The early generations called people of religious devotion and learning “the reciters,” a designation that included both scholars and ascetics. Later, the terms “Sufis” and “the poor” came into use. The term “Sufi” derives from wearing wool (sūf); this is the correct explanation. It has also been said to derive from safwat al-fuqahā’ (the elite of the jurists); from Sūfa ibn Udd ibn Tānja, an Arab tribe known for religious devotion; from the people of the Suffa (the shaded portico); from safā (purity); from safwa (the elite); or from the foremost rank before Allah Most High. These explanations are weak, for if that were its derivation, the term would have been suffī, safā’ī, safawī, or saffī, rather than sūfī.

The designation “the poor” also came to refer to those following the spiritual path. This is a later usage. People have disputed which designation is superior: “Sufi” or “poor.” They also dispute which is better: a grateful rich person or a patient poor person.

This latter question was the subject of an early disagreement between al-Junayd and Abū al-‘Abbās ibn ‘Atā’, and two positions on it have been reported from Ahmad ibn Hanbal. The correct position on all of this is expressed in the words of Allah, Blessed and Most High:

“O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you.”

And in the Sahīh, Abū Hurayra, may Allah be pleased with him, reports from the Prophet