with and those that they will disagree with, but when they are bunched up and grouped, different people will use different actions to define the whole.

For me Sufism/tasawwuf is from Islam and is an attempt to get closer to God and to be more selfless through various means that are described in the sunnah, from dhikr to controlling the desires etc.

I would say that if an action goes against the qur'an and sunnah, it also goes against tasawwuf and the outliers should not be used to define the whole - there will always be people who go beyond the allowed limits and the way to correct that is NOT by banning the whole, but by educating those in the wrong.

Tasawwuf is focussed on things like dhikr - remembering God, in not indulging in the physical world, remembering God as often as possible, remembering death, holding yourself to account. However those who will disparage sufis will find these actions acceptable or commendable. They will simply not titles them as sufism.

There will be other actions that are almost like trance and stuff that non sufis will dislike, however those that accept them will say they are supported from ahadith. Examples of this are people who look insane and people will link you to youtube saying "look at what the sufis do, they look mad!" to which my response would be the hadith which says "do dhikr until you look like a madman", so them being called insane is actually following ahadith.

Another aspect in dhikr would be movements or dance, and some will say "look, how they dance", but on the other hand there are ahadith that show such things being allowed - people from Habasha during a celebration in the mosque of the prophet in his presence would do their war dances singing/chanting some praising the prophet and then there is the case of a sahabi who was given good news by the prophet who started to hop on one foot and another sahabi joined him in the celebration.

Most of these are practical differences.

There are however other things which are more on an aqeedah level which are sued to differentiate those who think sufism is permissibile (now called sufis) and those that don't think so. These include the following questions that I put in another topic too:

EDIT - I cant seem to find it, so I will try to remember what I had written:

1. Knowledge of the unseen, Ilmul Ghayb - did/could the prophet have knowledge that was not learnt from a physical source.

Both will answer yes the prophet could have knowledge and did have knowledge (since he had atleast been given the qur'an through not a normal physical process), but some would call that ilmul ghayb while others will say ilmul ghayb is only with God and once God gives it to someone, it is no longer ilmul Ghayb. Others will say it remains ilmul ghayb. So it is a big argument over semantics. A secondary issue here is how much did the prophet know? some will say everything, some will say only what was needed, but both will agree that God is not limited and can give however much knowledge He (swt) wills.

2. Was the prophet made of Noor or was he not made of Noor.

(My answer: the Prophet was created however Allah (swt) sw fit and it does not bother me, but others can spend hours and years and lifetimes on this debate)

3. Can you celebrate the birthday of the Prophet (though some sufis answer it shouldn't be and some non sufis say it should be, but its a broad divider)

(my answer is yes, it is a good thing, others will say no, it cant be celebrated)

4. Can people intercede on the behalf of others?

I would say yes, this is indicated in ahadith and the actions of the companions. Others will scream "WEAK HADITH" as if that suddenly makes the argument null and void.

and a few more such things that I cant really remember or are linked to those mentioned already.

It IS extremely interesting, but i dont think i'll be able to take it if everyday was like this.

i know, nowt about Sufism.

You wrote:

remembering God, in not indulging in the physical world,

could you expand on that please.

Noor wrote:

You wrote:

remembering God, in not indulging in the physical world,

could you expand on that please.

You do that, give your definition.

MakeMeRawr_8TeenF wrote:

Was that ONE PARAGRAPH?!

I took some liberties.

atleast not a single word was cut and pasted (though I did intend to cut and paste a bit from an earlier post, but I couldn't find it).

You wrote:

Noor wrote:

You wrote:

remembering God, in not indulging in the physical world,

could you expand on that please.

You do that, give your definition.

it came from your brain.

i would like to know what you mean by that and where that assumption has come from.

The idea that Caliph Umar (ra) would eat simple foods even though he was the leader of one of the most empires in the history of the planet.

The idea that Hadhrat Abu Bakr (ra) would give everything for Islam.

The idea that the prophet would not want to use a specific blanket or a specific shirt because they were too comfortable.

The idea that you are meant to remember God even when in the physical world, where someone who was told that either his or someone else's goods had perished and he responded alhamdulillah, and then when later told that that was not the case, he had the same response.

At the same time, I don't like the idea of not indulging. I want to indulge. so being a sufi is not for me, while I accept that it is allowed and a good thing to be/do.

As for dhikr, that can also be entertaining or uplifting - it is food for the soul.

You wrote:

The idea that Caliph Umar (ra) would eat simple foods even though he was the leader of one of the most empires in the history of the planet.

The idea that Hadhrat Abu Bakr (ra) would give everything for Islam.

The idea that the prophet would not want to use a specific blanket or a specific shirt because they were too comfortable.

imam abu hanifa (ra) owned a very expensive garment.

there were also many wealthy sahaba.

you need to understand first why they ate so less and desired simple foods, why the Prophet preferred rough bedding over soft, why Abu Bakr (ra) gave everything for islam.

the whole essence of sufism is to live in the world but not let the world live in you and avoid everything that takes you away from the remembrance of Almighty Allah.

Sufism is a mystical part of Islam. A part that truly focuses on soul and belief and is all about the stuff "inside".