Reactualizing Ma‘rifah and Fanā’: A Sufi Spiritual Path for Addressing the Existential Crisis of Modern Society

Zakariyah Zakariyah; Ainul Muttaqin

doi:10.59373/drs.v3i2.71

Authors

Zakariyah Zakariyah Universitas Islam Negeri Sunan Ampel Surabaya, Indonesia
Ainul Muttaqin Universitas KH. Abdul Chalim Mojokerto, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.59373/drs.v3i2.71

Keywords:

Modern Sufism, ma‘rifah, fanā’, spirituality, modern society

Abstract

Modernity, characterized by rationalism, materialism, and the dominance of technology, has generated spiritual, moral, and existential crises in contemporary human life. This condition highlights the need to reinterpret Sufi teachings so that they remain relevant in addressing modern challenges. This study aims to analyze the concepts of ma‘rifah and fanā’ in the classical Sufi tradition and examine their reinterpretation within the framework of modern Sufism. This research employs a qualitative approach through library research, examining both classical and contemporary literature related to Sufi thought. The findings reveal that in classical Sufism, ma‘rifah is understood as an inner knowledge of God attained through spiritual purification and mystical experience, while fanā’ refers to the dissolution of the human ego in the presence of the Divine without negating adherence to Islamic law (sharia). In the context of modern Sufism, these two concepts have undergone a contextual reinterpretation. Ma‘rifah is no longer viewed solely as an individual mystical experience but as a form of spiritual awareness integrated with rationality, ethics, and social responsibility. Meanwhile, fanā’ is interpreted as the transformation of ego-centered consciousness into an ethical awareness that fosters social concern and moral commitment. This reinterpretation demonstrates that Sufism is not incompatible with modernity; rather, it can serve as a spiritual and ethical foundation for addressing the crisis of meaning in modern society. Therefore, the concepts of ma‘rifah and fanā’ in modern Sufism function as a spiritual paradigm capable of balancing the material and spiritual dimensions of contemporary human life..

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Abidi, A. F. (2021). Kajian Literatur: Internalisasi Nilai-nilai Tasawuf dalam Ajaran Tarekat. PALAPA, 9(2), 335. https://doi.org/10.36088/palapa.v9i2.1494

Abitolkha, A. M. (2021). Seyyed Hossein Nasr’s Teaching on Sufism and Its Relevance to Modern Society. Jurnal THEOLOGIA, 32(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.21580/teo.2021.32.1.8069

Adibah, I. Z., & Chasanah, U. (2023). Aktualisasi Sufisme dan Masa Depan Pendidikan Islam Modern Era Society 5.0. Al-Fikri Jurnal Studi Dan Penelitian Pendidikan Islam, 6(2), 119. https://doi.org/10.30659/jspi.v6i2.35054

Ainul, D. (2017). Terapi Psikospiritual Dalam Kajian Sufistik. Khazanah Jurnal Studi Islam Dan Humaniora, 14(2), 234. https://doi.org/10.18592/khazanah.v15i2.1157

Alaudin, F. (2023). Peran Tarekat Alawiyyah dalam Menghadapi Krisis Spiritual di Kalangan Masyarakat Modern. Jurnal Penelitian Ilmu Ushuluddin, 3(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.15575/jpiu.17583

Aminudin, A. (2020). Urgensi Tasawuf dalam Membangkitkan Kesadaran Spiritual Bagi Masyarakat Modern. Farabi, 17(2), 91. https://doi.org/10.30603/jf.v17i2.1792

Anwar, K. (2021). Konsep Dakwah Masyarakat Multikultural Dengan Meneladani Ajaran Al-Qusyairi Dalam Tasawuf Akhlaqi. Al-Ittishol Jurnal Komunikasi Dan Penyiaran Islam, 2(1), 47. https://doi.org/10.51339/ittishol.v2i1.241

Astuti, W., Hafizh, M., Dina, S., & Ali, M. (2023). Interpretation Of Tasawwuf In Islamic Education To Improve Religious Tolerance. Islamuna Jurnal Studi Islam, 10(1), 35. https://doi.org/10.19105/islamuna.v10i1.9053

Azizah, ⁠⁠Nur, & Jannah, M. (2022). Spiritualitas Masyarakat Modern Dalam Tasawuf Buya Hamka. Academic Journal of Islamic Principles and Phylosophy, 3(1), 85. https://doi.org/10.22515/ajipp.v3i1.5007

