Sufi studies
Sufi studies is the field that looks at Sufism, the Islamic mystical tradition, to understand its ideas, practices, and history. It often uses the Sufis’ own terms and looks at their orders (tariqas) to explain how their beliefs work. The field has two main strands: an academic, orientalist approach and a spiritual, insider approach.
Early European interest began in France. Scholars like Barthélemy d’Herbelot de Molainville, François Bernier, and François Pétis de la Croix studied Sufism from available texts and trips in the Islamic world. D’Herbelot’s Bibliothèque orientale (1720s–1777 editions) included sections on Sufism (tasawwuf) and famous mystics such as Al-Hallaj and Najm al-Din Kubra, and it referenced poets like Rumi. Bernier wrote about Quietism and Islam, and his work fed a debate in France about whether the French idea of “Pure Love” was secretly Islamic. Pétis de la Croix studied Persian Sufi orders in Isfahan. These early efforts helped shape European views of Sufism for generations.
Translations and travel writing also played a big part. In the 17th century, Edward Pococke and others translated Hayy Ibn Yaqzan by Ibn Tufayl, which inspired later translations into English and Dutch and brought attention to a web of philosophers connected to Sufi thought, including Al-Farabi, Avicenna, Al-Ghazali, Ibn Rushd, and Hallaj.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, Sufis began to appear in literature and travel accounts. Hafiz’s poetry was translated (notably by Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall), influencing writers like Goethe. Sufi figures and ideas show up in Gotthold Ephraim Lessing’s plays. Travel writers such as Edward Lane, Richard Burton, and Armin Vambéry described dervishes and Sufi paths, sometimes traveling incognito as pilgrims or dervishes to study their practices.
By the late 19th century, Sufis also played political roles in resisting colonial power in North Africa, with Abd al-Qadir and the Sanusi order drawing attention to Sufi communities. This helped fuel more studies of Sufism, though many researchers were still balancing scholarly aims with political or security concerns.
The 20th century brought a new, deeper wave of Western interest. The Swedish painter Ivan Aguéli explored Sufi ideas and was invited into a Shadhili order. René Guénon, who moved to Cairo and became a Muslim, influenced a circle of writers (including Frithjof Schuon and Martin Lings) who treated Sufism as part of a broader “Traditionalist” approach to religion. Guénon’s work helped spark interest in how initiation and spiritual knowledge move from the East to the West, while other thinkers traced connections between Sufism and Western philosophy and mysticism.
Two major Western scholars shaped the modern textual side of Sufi studies. Henry Corbin and Seyyed Hossein Nasr built a European-era program of translating, interpreting, and studying Sufi sources with careful attention to Iranian Islamic thought and the inner meanings (Irfan) of the tradition. Nasr’s writings, including Revelation, Intellect and Reason in the Qur’an, and Corbin’s work on Islamic mysticism, helped establish a serious, scholarly understanding of Sufism. Reza Arasteh added a psychological and philosophical angle, comparing the Sufi path to modern ideas of personality and individuation.
Another influential figure was Idries Shah, whose accessible books in English popularized many classical Sufi ideas and texts. While his work reached a broad audience, it also sparked debate among scholars about how faithfully his presentations reflected traditional Sufi teaching.
From the late 20th century onward, Sufi studies became a well-established part of religious studies at universities. Researchers used scientific and comparative methods to study Sufism alongside other traditions. Notable works include Toshihiko Izutsu’s Sufism and Taoism, Michael Sells’ Mystical Languages of Unsaying, Reza Shah-Kazemi’s Paths to Transcendence, and Saeed Zarrabi-Zadeh’s Practical Mysticism in Islam and Christianity. These scholars often compare Sufi ideas with those from other faiths to show common themes in mysticism and spirituality.
Margaret Smith is also remembered for her early work on mysticism from a woman’s perspective, focusing on figures like Rabi‘a al-‘Adawiyya and Harith al-Muhasibi, and highlighting how women contributed to early Sufi thought.
By the end of the 20th century, Sufi studies had become a diverse, interdisciplinary field. Some scholars take a strictly scientific approach; others follow lines from Massignon or the Traditionalists, adapting their ideas for academic settings. A major current in recent scholarship is the cross-cultural comparison of Sufi figures with mystics from other religions.
Today, Sufi studies cover a wide range of topics, from historical and textual work to the study of poetry, music, philosophy, and lived practice. A representative snapshot of contemporary thinking can be found in works that compare Sufism with other traditions, explore the inner psychology of the Sufi path, and trace the influence of Sufism on culture and spirituality across the world.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 04:04 (CET).