ISLAMIC MYSTICISM AND SPIRITUALITY: ANALYZING THE ROLE OF SUFISM IN MODERN MUSLIM SOCIETY
Abstract
Islamic mysticism and spirituality have long constituted a central dimension of Muslim religious life, with Sufism serving as a primary vehicle for cultivating inner piety, ethical refinement, and experiential knowledge of the Divine. In contemporary Muslim societies shaped by modernization, globalization, and shifting religious expressions, the relevance and function of Sufism continue to be debated. This study aims to analyze the role of Sufism in modern Muslim society by examining its spiritual, ethical, and social significance within contemporary contexts. The research employed a qualitative interpretive design, drawing on semi-structured interviews, textual analysis of contemporary Sufi discourses, and observational data from selected Sufi communities. Data were analyzed thematically to identify recurring patterns related to spirituality, social engagement, and adaptation to modern life. The findings reveal that Sufism remains a meaningful and adaptive form of Islamic spirituality, contributing to personal spiritual fulfillment, ethical orientation, and social cohesion. Engagement with Sufi practices was associated with inner discipline, emotional balance, and a heightened sense of moral responsibility. The study concludes that Sufism functions as a dynamic spiritual resource rather than a residual tradition, offering frameworks for meaning-making and ethical engagement in modern Muslim society.
Full text article
References
Akhir, N. S. M., Ismail, S., & Mohd Yusof, A. S. M. (2025). (Malay Manuscript MSS255 Al-Durr al-Nafis: A Study and Text Analysis of the Sufi Book of the Malay Archipelago). Journal of Al-Tamaddun, 20(1), 321–336. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.22452/JAT.vol20no1.22
Ali, M. H. (2025). Inscriptions of Wisdom: The Sufism of Ibn al-’Arab? in the Mirror of J?m?. In Inscr. Of Wisdom: The Sufism of Ibn al-’Arab? in the Mirror of J?m? (p. 468). State University of New York Press. Scopus. https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-105025623086&partnerID=40&md5=dcd7b24e3c9b247dce0ce32c916aad6a
Arfan, n., As’ad, n., Kurniawan, E., Effendi, G. N., & Nugraha, M. (2025). Orthodoxy and Heresy in the Thought of N?r al-D?n al-R?n?r?: Sha?a??t, Takf?r, and the Boundaries of Shariah. Justicia Islamica, 22(2), 327–356. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.21154/justicia.v22i2.10808
Arjomand, S. A. (2025). Kings and Dervishes: Sufi World Renunciation and the Symbolism of Kingship in the Persianate World. In Kings and Dervishes: Sufi World Renunciation and the Symbolism of Kingship in the Persianate World (p. 310). University of California Press. Scopus. https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-105000583335&partnerID=40&md5=7d9fbe866f32bcf2ad8e561cf7cea38a
Asthana, H. S. (2025). Narendranath Sengupta (1889–1944). In Psychology in India: Stories of Eminence (pp. 44–49). Taylor and Francis. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003591634-4
Bilalov, M. I. (2025). Is the Fundamental Question of Philosophy Being Solved in Dagestan? Voprosy Filosofii, 2025(6), 207–211. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.21146/0042-8744-2025-6-207-211
Çal???r, M. F., & Kurumehmet, E. (2025). Inscribed Memory: Calligrapher Haf?z Osman and His Attributed Inscriptions. Kadim, (9), 129–149. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.54462/kadim.1604544
Chafik, S., & El Ftouh, R. M. (2025). On women and zaw?y? in Morocco: The enduring legacy of the 18th-century saint Lady Taallat today. In Islamic Public Value: Theory, Practice, and Administration of Indigenous Cooperative Institutions (pp. 129–147). Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781035333646.00018
Corso, R. (2025). IVAN AGUÉLI: SPIRITUALITY AND POLITICS BETWEEN EAST AND WEST. In Archivio Storia della Cultura (Vol. 38, pp. 447–458). Liguori Editore. Scopus. https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-105022937925&partnerID=40&md5=65789d85e4348c6b729113af0872645d
Dähnhardt, T. W. P. (2025). Nourishing the body and food for soul The role of animals in the South Asian Sufi environment. Kervan, 29(2), 241–256. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.13135/1825-263X/12163
Fanaei Eshkevari, J. (2025). International relations from the perspective of Islamic mysticism. Social Sciences and Humanities Open, 12. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssaho.2025.102157
Fauzi, A., Dakir, n., Qodir, A., Fatchurahman, M., & Minarti, S. (2025). Influence of Satlogi Santri Values on Sufistic Leadership: Enhancing Service Quality and Productivity in Pesantren. Munaddhomah, 6(4), 681–694. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.31538/munaddhomah.v6i4.1950
Fenton, P. B. (2025). Jews and Judaism in the Poetry and Prose of the Persian Sufi Ab? Sa‘?d-i Ab? l-?ayr (967–1049 CE): An Approach to the Religious Other in Medieval Islamic Society. Religions, 16(4). Scopus. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16040476
Jaran, M., & Khaldi, A. (2025). Na??b Ma?f?? and Leonardo Sciascia Between social and institutional justice. Kervan, 28(2), 267–288. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.13135/1825-263X/11460
