Sufism is the spiritual reality of Islam, even if it was not known as “Sufism” at the inception of Islam. Phenomenologically speaking, it proves to be the essence of Islam, which gives life to it, like the soul gives life to the body. In Sufi terminology, Islam has two aspects: shariat, its outer dimension, or body, and tariqat, its inner dimension, or soul. These two aspects were inseparably joined in the person of the Prophet, but little by little through the history of Islam, there were people who paid attention only to the shariat, Islamic law, and even confined Islam to this. Often the fuqaha’ or ‘ulama’ took this attitude. In contrast to them there were people who emphasized the spiritual reality or tarighat, who became famous as Sufis.

The propagation of Islam was not through the sword of the rulers, but by the heartfelt word of the Sufis. The cutting swords of SULTAN Mahmūd Ghaznavi or Nadir Shah Afshar did not make Islam influential among the Hindus. It was by the spiritual attraction and life giving breath of Sufi masters such as the successors of Shah Nematullah Wali or Mir Sayyid ‘Ali Hamadani that they became Muslim. Whenever the Muslims were weakened and deviated from the truth of Islam, great Sufis tried to renew and revive it. Sometimes this was done explicitly, as in the case of Ghazali, whose revival finds written form in his famous Ihya ‘Ulum al-Din (The Revival of the Religious Sciences), and sometimes it was implicit, as with Shah Nematullah Wali.

In Sufism itself, from time to time deviations occurred. The use of expressions such as “false Sufi claimant” and “true Sufi claimant”, in books such as Jami’s Nafahat al-Uns, bears witness to this phenomenon1. Among the most prominent critics of such deviations were the Sufi masters. They were the true reformers and renewers of Sufism. Sufism has usually suffered at the hands of two groups: (1) pseudo-Sufis who fancy that the inward aspects of Islam suffice for them and that they may con- sciously abandon its outward precepts; and (2) those fuqaha’ who restrict their un- derstanding of Islam to its outward aspects and ignore its interior. Each of these groups has an incomplete understanding of Islam, one with respect to shariat and the other with regard to tarighat. This is why the Sufi shaykhs were usually con- fronted by these two groups. Renewal and reformation of Sufism most often required a re-balancing of shariat and tarighat in order to preserve its original forma- tion. It is this effort at balancing that prompted the great Sufi shaykhs to take into consideration the circumstances of their times in order to make religious precepts appropriate to them. This enabled them to present Islam in a more complete fash- ion and to keep it from deviation.

One of the greatest reformers and renewers of Sufism was Shah Nematullah Wali. His was one of the most catastrophic times for the Muslims, especially in Iran, which had suffered through the attacks of the Mongols and the Timurids af- ter them. In religious affairs there were Sufi pretenders on the one hand, who did not practice Sufi teachings, and hypocritical preachers on the other, who used re- ligion for personal gain. In his poetry, Hafiz reproaches both groups, thus bearing witness to the situation in Iran. When the religious teachers had fallen so far astray, the religious ethos of the common people of the time would also have been in a state of degeneration. In those days, Shah Nematullah Wali, as master of the Ma‘rūfi order2 and suc- cessor to Shaykh ‘Abdullah Yafi‘i, tried to improve both the inward and the out- ward religious conditions. He exposed the misdeeds and pseudo-teachings of the current Sufi pretenders, and criticized both Sunni and Shi‘ite ‘ulama’. He called upon Sunnis to return to the sunnah of the Prophet of love for the Ahl al-Bayt, while he reminded Shi‘ites that the main pillar of Shi‘ism is the forgotten truth of walayat, rather than points of law and political issues. Thus, he refused to be a rafidt (one who rejected the Companions of the Prophet) or khariji (one who re- jected the leadership of ‘Ali)3.

