Does Sufism mean asceticism, and were the Companions Sufis? Is it permissible to say, "We all worship one Lord, and each one worships our Lord in the way he desires, as long as we say: 'Allah said,' and 'the Messenger said'"? Is there Sunni Sufism? What is the ruling on people dividing into sects like the Sufis, Ash'aris, Jahmiyyah, and others, and what is the ruling on a person joining a sect whose beliefs he does not fully embrace?

Sufism, in its contemporary, widely understood meaning, is a newly invented concept that has no basis in Islamic law. It has gone through stages and evolved from asceticism and piety into a philosophical thought and invented paths. What was formerly known as Sunni Sufism hardly exists now due to the deviations of later Sufi orders.

The statement "Everyone worships our Lord in the way they desire" does not align with "as long as we say: Allah said, and the Messenger said"; for the sources of reception and methods of inference are different. Many Sufis rely on dream visions as a source for rulings, which is inconsistent with limiting oneself to the Qur'an and Sunnah, in accordance with the Almighty's saying: "And indeed, this is My straight path, so follow it, and do not follow [other] ways, for they will disperse you from His way. This He has instructed you that you may become righteous."

Differences among people include acceptable and unacceptable types. The former is a difference in understanding that does not contradict a text, unlike the latter which is based on whims or an invalid evidence. The differences among Islamic sects, such as Sufis, Ash'aris, Jahmiyyah, Qadariyyah, and Mu'tazilah, are differences between truth and falsehood in their fundamentals, and the Hadith about the division of the Ummah into seventy-three sects applies to them, with only one of them being in Paradise, which is Al-Jama'ah (the community).

It is not permissible to belong to a deviant sect, even if one does not believe in all its doctrines. Rather, one must turn away from those who delve into the verses of Allah, except for the purpose of advice, enjoining good, and forbidding evil. And whoever increases the numbers of a people, he is one of them, and whoever approves of the action of a people, he is a partner with those who performed it. One should not be present at evil or sit with its practitioners.