Islam · branch
Sufism
Islamic practice turned toward direct experiential knowledge of God, with the divine understood as present in everything rather than only beyond it. Keeps the law and the ritual; adds dhikr, a master, and an inclusivism unusual for the family.
What makes it unusual
The axes on which this tradition sits furthest from the middle of the matrix — which is to say, the positions that actually distinguish it.
- E2 Origin of the cosmosan intentional actFurther toward "an intentional act" than most traditions in the matrix.
- C2 Shape of timeone life, then judgmentFurther toward "one life, then judgment" than most traditions in the matrix.
- C1 Survival of the selfcontinues in some formFurther toward "continues in some form" than most traditions in the matrix.
- A3 Pluralitystrictly oneFurther toward "strictly one" than most traditions in the matrix.
All seventeen positions
Each cell carries a centre, a dispersion — how much internal variation the tradition genuinely tolerates — and the source the position rests on. Disagree with one? Say so; corrections are public and recorded.
The same seventeen values as a single shape, read clockwise from A1 at the top. The outline is where the tradition sits; the wider band around it is the variation it genuinely tolerates, so a tight outline is a tight tradition.
- position
- tolerated variation
A · The divine
| Axis | Position | Value | ±σ |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 Divine realitynothing beyond the natural → a divine reality certainly exists | a divine reality certainly existsIbn ʿArabi, al-Ghazali’s Ihyaʿ, and Rumi’s Mathnawi | 1.00 | 0.02 |
| A2 Personhoodimpersonal principle or order → a personal being one can address | leaning a personal being one can addressIbn ʿArabi, al-Ghazali’s Ihyaʿ, and Rumi’s Mathnawi | 0.70 | 0.15 |
| A3 Pluralitystrictly one → many powers and spirits | strictly oneIbn ʿArabi, al-Ghazali’s Ihyaʿ, and Rumi’s Mathnawi | 0.05 | 0.05 |
| A4 Locuswholly beyond the world → fully present within it | fully present within itIbn ʿArabi, al-Ghazali’s Ihyaʿ, and Rumi’s Mathnawi | 0.88 | 0.10 |
B · Knowledge and authority
| Axis | Position | Value | ±σ |
|---|---|---|---|
| B1 Source of truthrevealed and fixed → reason and direct experience | leaning reason and direct experienceIbn ʿArabi, al-Ghazali’s Ihyaʿ, and Rumi’s Mathnawi | 0.78 | 0.12 |
| B2 Reading of sacred textliteral and binding → metaphorical, or no text at all | between literal and binding and metaphorical, or no text at allIbn ʿArabi, al-Ghazali’s Ihyaʿ, and Rumi’s Mathnawi | 0.62 | 0.15 |
| B3 Institutional authorityclergy and tradition decide → individual conscience decides | leaning clergy and tradition decideIbn ʿArabi, al-Ghazali’s Ihyaʿ, and Rumi’s Mathnawi | 0.25 | 0.13 |
C · Self and destiny
| Axis | Position | Value | ±σ |
|---|---|---|---|
| C1 Survival of the selfends at death → continues in some form | continues in some formIbn ʿArabi, al-Ghazali’s Ihyaʿ, and Rumi’s Mathnawi | 0.98 | 0.02 |
| C2 Shape of timeone life, then judgment → cyclical return | one life, then judgmentIbn ʿArabi, al-Ghazali’s Ihyaʿ, and Rumi’s Mathnawi | 0.08 | 0.07 |
| C3 The human conditionfallen and in need of rescue → ignorant but fundamentally sound | between fallen and in need of rescue and ignorant but fundamentally soundIbn ʿArabi, al-Ghazali’s Ihyaʿ, and Rumi’s Mathnawi | 0.60 | 0.13 |
D · Practice
| Axis | Position | Value | ±σ |
|---|---|---|---|
| D1 Mechanism of the ultimate goodgiven as grace → achieved by effort or insight | between given as grace and achieved by effort or insightIbn ʿArabi, al-Ghazali’s Ihyaʿ, and Rumi’s Mathnawi | 0.40 | 0.16 |
| D2 Centrality of ritualessential and prescribed → optional or absent | essential and prescribedIbn ʿArabi, al-Ghazali’s Ihyaʿ, and Rumi’s Mathnawi | 0.12 | 0.10 |
| D3 The bodyto be disciplined → to be celebrated | leaning to be disciplinedIbn ʿArabi, al-Ghazali’s Ihyaʿ, and Rumi’s Mathnawi | 0.25 | 0.13 |
E · World and others
| Axis | Position | Value | ±σ |
|---|---|---|---|
| E1 Exclusivityone true path → many valid paths | between one true path and many valid pathsIbn ʿArabi, al-Ghazali’s Ihyaʿ, and Rumi’s Mathnawi | 0.62 | 0.16 |
| E2 Origin of the cosmosan intentional act → beginningless or natural | an intentional actIbn ʿArabi, al-Ghazali’s Ihyaʿ, and Rumi’s Mathnawi | 0.03 | 0.03 |
| E3 Locus of belonginga people, inherited → an individual choice | between a people, inherited and an individual choiceIbn ʿArabi, al-Ghazali’s Ihyaʿ, and Rumi’s Mathnawi | 0.60 | 0.14 |
| E4 Standing of naturecreation, given for use → animate and itself sacred | between creation, given for use and animate and itself sacredIbn ʿArabi, al-Ghazali’s Ihyaʿ, and Rumi’s Mathnawi | 0.58 | 0.14 |
Further reading
- Rumi, Mathnawi, book I — The immanence at A4 argued in verse rather than in propositions.
- Ibn ʿArabi, The Bezels of Wisdom — Wahdat al-wujud, the strongest statement of A4 anywhere in the Abrahamic family.
Compared with
The questionnaire places your own answers on these same seventeen axes and reports how close you are to this tradition and to 64 others. Take it — eight to fourteen questions, nothing transmitted.