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Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (Oct/Nov 2022). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. Sufism refers to the movement or approach some Muslims take, focusing on the inner dimensions of worship to find true meaning regarding God and their faith.
2. Sufis refer to spiritual stations (maqam), which are states of consciousness of God. An individual may rise through the stations in an arc of ascent towards greater awareness of God, or even mystical union with God.
3. A Sufi might carry out various practices to achieve this. Remembrance (dhikr) is the practice of starting with chanting the names of God sometimes using prayer beads (tasbih) whilst meditating on the meaning of the names to gain greater awareness of God's characteristics.
4. A Sufi might attend special gatherings and recite a Sufi prayer (wird), twice a day, to help develop a spiritual routine. Some might carry out extra acts of prayer and fasting, and times of solitude.
5. A Sufi who wishes to commit to developing their faith may make an oath of allegiance (bay'ah) to a Shaykh and receive direction from a guide (murshid). The follower (mureed) enters a Sufi order (tariqa). They believe it is essential to follow this guidance to avoid being misled by their own desires.
6. At Sufi gatherings, special songs (qasidas) may be sung and the mood lifted sometimes into a trance like state in which Sufis lose awareness of their immediate surroundings (hal/haal) and become focused on God.
7. Some Sufis practice whirling to achieve this, as in the case of the famous Turkish Sufis, the whirling dervishes.
8. Some Sufis follow traditional forms of Islam alongside Sufism. Others might dispense with traditional observances as they rise through the spiritual stations.
9. Some have been criticised by traditional Muslims for describing a pantheistic form of experience in which there is no distinction between themselves and God, which others have criticised as the heresy of association of other besides God (shirk).
10. Muslims have different ways to develop awareness of God (taqwa). Some might follow a mystical approach; others might use ritual and formal practices to focus their minds on God throughout their daily lives. Others might follow scholarship, reading and different approaches.
11. It might be argued that all are Muslim so there should be no significant differences between mystical and other experiences since all should lead to the same realisation that there is one God who is present and acting as all-powerful controller at all times and in all places.
12. All individuals have their own deeply personal religious experiences which might be mystical or rational realisations or other; individual experiences may not be neatly categorised as Sufi or otherwise.
13. Prayer and fasting are activities which can focus the mind on God and can be followed as part of the ritual of the Five Pillars or as part of forming a mystical experience, so the seemingly different approaches may be quite similar in reality.
14. Particular prayers which Sufis follow as part of their mystical approach, such as Sufi prayer (wird); remembrance (dhikr) and practices such as whirling (sama) are generally not practiced by other Muslims.
15. Many Muslims put more emphasis on the Islamic law (shariah), following the outward rules of Islam, such as prayer five times a day in order to satisfy God's commands and be rewarded on the day of judgment. Some Sufis would agree but might put a different emphasis on their actions: to achieve a greater sense of God and love for God in their lives.
16. The state of ecstasy achieved by some Sufis involves detachment from their surroundings. Other ways to develop awareness of God might focus on greater awareness of surroundings, such as the beauty of nature, which is seen as a sign of God's creation and a means to bring Muslims closer to God in their daily lives.
17. Other Muslims may aim to be fully aware of shariah law and how they should act in compliance at all times, rather than letting go, as some mystics do, the idea of which some might find unsettling.
18. A personal judgment should be concluded, drawing together the discussion and making an overall conclusion about the extent of similarities and differences and the significance of this for the faith and practice of Muslims overall.