Thesis Statement on each Annotated Bibliography

Student`s Name
Professor`s Name
Course Code and Name
Date
Sufism
Proposal
For my essay, I intend to research more about the Sufism religion and the manner in which the Muslims have made it easy for the world to understand Sufism through their action. Sufism is a discipline that outlines Islam’s traditions, their love and the manner in which they show kindness to the rest of the world. There are various concepts such as fana and baqa that will aid in the explanation of the widespread Sufism among the Muslims. Fana and baqa, which also means annihilation and subsistence describe two contrasting states of the human being's path to Gog. According to Sufism, there is only one God and one reality. However, Muslims require ma'rif for them to be able to understand the presence of God. As well, the ma'rifa is considered to be the best knowledge that is necessary for understanding the concept of Sufism. The concept of ma'rifa is associated with Sufism because it had a major relationship with other lower perspectives that were intended to transcend. All the concepts relate to the love that is advocated for by Sufism. For instance, mahabba is based on love; ascetic worship is based on the concept of fear while other perspectives are based on miraculous phenomena and mystical states of human beings. All these perspectives exist in the world of Sufism, and since they are directly related to what is happening in the world, then this makes ma'rifa an importance concept towards the understanding of Sufism. Sufism has various components which make it easy to analyze the concept of ma'rifa. For instance, the concept of ma'rifa is best understood by considering the relationship that it has with tawhid. Tawhid is a concept which indicates that there is only one God and reality and opposed to other beliefs that there are many gods. It is the idea of believing in one God and one reality that makes it possible for Muslims to express their love towards all creature across the world regardless of their origin and religious beliefs. Also, this is a definition of Sufism, and therefore, the concept is best explained using other perspectives that define the moral values of the Muslims. By following the tawhid theologian, Muslims display identical characteristics which are outlined in the teachings of Sufism. I will also consider the social ramifications of baqa and fana regarding Sufism. It is the people's beliefs on what baqa and fana mean to them that makes it possible for Muslims to treat other people in the manner that they do. The teachings of baqa and fans are directly attributed to the Quran, which is the holy teachings of the Muslim. Therefore, following such concepts is a way of understanding God`s expectations of Islam as outlined in the Quran. Sufism is not only important to the Muslims but is also being taught to people from other religions to enable them to understand the Muslim society better. This has helped people in avoiding discriminations and misconceptions about the nature of the Muslims. Therefore, this research will focus on analyzing Sufism in depth.
Thesis statement: the understanding of Sufism and its influence on the morals of Islam is best done regarding various concepts of fana, baqa, and ma'rifa.
Annotated bibliography
Article1: Shah‐Kazemi, Reza. "The Notion and Significance of Ma‘rifa in Sufism." Journal Of Islamic Studies 13.2 (2002): 155-81
The article begins by outlining the overview of how the process of Ma'rifa is considered to be the best kind of knowledge that is necessary for understanding the Sufi discipline. The perspective came to be associated with Sufism as a result of the relation that it has with the lower perspectives that it was intended to transcend. Among the perspectives are il...