Mandailing Scholar of the XX Century: Sufism Thought of Syeikh Syihabuddin Nasution Aek Libung (1892 -- 1967)

Abstract

This article aims to describe the sufismtrought of SyihabuddinAekLibung (Nasution), born in South Tapanuli. He was one of the scholars (al-‘Alim al-‘Allamah) in Archipelago, pupil of Abdul Jabar al-KhalidiNaqsyabandi (Khalifah of Ibrahim al-Khalidi) and Muhammad Ali Ridha in Mecca. This article is based on the sources of his manuscript, Adab al-Muridin and Fath al-Qalb with a philological approach and social history. Syihabuddin said that the pillars of the religion are 4 types: iman, Islam, tauhid, and makrifah. It means that religion was not only iman, Islam (sharia, fiqh), dantauhid, but also makrifat (sufism, tarekat and suluk). The understanding and implementation makrifah, of course, must be preceded by the understanding and implementation of the iman, Islam and tauhid. This understanding is the understanding of the scholars who are rapprochement or reconciliation between shari’ah-oriented scholars and sufis who prefer the esoteric teachings. In the practice of sufism, Syihabuddin affiliated to the Naqsyabandiyah.
 Keywords: Sufism; tarekat; suluk; social history

From East to West: Carl W. Ernst's insight into sufism's impact on islamic studies in America

“…The fundamental teachings of Sufism are rooted in the Qur'an and the Sunna of Prophet Muhammad. These are the sources from which the spiritual guidance and practices of Sufism are derived, forming the basis of Islam's mystical, spiritual side (Erawadi, 2023). Moreover, the spiritual teachers of Sufism, known as murshids, can be traced back to the companions of Prophet Muhammad, establishing a direct lineage from the early Islamic period to the present day.…”