He asked me what safāʾ is. I replied: Cut your wings with the scissors of fanāʾ (annihilation in God)! Do not desire anything other than Me! But when he said, "I am flying with my wings!" I told him: Woe to you! Allah says, "There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing" (al-Shūrā 42:11). Then he fell into the ocean of fahm (understanding) and drowned therein. (Tawāṣīn, 199)
Safāʾ is when the servant is freed from thoughts and traits mixed with his nature, and, even during the manifestation of ḥaqīqa (inner realities), is delivered from seeing his own actions. Al-Jarīrī says: To think about safāʾ while in the state of safāʾ is jafāʾ (hardness). For in that case, the involvement of nature and the seeing of one's own action are present. (Lumaʿ, 414)
Ṭahāra (purification) is the cleansing of the qalb (the heart) from things like rancor, envy, shirk (associating partners with God), and suspicion. Safāʾ, on the other hand, is that which carries no defect. Complete purification from all human qualities becomes a constant state without change or alteration. This, however, is not a quality of created beings. For Allah Most High is the One to whom no defects attach. There is no taghayyur (change) in Allah. Created beings are tested with imtihān (trial); they are not free from defects and changes. They are subject to the rulings of servanthood. For this reason, they turn to Allah in tawba (repentance) and istighfār (seeking forgiveness). (Lumaʿ, 547)
Safāʾ is the opposite of keder (sorrow; purity and clarity as opposed to turbidity). Sorrow is among the attributes of humankind. In reality, the Sufi is one who has passed beyond the realm of sorrow. Just as the Egyptian women who, upon witnessing the beauty of Prophet Joseph, became enraptured in the subtleties of his beauty, yet their state of humanity prevailed over them, and their galaba (overwhelmed state) was reversed because they viewed him through the window of their own human mortality. (Hujwīrī, 41)
Sufism (taṣawwuf) is tafʿul and takalluf (artificiality and affectation; it requires a certain effort and burden, and what requires effort is not natural but artificial). Its essence is safāʾ, and Sufism is a branch derived from that essence. The difference between them is clear in both language and meaning. Safāʾ is walāya (friendship with God) that has an āya (Qur'anic proof or miraculous sign). Sufism is the narration of safāʾ without complaint. In this case, safāʾ is a radiant meaning, and the outward aspect of Sufism is the narration of this meaning. (Hujwīrī, 44)
Sufism is not derived from wearing wool (ṣūf), but from safāʾ. A true Sufi in Sufism purifies his qalb from everything other than his Master, Allah. This purification is not achieved by manifesting karāma (a saintly wonder), belittling others, composing books, recounting the stories of the righteous, or moving one's fingers in tasbīḥ (glorification) and tahlīl (uttering 'Lā ilāha illā Allāh'). Rather, it is realized through sincerity in seeking the Truth, zuhd (asceticism) regarding the dunyā (world), separating the heart from people, and detaching from everything other than the Master. (Fath, 90)
The mutaṣawwif is one who strives to become a Sufi and continues in this effort. When he strives and enters the path of the Sufis, he is called mutaṣawwif. Just as one who puts on a shirt is called takammusa (putting on a shirt), and one who dons armor is called tadarraʿa (putting on armor), so too is one who adopts the path of zuhd called mutazahhid (becoming ascetic). One who reaches the end of zuhd, comes to detest things, finds fanāʾ in them, and abandons everything is called zāhid (ascetic). After this state, things come to the zāhid, but he neither desires nor detests them; rather, he obeys Allah's command and awaits His action—such a person is called mutaṣawwif. If the Sufi is characterized by this meaning, then the meaning of this word—the word Sufi is actually derived from muṣāfāt (purification)—is the servant whom Allah Most High has purified. Thus, the one who is cleansed from the calamities of the nafs (the lower self), keeps away from blameworthy things, pursues the praiseworthy states of the path, and finds no rest in any of the people but remains attached to realities with his qalb, is called a Sufi... (Ghuniyya, II, 160)
Safāʾ is to be purified from sorrow. Its first subtlety is the safāʾ of a knowledge that leads the sālik (traveler) to the tariqa (Sufi path). This safāʾ strengthens the himma (spiritual resolve) of the one who turns to the path. The second subtlety of safāʾ is the safāʾ of ḥāl (spiritual state). This safāʾ is a state in which the witnesses of reality are beheld, the taste of munājāt (intimate supplication) is experienced, and the universe is forgotten. Its third subtlety is ittiṣāl (union). It is that which falls to the share of ʿubūdiyya (servanthood) in relation to the reality of Lordship. This safāʾ contains within it the awe of the primordial obligations in the mirror of pre-eternity. (Rawḍa, 491)
Sufism comes from safāʾ; this is its root. There is a transposition of letters in its form. The original word ends with the letter wāw, but here the wāw comes before the fāʾ. For the root of the verbal noun mujarrad is safw. The Sufi is called Sufi because of the purification of his secrets.