Keshavarz, F., & Karamustafa, A. T. (2025). MYSTICAL LANDSCAPES IN MEDIEVAL PERSIAN LITERATURE. In Mystical Landscapes in Medieval Persian Literature (p. 326). Edinburgh University Press. Scopus. https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85217288928&partnerID=40&md5=dd04064e8cb95628c3dc5c60903b5da3
Khalid, H. (2025). Love as the Warp and Weft of Creation: The Theological Aesthetics of Muhammad Iqbal and Rabindranath Tagore. Open Theology, 11(1). Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1515/opth-2025-0043
Kooria, M. (2025). “If al-Gaz?l? is a Prophet, the Wa??z is His Miracle”: Ab? H?mid al-Gaz?l?’s Codification of Š?fi’? Law. Arabica, 72(4–5), 411–443. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1163/15700585-01236940
Lugo Acevedo, M. L. (2025). Muhammad Rabadan’s Sufi and Devotional Prayers: A Morisco Poet Who Prays in Two Voices. Caliope, 30(1), 43–61. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.5325/CALIOPE.30.1.0043
Miller, J. A. (2025). Merton’s Unity of Action and Contemplation in Transpersonal Perspective. Religions, 16(2). Scopus. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16020147
Morrissey, F. (2025). Miracles and the Holy Spirit in the Sufi Metaphysics of ?Abd al-Kar?m al-J?l?. Religions, 16(11). Scopus. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16111423
Nachabe Taan, Y. N. (2025). On Being Simultaneously Arab and “Modern”: Saloua Raouda Choucair’s Design Between Science and Sufism. Journal of Design History, 38(1), 56–71. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1093/jdh/epae019
Nomer, N., & ?ahin, K. (2025). Introduction: “Histories” of Ottoman Political Thought: An Overview. Histories of Political Thought in the Ottoman World, 1–8. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780192888341.003.0001
Özdemir, Ö. (2025). KAYGUSUZ ABDAL’S CONCEPTION OF THE IDEAL HUMAN BEING. Turk Kulturu ve Haci Bektas Veli - Arastirma Dergisi, (113), 287–307. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.60163/tkhcbva.1600484
Panjehbashi, E., & Asadollahi, M. (2025). M Analyzing the influence of Shiite Sufism in the semantic and structural reading of the passage of Siavash from fire from the Shahnameh of Shah Ismail II. Journal of Codicology and Manuscript Research, 4(2), 175–214. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.22034/crtc.2024.446558.1140
Paya, A. (2025). Ibn Arabi’s Methodological Rules for ‘irf?n/Sufism and the Impossibility of Islamization of Science Projects. Sophia. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11841-025-01099-1
Rejeki, S., Haryono, H., Sunawan, S., Mulawarman, M., & Hakim, A. (2025). Mindfulness Based Sufism Intervention: Systematic Literature Review. Ethics, Medicine and Public Health, 33. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jemep.2025.101180
Rijal, S., Miswari, u., & Sihotang, B. (2025). IMPLEMENTING TAZKIYAH AL-NAFS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF STUDENT CHARACTER. Miqot: Jurnal Ilmu-Ilmu Keislaman, 49(1), 162–183. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.30821/miqot.v49i1.1398
Rusli, R., Utami, D. A., & Azwar, A. J. (2025). MYSTICISM AND RESISTANCE: THE NATURE AND RELEVANCE OF KI AGENG MANGIR’S STRUGGLE AGAINST THE MATARAM SULTANATE. Teosofi: Jurnal Tasawuf Dan Pemikiran Islam, 15(1), 259–287. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.15642/teosofi.2025.15.1.259-287
Saba, S. (2025). Nath Ascetics, Malang Faqir or Safi: Deconstructing Samis’ Religious Associations in Sindh. Journal of Sindhi Studies, 5(1), 1–24. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1163/26670925-bja10019
Saeidi, F., & Mohammadpour, A. (2025). Nationalizing the religion: Sufism in the ‘Persianate World.’ Asian Ethnicity, 26(2), 318–343. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1080/14631369.2024.2410839
Shadiqin, S. I., Ichwan, M. N., Fuadi, T. M., & Kim, N. (2025). MUDA WALY AL-KHALIDI (1917-1961): PESANTREN, TARIQAH, AND POLITICS OF RELIGIOUS AUTHORITY IN ACEH. Jurnal Ilmiah Islam Futura, 25(1), 67–93. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.22373/jiif.v25i1.14233
Shauq, I. A. (2025). Islamic Modernity of Seyyed Hossein Nasr. In Modern South Asian Thinkers: Interface of Region and Universe (pp. 443–448). Taylor and Francis. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003582533-58
Tabroni, R., Izudin, A., Yuwono, D. B., Isnanto, M., Sujibto, B. J., & Suarsana, I. M. (2025). Hybridity, Intersection, and Challenge: Navigating the History of Customary and Islamic Family Law in Moluccan Marriages. Al-Ahwal, 18(1), 1–28. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.14421/ahwal.2024.18101
Tengku Sembok, T. M. T. (2026). Mimicking Man, Reaching God? The Plausibility of Superintelligent AI in the Light of Islamic Thought. In H. Badioze Zaman, P. Robinson, A. F. Smeaton, T. K. Shih, B. N. Jørgensen, Z. Huajing, L. Xiaoping, N. Mohamad Ali, & E. S. Mat Surin (Eds.), Lect. Notes Comput. Sci.: 16215 LNCS (pp. 293–305). Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-95-3808-9_24
Warisno, A., & Anshori, M. A. (2026). Islamic Education Management, Sufism, and Digital Literacy: An Interdisciplinary Approach. Qubahan Academic Journal, 6(1), 257–271. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.48161/qaj.v6n1a2127
