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16 AN INTRODUCTION TO SUFI DOCTRINE

hence the incompatibility between the spirit of Sufism
and the ‘“moralistic’’ conception of virtue, which 1is
quantitative and individualistic.!

Since the doctrine is both the very foundation of
the way and the fruit of the contemplation which is its
goal,? the difference between Sufism and religious
mysticism can be reduced to a question of doctrine.
This can be clearly expressed by saying that the be-
liever whose doctrinal outlook is limited to that of
exotericism always maintains a fundamental and irre-
ducible separation between the Divinity and himself
whereas the Sufi recognises, at least in principie, the
essential unity of all beings, or—to put the same thing in
negative terms—the unreality of all that appears separate

from God. It is necessary to keep in view this double

aspect of esoteric orientation because it may happen
that an exotericist—and particularly a religious mystic
—will also affirm that in the sight of God he is nothing.
If, however, this affirmation carried with it for him all
its metaphysical implications, he would logically be
forced to admit at the same time the positive aspect of
the same truth, which is that the essence of his own
reality, in virtue of which he is nor “nothing”, is

1. A quantitative conception of virtue results from the religious con-
sideration of merit or even from a purely social point of view. The qualitarive
conception on the other hand has in view the analogical relation between a
cosmic or Divine quality and a human virtue. Of pecessity the religious con-
ception of virtue remains irdividualistic since it values virtue only from the
point of view of individual salvation.

2. Some orientalists would like artificially to separate doctrine from
“spiritual experience’’. 1 hey see doctrine as a ‘‘conceptualising’” anticipating
a purely subjective ‘‘experience”. They forget two things: first, that the
doctrine ensues from a state of knowledge which is the goal of the way and,
secondly, that God does not le.