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

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, ṣūf...

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Main Author: Ekrem Demirli
Format: Article
Language:Arabic
Published: Istanbul University Press 2021-10-01
Series:İslam Tetkikleri Dergisi
Subjects:
Online Access:https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/910B7B6597F34B86BCC5709CC753A211
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author Ekrem Demirli
author_facet Ekrem Demirli
author_sort Ekrem Demirli
collection DOAJ
description 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.
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spelling doaj-art-eff3abc157654e29b6c274643740bf062025-08-20T02:58:40ZaraIstanbul University Pressİslam Tetkikleri Dergisi2717-69672021-10-0111241943710.26650/iuitd.2021.989772123456Can Ṣūfism be Accepted as a Science of Morality?: Indeterministic Approaches to Deterministic MoralityEkrem Demirli0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9063-846Xİstanbul Üniversitesi, İstanbul, TürkiyeṢūfism 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.https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/910B7B6597F34B86BCC5709CC753A211ṣūfismmoralityrenunciationsoulprophethoodʿināyat.
spellingShingle Ekrem Demirli
Can Ṣūfism be Accepted as a Science of Morality?: Indeterministic Approaches to Deterministic Morality
İslam Tetkikleri Dergisi
ṣūfism
morality
renunciation
soul
prophethood
ʿināyat.
title Can Ṣūfism be Accepted as a Science of Morality?: Indeterministic Approaches to Deterministic Morality
title_full Can Ṣūfism be Accepted as a Science of Morality?: Indeterministic Approaches to Deterministic Morality
title_fullStr Can Ṣūfism be Accepted as a Science of Morality?: Indeterministic Approaches to Deterministic Morality
title_full_unstemmed Can Ṣūfism be Accepted as a Science of Morality?: Indeterministic Approaches to Deterministic Morality
title_short Can Ṣūfism be Accepted as a Science of Morality?: Indeterministic Approaches to Deterministic Morality
title_sort can sufism be accepted as a science of morality indeterministic approaches to deterministic morality
topic ṣūfism
morality
renunciation
soul
prophethood
ʿināyat.
url https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/910B7B6597F34B86BCC5709CC753A211
work_keys_str_mv AT ekremdemirli cansufismbeacceptedasascienceofmoralityindeterministicapproachestodeterministicmorality