Wahdat-ul-wujud
Also called: Unity of Being · Topic: Bhakti and Sufi Traditions · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Wahdat-ul-wujud means "Unity of Being". It is a sufi doctrine linked with the Arab mystic Ibn Arabi. It teaches that only God truly exists and that everything in the world is a sign of that one reality. Many Indian sufis accepted this idea. Because it sees God in everything, it fitted well with tolerant thinking in medieval India.
Example
In the 17th century, the Naqshbandi sufi Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi (d. 1624) opposed this doctrine. He put forward wahdat-ul-shuhud, "Unity of Witnessing", which says that the unity is only in the mystic's experience, while God and the world stay separate.
Don't confuse with
- Wahdat-ul-shuhud: This was Sirhindi's more orthodox answer. It keeps God and the created world apart.
Related concepts
- Chishti silsila
- Muinuddin Chishti
- Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki
- Nizamuddin Auliya
- Nasiruddin Chiragh-i Dehli
- Baba Farid
- Shaikh Salim Chishti
- Gesu Daraz
- Langar
- Sama