Fahru, F. F. (2020). Melacak Kedalaman Tasawuf Modern Hamka di Tengah Arus Modernitas. Jurnal Penelitian Keislaman, 16(2), 129. https://doi.org/10.20414/jpk.v16i2.2327

Falach, G., & Assya’bani, R. (2022). Peran Tasawuf Di Era Masyarakat Modern "Peluang dan Tantangan”. Refleksi Jurnal Filsafat Dan Pemikiran Islam, 21(2), 191. https://doi.org/10.14421/ref.2021.2102-03

Fauhatun, F., & Burhanuddin, N. (2022). The Spirituality of Modern Society: Between Escapism and The Illuminati. Tasfiyah Jurnal Pemikiran Islam, 6(2), 257. https://doi.org/10.21111/tasfiyah.v6i2.8450

Fikra, H. (2021). Studi Pustaka Sistematis: Mahabah dalam Tasawuf Kontemporer Perspektif Buya Nursamad Kamba. Jurnal Riset Agama, 1(2), 354. https://doi.org/10.15575/jra.v1i2.14596

Filda, F., Rosmawati, R., Piliana, W. O., & Patiung, S. M. (2025). Kajian penerapan kearifan lokal Kaombono Tai di Desa Kondowa Kecamatan Pasarwajo Kabupaten Buton. Jurnal Sosial Ekonomi Perikanan, 10(1), 29. https://doi.org/10.33772/jsep.v10i1.97

Hasugian, A. (2022). Modernisasi Masjid: Analisis Tindakan Sosial Pemasangan Wifi pada Masjid Di Kota Kediri. Jurnal Riset Agama, 2(1), 91. https://doi.org/10.15575/jra.v2i1.15785

Hidayatullah, S., Arif, M., & Kuswanjono, A. (2023). Seyyed Hossein Nasr’s Perennialism Perspective for the Development of Religious Studies in Indonesia. Jurnal Filsafat, 33(2), 357. https://doi.org/10.22146/jf.82439

Ihsan, N. H., & Alfiansyah, I. M. (2021). Konsep Kebahagiaan dalam buku Tasawuf Modern karya Hamka. Analisis Jurnal Studi Keislaman, 21(2), 279. https://doi.org/10.24042/ajsk.v21i2.9636

Irawan, D. (2019). Tasawuf sebagai Solusi Krisis Manusia Modern: Analisis Pemikiran Seyyed Hossein Nasr. Tasfiyah Jurnal Pemikiran Islam, 3(1), 41. https://doi.org/10.21111/tasfiyah.v3i1.2981

Kertayasa, H., Syach, A., Yusuf, R. N., & Supriatna, A. K. (2021). Peran Tarekat Sufi Serta Relevansinya Terhadap Pendidikan Islam Modern. Edukatif Jurnal Ilmu Pendidikan, 3(2), 549. https://doi.org/10.31004/edukatif.v3i2.358

Kolis, N., & Ajhuri, K. F. (2019). SANGKAN PARANING DUMADI: Eksplorasi Sufistik Konsep Mengenal Diri dalam Pustaka Islam Jawa Prespektik Kunci Swarga Miftahul Djanati. Dialogia, 17(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.21154/dialogia.v17i1.1653

Lidya, Afifah, S. N., & Tyas, A. A. W. P. (2025). Tantangan dan Strategi Adaptasi Budaya Organisasi pada Perusahaan Multinasional: Perspektif Cross-Cultural Management. https://doi.org/10.61104/alz.v3i6.2887

Mannan, A. (2018). Esensi Tasawuf Akhlaki Di Era Modernisasi. Aqidah-Ta Jurnal Ilmu Aqidah, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.24252/aqidahta.v4i1.5172

Mardiantowijoyo, Y. (2025). EFEKTIFITAS Edukasi Perioperatif Berbasis Budaya Terhadap Pengetahuan, Kepuasan Dan Psychological Well Being Pasien Operasi Elektif Di Paviliun Dahlia Rumah Sakit Umum Daerah Dr H Koesnadi Bondowoso.

Maulana, R., & Irham, M. I. (2023). Nasaruddin Umar: Tasawuf Wasathiyah dalam Masyarakat Modern. Substantia/Substantia : Jurnal Ilmu-Ilmu Ushuluddin, 25(1), 121. https://doi.org/10.22373/substantia.v25i1.16850

Mere, K. (2024). The Impact Of An Inclusive Work Environment On Employee Retention In Startups.

