Sunni sects {Ibadi Islam} can be in Oman. Jabir ibn Zayd founded it.
Shi'a sect {Ismaili}.
A mystical philosophy {Sufism} {tasawwuf} of meditation and personal union with God comes from Islam. It is a gnostic system, emphasizing divine illumination, rather than behavior. The goal is to attain knowledge of higher reality. Practically, Sufis resist corruption, tyranny, cruelty, and wealth and help the poor and lower classes. Sufis do not turn away from life. They contend that one can learn from painful or hard situations. 40 days is time for mourning or other spiritual intervals.
Sufis {dervish}| need individual teaching to learn techniques. Sufi practices, such as spinning and dancing {whirling dervish}, are to induce autohypnosis.
People can have devotion to God {dhikr Allah}.
People can lose self in God or all-inclusive Self {fana}.
Feeling {haqiqa} of Islam goes beyond Islamic laws.
God is One, who unifies all {La ilaha illa 'Llah}.
Wool {suf} is the cloth worn by mystics. Safa means purity. Suffa is mosque's veranda.
Sufism has seven stages to salvation: repentance, fear of God or abstinence, piety and detachment, poverty, patience or ecstasy, trust in God and surrender to God, and contentment {tariqa}.
Sufism has a style of meditation {zikr}.
Mirrors and polished silver {mirror symbol, Sufism} are symbols that both reflect and contain God.
Moths {moth, symbol Sufism} are souls always moving toward the light of God.
Closed-tail peacocks {peacock symbol, Sufism} are selves that are not yet one with God.
Pearls {pearl symbol} are holders of Truth.
Rubies {ruby symbol} are wealth and happiness.
Water drops {water drop symbol} come from and return to sea, like humans and God.
Wells {well symbol} are Paradise.
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Date Modified: 2022.0225