People follow the Sufi path when they sense that Islam has a deeper dimension...
* The origin of Sufism
* Self criticism
* Reflection
* Privacy and seclusion
* Heart
* Hope or expectation
* Asceticism
People follow the Sufi path when they sense that Islam has a deeper dimension. The resulting self-purification leads to this inner dimension of Islamic rituals, a deeper understanding of the Divine acts, and a greater knowledge and love of Him. After this, God draws the novice to Himself. With the help of a spiritual guide, the novice begins the life-long journey back to God.
This continual process of spiritual development along a path of the innate human poverty, helplessness, and powerlessness before God is undertaken in the knowledge that everything comes from God. Each novice does what is necessary to grow spiritually, and God bestows the appropriate blessings and stations.
"The highest aim of creation and its most sublime result is belief in God. The most exalted rank of humanity is knowledge of God. The most radiant happiness and sweetest bounty for jinn and humanity is love of God contained within the knowledge of God; the purest joy for the human spirit and the purest delight for the human heart is spiritual ecstasy contained within the love of God. Indeed, all true happiness, pure joy, sweet bounties, and unclouded pleasure are contained within the knowledge and love of God." And Sufism is the school where people can realize the highest aim of creation.

This is one of the best books related to the sufism... it is not a history book nor a general definition of sufism... book consists of different articles of same author and each article goes to the details of the concept or practice examined.. Book is very successfull matching the idea and practices of the sufism with the Hadith and the Qur'an which are the main sources of Islam..

I was waiting for the continue of the series and now the 2nd volume is available too.. not purchased yet, waiting for it to be available..

especially the articles related to repentance, self-critisim, heart, reflection, hope, piety, straightforwardness, thankfullness patience and truthfullness, influenced my way of looking to my daily life..

strongly recommended for anyone looking for self-improvement.