To abandon, to consider hoarding as forbidden.
The explanation of these: Pure tawhid (the oneness of God); not tarnishing tawhid by anthropomorphism (likening Allah to created beings) or taʿṭīl (denying Allah's attributes).
To understand what is heard (samāʿ); to listen not only outwardly, but also with one's ḥāl (spiritual state).
The isār of isār; to prefer others to oneself in isār (altruistic self-sacrifice), so that the virtue of isār belongs to others (sometimes, to expect isār from others).
A swift ecstasy (wajd); for the secret (qalb, the heart) not to be empty of things that bring about the state of ecstasy, nor filled with things that prevent hearing the address of the Real (God).
To discover thoughts; to examine what passes through one's secret (qalb), to follow what belongs to the Real, and to abandon what does not belong to Him.
To travel frequently; to journey often for the sake of taking heed. Allah the Exalted says: "Have they not traveled through the earth and observed how was the end of those before them?" (al-Rūm 30:9)
To abandon kesb (acquisition); to forsake earning in order to direct the nafs (the lower self) toward tawakkul (reliance upon God). Considering hoarding as forbidden refers not to the accumulation that is obligatory according to sharia (the sacred law), but to the state (ḥāl) of the individual (that is, it concerns what is beyond what is obligatory for one's own situation). (Taʿarruf, 61)
Junayd said: Sufism (taṣawwuf) is to guard the moments, for the servant not to become aware of what is beyond his limit, not to be in agreement with anyone other than his Lord, and not to approach anything other than what his moment requires.
Ibn ʿAtāʾ also said: Sufism is to submit to the Real (God).
According to Abū Yaʿqūb Sūsī, the Sufi is one who is not disturbed by causes, nor wearied by seeking. Again, when Junayd was asked what Sufism is, he replied: It is for the secret (sirr) to reach the Real for the strength of the spirit (ruh). This is not possible unless the nafs does not become annihilated by causes and is established with the Real.
When Shiblī was asked why Sufis are called by this name, he replied: Because they are characterized by the existence of forms and the affirmation of attributes. If they were characterized by the annihilation of forms and by the one who affirms the attributes, their distinguishing feature would be not possessing form or attribute. By saying this, Shiblī denied for the realized Sufi (mutaḥaqqiq) the possession of form or attribute.
Abū Yazīd Bisṭāmī said: Sufis are infants in the embrace (protection) of the Real (God).
Abū ʿAbdullāh Nibājī said: Sufism is like the disease bursam (pleurisy). Its beginning is delirium; when it settles, it renders a person mute. That is, when a person enters Sufism, at first he speaks of his station (maqām) and gives information about his state (ḥāl). When his unveiling (kashf) is opened, he falls into bewilderment (ḥayra) and becomes silent. (Taʿarruf, 62)
It is related that Sarī (al-Saqaṭī) said: Sufism is a name that comes to three meanings: one whose light of maʿrifa (gnosis) does not extinguish the light of his piety (warāʿ), one whose inner knowledge does not require speaking contrary to the outward of the Book and Sunnah, and one whose karāmas (saintly wonders) do not claim to tear the veils forbidden by Allah. (Qushayrī, 11)
This designation has become dominant among the Sufi community. The singular is called Sufi, and the group is called Sufiyya. One who attains this is called mutaṣawwif, and the group formed by them is called mutaṣawwifa. There is no Arabic root or analogy to show that this name is originally Arabic. It has become clear that this name is only a nickname. Some have said that the word is derived from the wearing of a woolen shirt (qamis), from the verb taqammaṣa (to put on a shirt), or from the word ṣūf (wool), from the verb tasawwafa (to wear wool), thus forming the term taṣawwuf. This is one opinion. However, wearing wool is not unique to this group... (Qushayrī, 137)
Muḥammad ʿAlī Kassāb says: Sufism is noble qualities that appear from a noble person, at a noble time, among a noble community. When Sumnūn was asked what Sufism is, he replied: It is to possess nothing and for nothing to possess you.
When Ruwaym was asked what Sufism is, he said: It is for a person to submit fully to what Allah wills for him.
Junayd also said: It is to be with Allah in every way, free from all attachments.
Ruwaym Aḥmad Baghdādī says: Sufism is based on these qualities: adhering to poverty and neediness before Allah, making self-sacrifice (badhl), isār, and generosity habitual, and abandoning objection and choice (with complete submission to Allah).
Maʿrūf Karkhī said: Sufism is to take the ḥaqīqas (inner realities) and to cut off hope from what is in the hands of people.
Ḥamdūn Qaṣṣār said: Keep company with Sufis! For among themselves, they seek excuses to interpret (taʾwīl) any ugliness they encounter (they look at life and people with an optimistic eye). Regarding the beauties seen in themselves, they do not see themselves as superior, but rather exalt you (they attribute any goodness seen in themselves not to themselves, but to the goodness of the person before them).
When Ḥarrāz was asked about the people of Sufism, he said: They are a group to whom abundant divine ihsan (spiritual excellence) has been given, who have become so annihilated (fanāʾ) as to be prevented from being occupied with anything other than Allah, and then to whom secrets close to the Real are disclosed.