The Next Century Foundation has just been addressed by Ayatollah Safavi, the Head of the Safavid Sufi movement. The following are reflections in the aftermath of that meeting:
Sufism is a mystical Islamic practice where followers seek to find the truth of divine love and knowledge through direct personal experience of God. They regard this as the highest form of worship and devotion to Allah. Sufis were highly influential in spreading Islam particularly to the furthest outposts of the Muslim world in Africa, India and the Far East. In the Quran Allah commands justice, kindness and generosity towards relatives and society (Quran, chapter 16, v. 90). But what do Sufi’s have to say about the role of mercy and justice in society today?
Mercy is defined as a kindness that makes you forgive someone, usually someone that you have authority over and as an individual. Forgiveness and mercy are always more important than justice in Sufism. However, when your rights, land or home are taken away then you have a right to stand and fight. This is justice. If you don’t stand up against unjust behaviour, it is not acceptable to mankind. Humanity should stand against unjust behaviour. Unjust behaviour is an outcome which is not based on or behaving according to what is morally right or fair. Sufism implies that mercy should always trump justice unless the outcome is unjust.
Today there is much injustice in the world, with wars, death and destruction constant factors. If we all followed the Sufi values could there be peace? Can we have peace without justice?
In Sufism, can we have peace without justice?
In Sufism being merciful, having kindness and respect is hugely important. Sufi’s perspective on forgiveness and kindness is that in individual and social behaviour, mercy is the cure for today’s world which is plagued with violence, divisions, oppression, and cruelty. However, if there is a conflict between justice and kindness, Sufi beliefs say that forgiveness and benevolence (Ihsan) should take preference over justice. Ihsan, benevolence, is extremely important in the Qur’an and in Sufism and is a socially selfless good deed that the person does which is more than his duty and means that he receives less than what is his right. Ishan is higher than ordinary goodness and something higher than justice.
The main message of Sufism is to cooperate for justice, kindness and stand against unjust behaviour. If we are doing the injustice, we should pay the price and face the consequences. Therefore, overall Sufis believe that if we follow the teachings and values of Sufism, there could be a society where there is no wars and peace could be achieved. However, if we are creating the injustice then we should face the consequences of our actions.
In reality, can we have peace without justice?
The world today is full of darkness and suffering from conflicts and divisions across the globe, can these problems be solved with the Sufi values of mercy and Ihsan?
In Sufism being merciful, having kindness and respect is hugely important, but governments do not necessarily have this value. They do not use war as a source of justice they use it for their own power and control.
Most governments do not believe that mercy is the answer and if there is wrongdoing, justice should be served. For example, when Al Qaeda hit the twin towers in the 9/11 terrorist attacks, they attacked Afghanistan launching the war on terror which is globally still ongoing. Since 9/11, the United States has spent vast amounts on wars, their military and national state security. Money that could have been spent on education and healthcare. The war on terror destroyed tens of thousands of lives, considerably more than the catalyst of 9/11. Had the US government shown mercy to these brainwashed jihadists, perhaps thousands of innocent Afghans would have had significantly better lives. However, governments believe that if they do deliver justice to those who harm them, these people may take advantage of them and simply attack them again to gain more power and control.
Perhaps in our own personal lives we can follow Sufi values of Ihsan, mercy and kindness over justice. However, governments may not have the merciful capabilities that individuals have and feel obliged to protect themselves and their country from attack.
What is the message of Sufism to the world today?
Everyone is a citizen of the city and family of God. There are no outsiders, and all humans are first class citizens. Peace can be obtained if everyone follows the Sufi values individually and so too the governments of states. Everyone deserves mercy and in these dark times we cannot cooperate with this injustice we should support justice. Governments may take part in injustice, but we can’t follow their order. We should practice tolerance with other cultures and nations.
What does the future hold for Sufism?
As individuals perhaps we can learn something from the Sufi teachings and bring mercy and kindness to the forefront of our minds use these values. However, state governments and big corporations use justice to gain power and control over others and forgiveness and kindness will get them nowhere. If forgiveness and kindness were used by all governments and corporations, then peace could prevail above all, but in today’s world you must be ruthless to protect yourself and to gain power and control.
