A Comparative Study of the Initial Origins of Piety in Sufism and Taoism (with an Emphasis on the Ideas of Fudayl ibn Iyad and Yang Zhu)

Using descriptive-analytical method and concentrating on original sources, this paper compares the ideas of Fudayl ibn Iyad, the second century Islamic Sufi, and Yang Zhu, the earliest Taoists ascetic about piety. The primary similarities of Taoism and Sufism on piety have made it necessary to study this issue, which suggests the similarity of these two concepts with each other, since the Islamic Sufism began with asceticism as the of Taoism also began with piety. In sum, the ideas of Fudayl and Yang Zhu are somewhat similar, but despite the apparent similarities, Fudayl was an ascetic, mystic, devout, devoted and right seeker man, while Yang Zhu was a hermit, materialist and was inclined to get rid of the terrible suffering from himself, which lacks the transcendental values. Consequently, the concept of piety in Fudayl's ideas is superior to Yang Zhu's ones.