The Understanding of Tasawwuf and Tariqat in al-Birgiwi

Abstract

Al-Birgiwi is considered one of the most notable scholars in a series of disputes occurred between sufis and ulema in the 16th century of Ottoman Empire. His views about innovation (bid. at), esoteric Sufism and tariqats in those discussions in which he adopted a rather strict and strong language were assessed and criticized by a number of authors. These assessments generally comprise that Mehmed Birgivi (d. 981/1573) disregarded all traditions and customs in the society and was affected by salafism, but it is conspicuous that most of these opinions and claims about his approaches are either inaccurate or inadequate as a result of the lack of the interest in obtaining his viewpoint as a whole from his books in connection with the topics in question. So, we observe that those evaluations portray his opinions differently when we investigate them in his related books. In this paper, we argue al-Birgiwi's viewpoint on Tasawwuf and Tariqats through his works and analyze some opinions and claims in this regard.