Sufism may be understood as the mystical and experiential dimension of Islam, concerned above all with direct awareness of the Divine rather than with external observance alone. It seeks maʿrifa, an intimate knowledge of God, and fanāʾ, the annihilation of the ego in God, through inner purification and the cultivation of divine love. Sufis describe this journey in terms of the heart’s transformation: freeing it from ego, greed, and anger, and filling it with sincerity, remembrance, and longing for God. This inner work unfolds along a spiritual path (ṭarīqa) marked by stages and states, usually under the guidance of a spiritual master (shaykh, pīr, or murshid) and within an established lineage or order. Poetry, rich symbolism, and evocative images of love, separation, and union serve as vehicles for expressing experiences that resist straightforward doctrinal language.

In relation to the broader Islamic tradition, Sufism presents itself as the inner dimension of a faith whose outer forms are defined by law, ritual, and doctrine. Mainstream Islam, especially in its legalistic expressions, emphasizes correct belief and correct practice—faith in God and the Prophet, observance of the Five Pillars, and conformity to sharīʿa as the primary measure of religious life. Sufism does not reject these foundations but shifts the center of gravity toward the inner quality of worship: presence of heart, awareness of God, and moral refinement. The same prayer, fasting, and charity are treated as means to an interior realization rather than ends in themselves. This emphasis on “tasting” or directly experiencing divine realities, rather than merely affirming them intellectually, has sometimes produced language and practices that appear unconventional or even suspect to more strictly juridical minds.

A further point of distinction lies in religious authority and interpretation. Mainstream Islam grounds authority in the Qurʾān, the Sunnah, and the consensus of scholars, and tends to favor more literal and juridical readings of scripture. Sufism, while appealing to the same sources, accords a central role to the living guide and to esoteric, symbolic readings of the sacred texts, seeking deeper layers of meaning beneath the literal sense. Practices such as dhikr, meditative disciplines, music, and, in some orders, dance or whirling are employed to intensify remembrance and open the heart to divine presence, going beyond the standard ritual repertoire without necessarily abandoning it. The goal is not simply to know about God, but to be inwardly transformed in relation to God.

As Sufism spread into Persian, Central Asian, Indian, and Southeast Asian contexts, it adapted to local cultural forms while maintaining Islamic theological foundations. In these regions, Sufi orders absorbed and reshaped indigenous poetic styles, musical traditions, and devotional patterns, and articulated the path in ways that resonated with existing concepts of spiritual stages and inner discipline. Shrines, saints, and forms of devotional music became focal points of popular piety, sometimes differing in tone and practice from more strictly legal expressions of Islam, yet still understood by their adherents as authentically Islamic. In this way, Sufism came to embody a bridge between the formal structures of the religion and the diverse spiritual sensibilities of the cultures in which it took root.