The message of Muhammad can be described in terms of two key elements: a Law of conduct which governs all Muslims, and a contemplative Path by which one achieves spiritual union with God. It is this Path which constitutes Sufism, the mystical dimension of Islam. Throughout the course of this introductory overview, Victor Danner discusses Sufism’s relationship to Islam as a whole, the function of the Sufi master, and the many attempts by Muslims and non-Muslims alike to marginalize its practice throughout the world.

A renowned scholar of Arabic and Sufism, Victor Danner, applies an historical and linguistic approach to illustrate various aspects of Sufism, the esoteric domain of Islam. The terms "Sufi" and its derivative, "Sufism," have for many years enticed scholars to offer a variety of opinions that, ultimately, tend to elucidate little other than one's powers of speculation. In this essay Danner sums up the research and tells a fascinating story of the development of the term and of Islamic mysticism. Danner's thesis centers around the point that the term "Sufi" came into use "because of the readaptation that the Islamic tradition had to make in view of a decline that threatened its spiritual bases." Thus, a return to the original interiorizing spirit of Islam was employed to neutralize centuries of exteriorizing ritual and dogma, and this through the return to the simple purity of the symbol of the wearing of wool ("suf" in Arabic).