The Rise of Early Sufism: A Survey of Recent Scholarship on its Social Dimensions

By the late mediaeval period, Sufism (sometimes defined as Islamic mysticism) was a clear presence in every Muslim town or village, and Sufis were present in many different levels of Muslim society. However, if we were to look back to the earliest centuries of Islamic history, it becomes increasingly harder to find evidence of individuals going by the description of ‘Sufi’. Individuals with the name appear around the late eighth century C.E., but we only start to see the rise of a particular group using that name in the mid-ninth century. But how and why did Sufism rise in this period, and what were the reasons behind its growing importance for Muslim society? By looking at the contributions of scholars in recent decades, the author of this article will try to trace the development of Sufism from its early origins, up to its consolidation as a visible social institution during the 12th century. He makes an attempt to focus more on the evolution of Sufism as a social group and a body of tradition, rather than focusing on the development of mystical thought and teachings. Hence, the main argument of the article is that to study the formation of Sufism, one must consider its link with the more general change in the Islamic traditions and schools of thought. Before addressing the main issues, the author is going to note some points about studying Sufism in the contemporary era.