“The three dimensions of Sufi teaching: the Law, the Way, and the Truth; or knowledge, works, and attainment to God; or theory, practice, and spiritual realization. Knowledge of God, man, and the world derives ultimately from God Himself, primarily by means of revelation, – in the context of Islam – the Koran and the Hadith of the Prophet; and secondarily by means of inspiration or „unveiling“, the spiritual vision of the saints, or the realized Sufis. Knowledge provides the illumination whereby man can see everything in its proper place. (p. 11)” IslamSufismSufi WaySufi GnosisSpiritual Philosophy Book:The Sufi Path of Love: The Spiritual Teachings of Rumi Source: The Sufi Path of Love: The Spiritual Teachings of Rumi
“The Sufi Way is to follow the model provided by the Prophet‘s representatives on earth, the saints, who are the shaykhs or the spiritual masters. Once having entered the Way, the disciple begins to undergo a process of inward transformation. If he is among those destined to reach spiritual perfection, he will climb the ascending rungs of a ladder stretching to heaven and beyond; the alchemy of the Way will transmute the base copper of his substance into pure and noble gold. The Truth or „attainment to God“ is not a simple, one-step process. It can be said that this third dimension of Sufi teaching deals with all the inner experiences undergone by the traveler on his journey. It concerns all the „virtues“ (akhlaq) the Sufi must acquire, in keeping with the Prophet‘s saying, „Assume the virtues of God!“ If acquiring virtues means „attaining to God,“ this is because they do not belong to man. The discipline of the Way coupled with God‘s grace and guidance results in a process of purification whereby the veil of human nature is gradually removed from the mirror of the primordial human substance, made in the image of God, or, in the Prophet‘s words, „upon the Form of the All-Merciful.“ Any perfection achieved by man is God‘s perfection reflected within him. (p. 11-12)” IslamSufismSufiSufi WisdomSufi WaySufi Gnosis Book:The Sufi Path of Love: The Spiritual Teachings of Rumi Source: The Sufi Path of Love: The Spiritual Teachings of Rumi