re: Quakerism and Sufism
Quakerism starts in England - around 1643. *And it doesn’t hesitate to think and claim in words that - 'state of corruption within Christianity lasted 1600 years.
You have already heard that the Quakers date from Christ, who, according to them, was the first Quaker. Religion, say these, was corrupted a little after His death, and remained in that state of corruption about sixteen hundred years. But there were always a few Quakers concealed in the world, who carefully preserved the sacred fire, which was extinguished in all but themselves, until at last this light spread itself in England in 1642.
It was at the time when Great Britain was torn to pieces by the intestine wars which three or four sects had raised in the name of God, that one George Fox, born in Leicestershire, and son to a silk weaver, took it into his head to preach, and, as he pretended, with all the requisites of a true apostle—that is, without being able either to read or write. He was about twenty-five years of age, irreproachable in his life and conduct, and a holy madman. He was equipped in leather from head to foot, and travelled from one village to another, exclaiming against war and the clergy. Had his invectives been levelled against the soldiery only he would have been safe enough, but he inveighed against ecclesiastics. Fox was seized at Derby, and being carried before a justice of peace, he did not once offer to pull off his leathern hat, upon which an officer gave him a great box of the ear, and cried to him, “Don’t you know you are to appear uncovered before his worship?” Fox presented his other cheek to the officer, and begged him to give him another box for God’s sake.
Letters on English, Letter III, 1733, Voltaire
Then, 17th century - South Asia. The case of Sarmad Kashani:
The tomb of Sarmad the Armenian, a storied Sufi saint, sits close to Delhi’s Great Mosque. Sarmad looked for unity within Muslim and Hindu theology, and famously walked the streets of Lahore and Delhi naked, denouncing corrupt nobles and clerics. In 1661, he was arrested for heresy and beheaded under the orders of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, a ruler admired now by Pakistani hard-liners for his championing of an orthodox Islam and the destruction of hundreds of Hindu temples. As Sarmad was led to his execution, he was heard to mutter lines of poetry: “There was an uproar, and we opened our eyes from eternal sleep,” intoned the Sufi. “Saw that the night of wickedness endured, so we slept again.”
Source: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1912091,00.html
cf: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarmad_Kashani
cf:http://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/S/Sarmad/
That brings up the subject of Faqir -
And Wikipedia has this funny? section - though it starts to sound like a collection of folklore and - more like recent, unsophisticated attempts on (arm chair) new age, spiritual metaphysics (latter I personally don’t buy.)
The attributes of faqir and faqr have been defined by many Muslim saints and scholars, however, some significant definitions from distinguished personalities of Islam are quoted here.
One of the most respected and beloved early Muslim saints Abdul-Qadir Gilani also elaborated Sufism,tasawwuf and faqr in a conclusive manner. Explaining attributes of faqir, he says, “faqir is not who can not do anything and is nothing in his self-being. But faqir has all the commanding powers (gifted from Allah) and his orders can not be revoked.”
Then Ibn Arabi explained Sufism, including faqr in more details. He wrote more than 500 books on topics relating toSufism, tasawwuf and faqr. He was the first Muslim scholar who introduced (first time openly) the idea of Wahdat al-wujud which remained the talk of the town for many centuries.
Another dignified Muslim saint Sultan Bahoo describes a faqir as one, “who has been entrusted with full authority from Allah (God)”. At another place, in the same book Sultan Bahoo says,“Faqir attains eternity by dissolving himself in oneness of Allah. He, when, eliminates his-self from other than Allah, his soul reaches to divinity." He further says in his other book, "faqir has three steps (stages). First step he takes from eternity (without beginning) to this mortal world, second step from this finite world to hereafter and last step he takes from hereafter to manifestation of Allah”.