Due to the difficulties faced by the Sufis in Iran after the death of Shah Nematullah, the Master(qutbs) of the order moved to India at the invitation of SULTAN Ahmadshah Bahmani of the Deccan. During this time, from the end of the Safavids until the end of the Zandi dynasty, because of the political upheaval in Iran, the kings’ rejection of Sufism and the sovereignty of the ‘ulama’ who had good rela- tions with the government, most of the Sufi orders either left Iran or operated clan- destinely4. Although the Safavi dynasty was itself based on a Sufi order, the atti- tude taken by them was very exclusivist, so that they did not permit the free opera- tion of other orders. This situation continued until 1190/1776, when Ridza ALiSHAHDeccaní, who was then qutb of the order, sent one of his authorized shaykhs, Hadrat Ma‘sum ALiSHAH, to Iran. The revival of Sufism in Iran was left to him and one of his main disciples, Nūr ALiSHAH Isfahani. These two behaved in a way that attract- ed the attention of the people who had long forgotten Sufism. Many people, includ- ing some of the prominent ‘ulama’, such as Sayyid Bahr al-‘Ulūm (d. 1212/1797) and ‘Abd al-Samad Hamadani (who was killed in 1216/1801 by Wahhabis), be- came their followers, and Sufism became current in Iran again. The opposition of some of the ‘ulama’ to Sufism, however, continued, and they even persuaded some of the Qajari kings to kill the Sufi shaykhs on the pretext that they sought to take over the government. One can mention the martyrdom of Mushtaq ALiSHAH in Kirman, or that of his disciple Muzaffar ALiSHAH in Kirmanshah at the order of the influential jurist, known as the “Sufi-killer”, Muhammad ibn Bihbihaní.

After Nūr ALiSHAH, the Nematullahi order became the most popular Sufi or- der in Iran. Whenever Sufism becomes popular, pretenders to it abound. During the time when Rahmat ‘Alíshah (d. 1278/1861) was the Master(qutb) of the Order, Sufism became especially popular, in part because the Qajar king, Muhammad Shah, en- tered the order. After Rahmat ALiSHAH passed away, the Nematullahis divided into three branches: (1) the followers of Hajj Muhammad Kazim Isfahani Sa‘adat ALiSHAH; (2) followers of the uncle of Rahmat ALiSHAH, Hajj Muhammad, fa- mous as Munawwar ALiSHAH; and (3) the followers of Mirza Hasan Safi, famous as Safi ALiSHAH. This division first appeared due to the differences about the ex- plicit decree of Rahmat ALiSHAH that he should be succeeded by Sa‘adat ALiSHAH. After some time, the opponents of Sa‘adat ALiSHAH brought another decree attrib- uted to Rahmat ALiSHAH according to which Munawwar ALiSHAH was to be the successor, despite the fact that Munawwar ALiSHAH himself admitted that he had not received the decree personally. Safi ALiSHAH first renewed his covenant with Sa‘adat ALiSHAH, and denied the validity of the decree of Munawwar ALiSHAH. However, after Sa‘adat ALiSHAH refused to appoint him as shaykh, he broke his covenant with him and became a disciple of Munawwar ALiSHAH. After some time, he also rejected the leadership of Munawwar ALiSHAH and proclaimed himself qutb. In this way the Nematullahi order broke up into three chains: first, the SULTAN ALiSHAHi or GUNABADI chain, which is the main and largest chain; second, the Dhū- ’l-Riyasatayn5 chain; and third, the Safi ALiSHAHi chain.

The SULTAN ALiSHAHi chain takes its name after the successor of Sa‘adat ALiSHAH, Hajj SULTAN Muhammad SULTAN ALiSHAH, who was born in Gunabad in Khurasan in A.H.L. 1251/A.D. 1835. He was one of the most distinguished and famous ‘ulama’ and Sufis of his time, such that in most of the books of that time his name is mentioned6. At the age of three he was faced with the loss of his father. Even at such a tender age, his ex- cellence was apparent to all so that among the people and tribes of Baydūkht and Gunabad he was known for his intelligence, wit, dignity and poise. After finishing his elementary studies in Baydūkht, due to a lack of sufficient means, he temporar- ily suspended his studies, but because of his enthusiasm and eagerness, at the age of seventeen, he continued to pursue studies and made great strides, such that his local teachers no longer satisfied his scientific yearnings. Therefore, he set out on foot for the holy city of Mashhad to pursue his studies where he spent some time and benefited from the presence of the scholars there. From there, he then went to Najaf, Iraq, were he became proficient in fiqh, usūl, and tafsir (exegesis of the Qur’an). Under famous fuqaha’, such as Shaykh Murtada Ansari, and was giv- en permission for ijtihad in fiqh. On his return from Najaf, he went to Sabzavar, and under the direction of the famous philosopher, Hajj Hadi Sabzavari, he studied Peripatetic philosophy, Illuminationist philosophy and Sadra’s philosophy. He distinguished himself above all the other students of Sabzavari, and wrote marginalia to the famous book of Sadra, Asfar. Attaining mas- tery of these sciences did not satisfy his thirst for knowledge, which he began to seek from the hearts of the Sufis. At that time, the qutb of the Nematullahi order, Sa‘adat ALiSHAH, together with some of his disciples, went to Sabzavar. Hadi, who was devoted to the qutb, cancelled his classes and suggested that his students come with him to visit Sa‘adat ALiSHAH. At that very first session, the late Hajj SULTAN Muhammad was attracted to the Sa‘adat ALiSHAH, even though the latter was not one of the ‘ulama, but he did not surrender to him, and after some time returned to Gunabad.

