Purpose of life

Purpose of life

Sufism helps man to be increasingly aware of his purpose
of life -- namely, unfailing service to his Lord and Creator.
It is a path travelled under the guidance of a Sufi master,
who is able to deliver man from the narrow confines of
the material world into the limitless reality of a spiritual
life, wherein he can experience the Divine spark which
eternally shines within him.
It is most important to understand that material man
acquires his knowledge generally through the five
external senses and five inner faculties of which we spoke
earlier. The spiritual man, on the other hand, has, in
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addition to these, a number of other means of acquiring
knowledge, such as prophetic dreams and inspirations
from beyond the material world. To the extent that a man
adheres to the truth in his waking state, his dreams too
disclose a similar degree of certainty. The Prophet (pbuh)
expressed this in the saying: "The more truthful a man,
the more prophetic his dreams."
Although knowledge through dreams comes in a
state of sleep, insights through inspirations are gained in
a state of wakefulness. The shaykh, or the Sufi teacher,
interprets the dreams of a disciple, helps him to
understand his inspirations, and resolves his doubts and
uncertainties.

The spiritual mentor / shaykh
The disciple's need to have a shaykh is inevitable. If a
man does not have a shaykh, Satan becomes his shaykh
and lures him back into the temptation of his ego and
finally destroys him in confusion and error. A disciple
keeps unwavering faith in the words of his shaykh and
receives infinite love and care from him. The relationship
is strictly based on the pattern of the Prophet's (pbuh)
relations with his companions which enjoyed Divine
support. To quote the Qur'an:

"Now there has come to you a messenger from
among yourselves. Grievous to him is your
suffering, anxious is he over you, gentle to the
believers, compassionate."