The most insisting aspect of Islamic teachings is that it constantly urges human kind to realize their creator (Allah) which is a remarkable and distinguished feature of the Islam. Islamic teachings aims to bring creation close to creator, and it frequently reminds humanity of the primordial covenant which took place between God and the humanity wherein the souls of the human beings categorically witnessed that God is our lord . In fact, it was a covenant for future relationship between God and the humanity. Islamic Tasawwuf, being a spiritual mechanism aimed to fulfill this covenant. It was an attempt to bring creation close to the creator. Holy Qur'an mentions, "when your lord brought forth offspring from the lions of the children of the Adam and them bear witness about themselves, He said, "am I not your lord'?, They replied, 'we bear witness that you are'.This he did, lest you should say on the day of resurrection, 'we had no knowledge of that". (Ar'af, 07:172). It was a covenant of living and firm relationship between God and human beings. This primordial convent constitutes the most important aspect of the religious commitment of the Muslims than any other aspect. Islamic Tasawwuf, primarily focuses upon the acknowledgment of this religious conviction. The religious conscience of Islamic Tasawwuf revolves around the concept of disinterested love of God, it extends unconditional loyalty to God. Islamic Tasawwuf aims to attain the highest degree of Tawheed (oneness of God) by acknowledging God alone worthy for worship. Therefore, Tasawwuf is intrinsic to Islam.

In fact, the whole Islamic Tasawwuf _its sources, teachings, and practices are summed up in the Verse "Guide us along the straight path" , which is the sixth verse of the opening chapter of the Qur'an, and also which is the often repeated supplication in Islamic teachings. This verse supplied the basis for Islamic Tasawwuf. Muslim Sufi saints are more concern towards this supplication and constantly seeks the right way. Hence, Islamic Tasawwuf presents a comprehensive and explicit answer to the question 'what is a right path'?. The main objective of Islamic Tasawwuf is to bring individuals close to God. In Islamic Tasawwuf a Sufi concentrates more on the acquisition of God-realization , and in fact, it is the real aim of a Islamic Tasawwuf constitutes three main elements i.e. Tawheed ( oneness of Allah), Taqwa ( piety)and complete love of God. All these three elements have been deuced from the Qur'an. So there will be no exaggeration to say that Islamic Tasawwuf fetches all its teachings from the Qur'an, though later on Muslims experienced a penetration of some un-Islamic elements either consciously or unconsciously in Islamic Tasawwuf.
Furthermore Tazkiya- e- nafs (self-purification) which also constitutes an important aspect of Islamic teachings has been deducted from the Qur'an,"it is he who has raised among the unlettered people in messenger from among themselves who recites His revelations to them and purifies them and teachs them the Book and wisdom for they had formerly been clearly misguided". (Jumma'h, 62:02). Therefore,it explicitly reveals that the Muslim Sufi saints were real adherents of Qur'an and Sunnah.
The emergence of Tasawwuf in Islam was a natural phenomenon of the religion. Although the dominant feature of the Tasawwuf is the esoteric purification, yet being a religious mechanism of the spirituality of the Islam ,it recognizes the exoteric aspect of the life as well. Because Islam is the alone way of life which realises the mundane concerns along with the spiritual necessity of the individual, Islam maintains a balance between stability and change. It seeks an enforcement of both faith and action in the lives of individuals. Islam believes in a moderate attitude towards anything. Therefore, on the basis of these revolutionary features of the Islam, Tasawwuf also demands a complete purification of inner as well as outer aspect of the life.
Nevertheless, the whole structure of knowledge in Islamic Tasawwuf is based on realisation of God Almighty. The main aim of knowledge according to Sufis, is to realise God in a real sense and this is known as Ma'arifat or 'irfan in the terminology of Tasawwuf .A beneficial knowledge, according to Sufis is that which brings an individual near to Allah.
Islamic Tasawwuf constructs the life of individual on the basis of good morality. It builds up both inner as well as outer aspect of an individual's life in order to gain Allah's pleasure. Furthermore, Islamic Tasawwuf seeks avoiding of all those pleasures and activities which are repugnant to the Islamic teachings. It makes individuals subservient to the will of Allah and makes the lives of individuals free from lust greed and carnal desires. Islamic Tasawwuf demands the effacement of one's desires in the will of Almighty Allah. Therefore, the subject matter of Islamic Tasawwuf is to construct the lives of individuals according to the teachings of Islam. It teaches individuals to strive utmost to fulfill their obligations and to fight strenuously for the cause of Allah and to show consistency in the way of Allah. In spite of being heterogeneous nature of the universe, Islam believes in unity (Tawheed) which is a cardinal principle of Islam. In fact , Islam has always sought to bring about integration in all the aspects of human life. Hence, Tasawwuf, is an inner aspect of the Islamic teachings through which a living concept of Tawheed can be achieved. Islamic Tasawwuf integrates individuals by pulling them out from the state of chaos. There is no scope for shrik (polytheism) and multiplicity in Islamic Tasawwuf rather it vehemently resists against even a micro level element of polytheism. In fact Islamic Tasawwuf believes in life based on the concept of Tawheed. In nutshell ,Tasawwuf is an inner aspect of Islamic teachings which teaches and assists the individuals in the purification of self. The main source of Islamic Tasawwuf is Qur'an and Sunnah,whose sole motive is to bring the humanity the umbrella of Tawheed. It demands the execution of Islamic Shari'ah in all the aspects of human life.
Islam primarily seeks Taqwa (piety) from the individuals, this Taqwa brings individuals near to Allah , in fact, the primary duty of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was to create Taqwa among the people. Similarly holy Qur'an. frequently speakes highly about the pious people of earlier times. During the lifetime of Prophet (SAW) we can find the people of extraordinary pious life. The life of Prophet(SAW) was an outstanding example in this regard. This characteristic of Islam inspired its adherents to care about the future life by avoiding the mundane pleasures, which is the primary target of Islamic Tasawwuf. Therefore, it vividly reveals that Tasawwuf always has been remained an inseparable part of the Islamic in its teachings, features, and practices.
Prophetic period also witnessed the inclination of the people towards seclusion life for the sake of Allah's pleasure, though the term 'Sufism' or 'Tasawwuf ' did not exist during those days.However, the companions of Prophet (SAW) were real adherents of Qur'an and Sunnah, and hence, their ascetic way of life was acoording to Shari'ah (Islamic teachings), yet Prophet (SAW) did not allow his companions to go for the life of seclusion because Islam keeps no scope for monasticism and embraces both the spiritual and mundane concerns of the individuals. This was the real image of Islamic Tasawwuf during early days of Islam.
However, subsequently about the end of 8th century and the first half of the 9th century, when the political, intellectual, and social conditions were not too much favourable and congenial, and people were less concerned towards their spiritual dimension of the life, Islamic Tasawwuf emerged in it's practical form to cure the ills of the society, and the subsequent scholarly study of Islamic Tasawwuf in Western countries produced the term 'Sufism'.

The Author is Research Scholar at IUST , Department of Islamic studies
Email : niyazahlone@gmail.com