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B C C , , S - 1 THE SUFIS - . ' , S A - I M C , I B - S , A B G ( M ), I Q A P . T S - A (I R ) C . S . M - , . S P - D - -- - , "D ' I , I ," C . G M , 2 ., J P P . C J . T S , , , G : "I L , I , ?": G ' - , G . T L T , I ; M - C , N . L K , . P , , , , ; (" - INTRODUCTION ") , . I E S . T T A ' P B ( ) S ; G ( M M , - 1460), " D ' " S . A - D Q ( "K " A - P ) S S - , C A . T ; C ' S K , S N , - ( , , ) . T S Q (Q ' , C ) A KSHR K , " ." T B R L , M , T B L H B (1283) S . A B A T , C C , S A -T , " I ." F R B , O - , S S ; "I ," , "E ," A " ." P A M B ' C I M (883-931). T J - S S G (1021-1058) TR13 $U'IS S S I I J , C A . A S . F A- ' F O , B 1247. A B ' L S : N , L . A , , , ; , - , . T F B "B A ," " " " ." I A FHM FHHM, = T M S E -G ( 8-I I I ), E A , I K- , - "P I ." N , - , , , L L . H ' 'T M ." C P , ' , S A - . INTRODUCTION - . I , C $ C , S C . H , , F R B , B R L ( ), S . S G A A B -"A "- - C . "T S . . . ." I - , F S . I E K A (924-939) S , K T .4 I - L , P - S H , . R B , T - O N , F S , , F S . I S S " ," , ; M . "B " "B " "S , S D ," F K S ' J - , S ' I P 4 T C ' S . H ' D (1867, . 347) M " A , M , S , ." T - , , . T SUFIS , A -M ' S D R S ' - , . T T F ("I "), " ," M , ( ) D T , S S , " D ," T - T , K M , A , - . A E , , . H S E A S S , P -A . I I S S , S , ' - . H , . I S S M , C , . H , , G S S T ("R "), S , "S " . I " " " ," - . T ( - E E E A , P , U , P ) MMODUCTION , , , , . N . S , " - ," , . A ; . M S , K ( ) N , A , S . T S , , , , S . H . P II S J , S J . F , . "F , ?" P . "O , , , G I ." A S - J , P . I , C I' C A ( S ), , A L ' A C , P . C A ' , : "G G , , D ." L , , C THE SUFIS A ; . I , , - . T ; , . A ; , . N I S S - I - S H A ' U D , C ' - S , S . T - , . DE A MAJORCA R G A ' P T . S E , , S . I S ' - . S . T S . I , , S , S . F S , " " . I , , , S " S S . I - , . S , " ," , THE SUPIS . I - - , " " , S . S . , , . S , , - . T , S , . S , . B , , . S ; . S , . U , , , S . , , - ( - , ) , . H , , , , , - . T , , , S , - , - .' A S , , , 1 " "O ." AUTHOR'S PREFACE , . T - , . T S J , . I " " ` " S . T , , S . I , - S , , , , . S , S - , , , - . I , S ( ) . I , , - , . S . S - , , - , . S , , E - - . I T= SUPIS . S , , . C " " , S - , , " " . A S S - . M , , S . I , ; . S . I , . R B , ' , - - . T F S - . I O M , S , : T , . A - , , . T S , . M , , A BOR'S PR$PACB , " ," . F S , , B , L 68, = . "S " Q - (: . I S , - - - " ," " ." The Situation Humanity is asleep, concerned only with what is useless, living in a wrong world. Believing that one can excel this is only habit and usage, not religion. This "religion" is inept. . . . gi Do not prattle before the People of the Path, rather con- sume yourself. You have an inverted knowledge and reli- on if you are upside down in relation to Reality . Man is wrapping his net around himself . A lion (the man of the Way) bursts his cage asunder. (The Sufi master Sanai of Afghanistan, teacher of Rumi, iu The Walled Garden of Truth, written in 1131 A.D.) The Islanders The ordinary man repents his sins : the elect repent of their heedlessness. (Dhu'l-Nun Misri) Most fables contain at least some truth, and they often enable people to absorb ideas which the ordinary patterns of their thinking would prevent them from digesting . Fables have therefore been used, not least by the Sufi teachers, to present a picture of life more in harmony with their feelings than is possible by means of intellectual exercises . Here is a Sufic fable about the human situation, summa- rized and adapted, as must always be, suitably to the time in which it is presented. Ordinary "entertainment" fables are considered by Sufi authors to be a degenerated or infe- rior form of art. Once upon a time there lived an ideal community in a far-off land. Its members had no fears as we now know them. Instead of uncertainty and vacillation, they had pur- posefulness and a fuller means of expressing themselves . Although there were none of the stresses and tensions which mankind now considers essential to its progress, their lives were richer, because other, better elements replaced these things. Theirs, therefore, was a slightly different mode of 2 TIM SUFIS existence. We could almost say that our present perceptions are a crude, makeshift version of the real ones which thus community possessed. They had real lives, not semilives . We can call them the El Ar people . They had a leader, who discovered that their country was to become uninhabitable for a period of, shall we say, twenty thousand years. He planned their escape, realizing that their descendants would be able to return home suc- cessfully, only after many trials. He found for them a place of refuge, an island whose features were only roughly similar to those of the original homeland. Because of the difference in climate and situa- tion, the immigrants had to undergo a transformation. This made them more physically and mentally adapted to the new circumstances; coarse perceptions, for instance, were substituted for finer ones, as when the hand of the manual laborer becomes toughened in response to the needs of his calling . In order to reduce the pain which a comparison between the old and new states would bring, they were made to for- get the past almost entirely. Only the most shadowy recol- lection of it remained, yet it was sufficient to be awakened when the time came. The system was very complicated, but well arranged . The organs by means of which the people survived on the island were also made the organs of enjoyment, physical and men- tal. The organs which were really constructive in the old homeland were placed in a special form of abeyance, and linked with the shadowy memory, in preparation for its eventual activation. Slowly and painfully the immigrants settled down, ad- justing themselves to the local conditions. The resources of the island were such that, coupled with effort and a cer- tain form of guidance, people would be able to escape to a further island, on the way back to their original home. This Tea ISLANDERS 3 was the first of a succession of islands upon which gradual acclimatization took place. The responsibility of this "evolution" was vested in those individuals who could sustain it. These were necessarily only a few, because for the mass of the people the effort of keeping both sets of knowledge in their consciousness was virtually impossible. One of them seemed to conflict with the other one. Certain specialists guarded the "special science ." This "secret," the method of effecting the transition, was nothing more or less than the knowledge of maritime skills and their application. The escape needed an instructor, raw materials, people, effort and understanding. Given these, people could learn to swim, and also to build ships . The people who were originally in charge of the escape operations made it clear to everyone that a certain prepara tion was necessary before anyone could learn to swim or even take part in building a ship. For a time the process continued satisfactorily. Then a man who had been found, for the time being, lacking in the necessary qualities rebelled against this order and managed to develop a masterly idea. He had observed that the effort to escape placed a heavy and often seemingly unwelcome burden upon the people. At the same time they were disposed to believe things which they were told about the escape operation. He realized that he could acquire power, and also revenge himself upon those who had under- valued him, as he thought, by a simple exploitation of these two sets of facts . He would merely offer to take away the burden, by affirming that there was no burden. He made this announcement : 'There is no need for man to integrate his mind and train it in the way which has been described to you . The human mind is already a stable and continuous, consistent thing. You have been told that you have to become a crafts-