Finally, in A. H. L. 1279, he set off on foot for Sa‘adat ALiSHAH’s place of residence in Isfahan. With a passionate inner fire he went to him and was initiated in spiritual wayfaring toward God. Like Mawlavi followed the unlearned Shams Tabrizi, he became a follower of the unlearned Sa‘adat ALiSHAH. He spent little time on the various stages of the journey toward Allah, and was au- thorized by the master for guidance of the Sufi novices and was given the spiritual title of SULTAN ALiSHAH. In A. H. L. 1293, Sa‘adat ALiSHAH passed away and SULTAN ALiSHAH succeeded him as the qutb of the Nematullahi order. SULTAN ALiSHAH be- came renowned throughout the Islamic world for both his knowledge and spiritu- al guidance. This resulted in inciting the jealousy of his enemies, those who were against his way. As a result, unfortunately, in A. H. L. 1327/A. D. 1909, he won martyrdom by being strangled. His grave is in Baydūkht, Gunabad.
He has written many epistles and books, the most important of which are: his great Shi‘ite Sufi commentary on the Qur’an in Arabic in four oversize volumes, Bayan al-Sa‘adat; Sa‘adat Namah; and Majma‘ al-Sa‘adat; all of whose titles al- lude to his master, Sa‘adat ALiSHAH. He also composed Walayat Namah, Bisharat al-Mu’minin, Tanbih al-Na’imin, idah and Tawdih.As during the period of Shah Nematullah, the times of SULTAN ALiSHAH were critical. It was the time of the encounter of Iran with modern Western civilization, when the people confronted new concepts, including scientific and social ones.

Naturally, some completely rejected what was strange and new, while others su- perficially submitted. During this time, Shi‘ite jurisprudence, which is based on ijtihad and the derivation of precepts in accordance with the needs of the times, had become stagnated. Most of the fuqaha’, who were not conscious of the situa- tion of the modern world, were zealous about the outward aspects of religion and only took into consideration the outward aspects of Western civilization, which they judged to be contrary to Islam. Sufism was also undergoing a crisis. The opposition of the fuqaha’ that be- gan at the end of the Safavid period was vigorously maintained. The practice of the pseudo-Sufis also was apparently contrary to both the modernists and Islamic law. Taking all this into account, Hadrat SULTAN ALiSHAH was confronted with three groups who opposed true Sufism: (1) some of the fuqaha’, (2) the pseudo-Sufis, and (3) some of the modernists. All three groups were taken into consideration in his attempt to renew Sufism.

Aside from his position of leadership, SULTAN ALiSHAH was a philosopher and a faqih, and both his philosophical positions and jurisprudential opinions were col- ored by his mysticism. He was a student of Hadi Sabzawari, who was at that time the most famous proponent of a philosophical system based on Sufism de- rived from the teachings of Sadra, and he himself adopted a system of phi- losophy that mostly followed in this tradition. In fiqh, he was a mujtahid, whose permission for ijtihad was granted by the great Shí‘ite faqih of the time, Ayatullah Hajj Mírza Shirazi7. Nevertheless, he did not issue any fatwas as a mujtahid, be- cause he considered it necessary to keep the realms of tariqat and shariat sepa- rate. However, some of his juridical opinions may be found in his tafsir, Bayan al-Sa‘adat. His jurisprudential views show that he was completely aware of the need to take contemporary conditions into account when reaching decisions about Islamic law, and accordingly, he viewed music and chess as lawful, the People of the Book as essentially having ritual purity and slavery, taking more than one wife at a time8, and opium smoking as prohibited.

Shahram Pazouki (Iranian Institute of Philosophy, Iran)