Mulkhan, A. M. (2018). Manajer Pendidik Profetik dalam Konstruksi Kesalehan Makrifat. MANAGERIA Jurnal Manajemen Pendidikan Islam, 1(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.14421/manageria.2016.11-01

Naamy, N. (2023). Modernisasi dan Pembaharuan; Analisis Epistemologi Ilmu Islam Klasik dan Kontemporer. PALAPA, 11(1), 630. https://doi.org/10.36088/palapa.v11i1.3525

Nafi’a, I., Naufal, M. Z., & Gumiandari, S. (2022). Urgensi Pendidikan Tasawuf Pada Remaja Milenial. Al-Tarbiyah Jurnal Pendidikan (The Educational Journal), 32(1), 63. https://doi.org/10.24235/ath.v32i1.10788

Nafsaka, Z., Kambali, K., Sayudin, S., & Astuti, A. W. (2023). Dinamika Pendidikan Karakter Dalam Perspektif Ibnu Khaldun: Menjawab Tantangan Pendidikan Islam Modern. Jurnal Impresi Indonesia, 2(9), 903. https://doi.org/10.58344/jii.v2i9.3211

Nur, M., & Irham, M. I. (2023). Tasawuf dan Modernisasi: Urgensi Tasawuf Akhlaki pada Masyarakat Modern. Substantia/Substantia : Jurnal Ilmu-Ilmu Ushuluddin, 25(1), 107. https://doi.org/10.22373/substantia.v25i1.16851

Nuraini, N., & Marhayati, N. (2020). NILAI-NILAI TASAWUF GENERASI MILENIAL. Nuansa Jurnal Studi Islam Dan Kemasyarakatan, 12(2). https://doi.org/10.29300/nuansa.v12i2.2759

Putra, A. E. (2013). Tasawuf Sebagai Terapi Atas Problem Spiritual Masyarakat Modern. Al-Adyan Jurnal Studi Lintas Agama, 8(1), 45. https://doi.org/10.24042/ajsla.v8i1.525

Robingatun, Astuti, F., & Wasik, A. (2024). Sufism Revisited: A Comprehensive Analysis of Emha Ainun Najib’s Philosophical Contributions to Modern Society. Journal of Islamic Thought and Civilization, 14(1), 352. https://doi.org/10.32350/jitc.141.21

Safaat, A. W. N. (2024). Konsep Zuhud Menurut Syekh Abdul Qodir Al Jailani: Studi Kitab Tafsir Al Jailani. SINDA Comprehensive Journal of Islamic Social Studies, 4(2), 106. https://doi.org/10.28926/sinda.v4i2.1532

Sakdullah, M. (2020). Tasawuf Di Era Modrnitas (Kajian Komperhensif Seputar Neo-Sufisme). Living Islam Journal of Islamic Discourses, 3(2). https://doi.org/10.14421/lijid.v3i2.2504

Saputra, R., Dalimunthe, R. P., & Mulyana, M. (2021). Menyeimbangkan Ritualitas dan Partisipasi Sosial: Konsep Tasawuf Sosial Amin Syukur. NALAR Jurnal Peradaban Dan Pemikiran Islam, 5(1), 14. https://doi.org/10.23971/njppi.v5i1.2788

Sensia, I. L., & Khodijah. (2025). Tasawuf, Identitas dan Kesehatan Mental: Memahami Manfaat Psikososial dari Ritual Sufi. DA WA Jurnal Bimbingan Penyuluhan & Konseling Islam, 4(2), 16. https://doi.org/10.36420/dawa.v4i2.565

Thohir, U. F. (2016). Tasawuf Sebagai Solusi Bagi Problematika Kemodernan: Studi Pemikiran Tasawuf M. Amin Syukur. Jurnal Theologia, 24(2), 43. https://doi.org/10.21580/teo.2013.24.2.327

Waluyojati, M. P., & Swari, D. I. (2024). Peran Psikologi Tasawuf Mengenai Kesehatan Mental dan Spiritualitas Generasi Z Pada Era Digital. Mutiara Jurnal Penelitian Dan Karya Ilmiah, 2(4), 199. https://doi.org/10.59059/mutiara.v2i4.1484

Waslah, W. (2017). Peran Ajaran Tasawuf Sebagai Psikoterapi Mengatasi Konflik Batin. At-Turats, 11(2), 153. https://doi.org/10.24260/at-turats.v11i2.893

Yahya, M. W., Fahrudin, & Rahmat, M. (2022). Spiritual and Professional Motivation of Indonesian Academics Entering the Shaṭṭāriyah Sufi Order. Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 11(5), 210. https://doi.org/10.36941/ajis-2022-0136