Last Updated: 28-Mar-2003
The common premise is that “Sufism” is an Islamic group practicing a form of mysticism that originated in Persia. “Sufism” has nothing to do with Islam or Persia, and everything to do with the quiet people of Ancient and Baladi Egypt. Two points of interest should be mentioned here:
The common premise (mentioned above) about the roots and essence of “Sufism” is absolutely wrong, as we will conclude by examining the facts. Here are just a few introductory facts:
The above scene, from a stele dating about 4500 years ago, shows the Egyptian practices of veneration of folk saints, at their dome-roofed shrines, and presentations of offerings.
|The well known Sufi writer, Idries Shah, admits the role of Egypt via Tehuti and Dhu’I-Nun on Sufism and alchemy as follows:
. . . alchemical lore came from Egypt direct from the writings of Tehuti (Hermes) . . .. According to Sufi tradition the lore was transmitted through Dhu’i-Nun the Egyptian, the King or Lord of the Fish, one of the most famous of classical Sufi teachers. [The Sufis, 1964]
Tehuti's name appears among the ancient masters of what is now called the Way of the Sufis. In other words, both the Sufis and the alchemists recognize Tehuti (known to the Greeks as Hermes) as the foundation of their knowledge.
Idries Shah also makes a direct reference to the Spanish-Arab historian, Said of Toledo (died in 1069), who gives this tradition of the Ancient Egyptian Tehuti (Thoth or Hermes):
Sages affirm that all antediluvian sciences originate with the Egyptian Hermes [Tehuti], in Upper Egypt (namely Khmunu (Hermopolis)). The Jews call him Enoch and the Moslems Idris. He was the first who spoke of the material of the superior world and of planetary movements . . .. Medicine and poetry were his functions . . . [as well as] the sciences, including alchemy and magic.
[Cf. Asin Palacios, Ibn Masarra, p. 13]
The word is actually of Ancient Egyptian origin. Seph/Soph was a component of common Egyptian names—meaning wisdom, purity (among many other meanings).
The Egyptians keep to their native customs and never adopt any from abroad.
Herodotus, in The Histories, Book Two, 91:
The Egyptians are unwilling to adopt Greek customs, or, to speak generally, those of any other country.
Plato and other writers affirmed the complete adherence of the Egyptians to their own traditions.
|From the earliest times, Egypt has been celebrated for its magicians, and accounts of their marvelous achievements have been documented—not only in Ancient Egyptian records, but also in the Bible and in the works of several of the classical writers. Furthermore, many of the tales in the famous collection of stories known as The Arabian Nights show what wonder-working powers were attributed to magicians in medieval Egypt.
Heka [shown herein] represents the Ancient Egyptian magical power of words. He is usually depicted holding two snakes with total ease.
Egyptian mysticism (Sufism) is not an offshoot of Islam; it is the old “religion” camouflaged into Arabized/Islamized terms.
The Egyptian mystical seekers (Sufis) maintain low profiles, for they seek no public glory, but rather the ultimate mystical glory—The Divine.
For more information about the Egyptian origin of alchemy and present-day Sufism, the progression of the mystical Way towards enlightenment, how the mystics (Sufis) of Egypt survive Islam, etc, read:
|Egyptian Mystics: Seekers of the Way
by Moustafa Gadalla
192 pages, 5.5" x 8.5"
List Price: $11.95 USD (paperback)
$ 7.95 USD (eBook)