It is to act in accordance with it. Another of his sayings is: Sufism (taṣawwuf) is a war without peace.
Another saying of Junayd is as follows: The Sufi is like the earth; everything bad is thrown upon it, but only good things come forth from it.
Maʿrūf Karkhī said: Sufism (taṣawwuf) is to take the realities (ḥaqīqat) and to cut off hope from what is in the hands of the people (ḥalq).
Sahl ʿAbdullāh (al-Tustarī) said: The Sufi is one who has been purified from turbidity, filled with thoughts, and who has turned to Allah by renouncing things that would delight him. In his eyes, gold and mud are the same.
Abū Muḥammad Jarīrī also said: Sufism (taṣawwuf) is to adhere completely to sublime character (akhlāq). According to one of the Sufis, the beginning of Sufism is knowledge, its middle is action, and its end is divine gift.
Abū Ḥafṣ said: All of Sufism (taṣawwuf) is adab (proper conduct). Every moment, every maqām (spiritual station), and every ḥāl (spiritual state) has its own adab. Whoever adheres to the adab of the moments attains the ranks reached by those (real men) called Sufis. Whoever neglects adab, even if he thinks he is near, in reality (ḥaqīqat) falls far from that point, and even if he hopes to be accepted, he is rejected.
Abū ʿAlī Rūzbārī also said: Sufism (taṣawwuf) is not leaving the door of the Beloved even if one is driven away. (Nabhānī, II, 340)
The word Sufism (taṣawwuf) has been used for sulūk (spiritual journey), and the word mutaṣawwif for the sālik (traveler) on the path (tariqa). There is disagreement about the root of these words. It is said that ṣūfī is derived from ṣūf (wool), because when with Allah, the Sufi has no plan, like flecks of wool thrown into the air. It is also claimed that it comes from ṣifa (attribute), because they adorn themselves with praiseworthy qualities and abandon those deserving blame. It is also said to derive from the Companions of the Suffa (Aṣḥāb al-Ṣuffa) in the Prophet’s Mosque. There, the Aṣḥāb al-Ṣuffa had a place. For this reason, the Sufi follows them. (Rihla, 16)
What is meant by Sufism (taṣawwuf) is to sacrifice everything in the way of observing Allah’s rights concerning ʿubūdiyya (servitude), to be characterized by Muhammadan qualities, to draw near to Allah through worship and obedience, to sacrifice one’s nafs (lower self) and all that is precious in the great and small jihād on the path of Allah, and to be annihilated in the love of Allah and the Prophet (or to devote oneself to their love). (Rihla, 18)
Sufism (taṣawwuf) is the ḥikma (wisdom) that brings happiness in both worlds through divine maʿārif (gnoses). (Rihla, 25)
Mawlānā Shaykh Zarrūq has said: There have been a thousand definitions and descriptions of Sufism (taṣawwuf), and many explanations have been given on this subject. All of them can be gathered at the point of turning to Allah with sincerity. All definitions, classifications, and explanations are but different aspects of this (single point).
The Shaykh also said: The proliferation of different views about the absolute and single reality indicates that the whole of it has not been comprehended. However, if these different views can be gathered on a single foundation, it will encompass everything said on the subject. The meaning understood from the expression belongs to this foundation. All other statements outside this foundation pertain to details, and each of them may differ according to the knowledge, action, state, taste, or similar experiences of the one who speaks. Thus, the different views about Sufism (taṣawwuf) arise from this.
Sirī Saqatī says: The name mutaṣawwif has three meanings: He is one whose light of maʿrifa (gnosis) does not extinguish the light of his outwardness, who does not speak in his bāṭin (inner knowledge) contrary to the outward of the Book and Sunnah, and who does not claim that his karāma (saintly wonder) tears the veils forbidden by Allah. Sahl ʿAbdullāh al-Tustarī also says: Sufi is derived from ṣafā (purity), meaning one whose heart is purified from sorrow (turbidity). Thus, he is filled with thought, has cut off ties with mankind, and for him, gold and earth are the same.
Abū Ḥusayn Nūrī says: Sufism (taṣawwuf) is neither knowledge nor form. It is only character (akhlāq). If it were form, it could be attained by striving. If it were knowledge, it could be acquired by learning. But it is to be characterized by the character of Allah. Your power is not sufficient to approach divine character through knowledge and form. He also says: The Sufis are those who have purified their hearts from human sorrows and the calamities of the nafs (lower self). They have become so free from their own desires that now neither...