the scholars and the ascetics; and in later times the labels “Sufis” and “fuqarāʾ” (poor ones) appeared.

Regarding the term “Sufi,” the soundest view is that it is derived from their wearing of wool. Others have suggested that it comes from the select elite (ṣafwah) of the jurists; from Ṣufah b. Mur ibn Ad ibn Ṭābikhah, an Arab clan noted for devotion; from the Ahl al-Ṣuffah (the People of the Portico); from the people of purity (ahl al-ṣafāʾ); from the chosen ones (al-ṣafwah); or from the foremost rank (al-ṣaff) before Allah. All these explanations are weak, for if any were correct the word would be ṣafī, ṣafāʾī, ṣafawī, or ṣiffī—not ṣūfī.

The designation “fuqarāʾ” later came to mean those walking the spiritual path; this is a subsequent convention. People have disagreed over which title is superior—“Sufi” or “faqīr” (poor one)—and they also debate which state is nobler: the grateful wealthy person or the patient poor person.

[People differ in nature, and their distinction is through piety]

This controversy is ancient, going back to al-Junayd and Abū al-ʿAbbās ibn ʿAṭāʾ, and two reports exist from Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal on the matter. The correct verdict in all of this is what Allah, blessed and exalted, has declared:

“O mankind! We created you from a male and a female and made you into nations and tribes so that you might come to know one another. Indeed, the most honoured of you in Allah’s sight is the most God-fearing.” (Qur’an 49:13)