From Fragmented Identity to Sufi Essence: The Postmodern Crisis and the Synthesis of Religion and the Individual

Postmodern thought fragments human identity, erodes belonging, and weakens the bond between religion and the individual by reducing truth and sacredness to relative, subjective realms. Sufism offers a holistic alternative: it views humans as manifestations of Allah's names and attributes, responsible subjects capable of moral maturity and connection with truth. Key concepts include the Perfect Human (al-insan al-kamil), purification of the soul, the unity of sharia and truth, and the Malāmatī Path, which rejects identity based on visibility and approval in favor of sincerity and inner depth. The study compares postmodern themes of subjectivity and identity with these Sufi concepts through a theoretical and comparative methodology.

Study at a glance

Abstract

This study aims to comprehensively examine the crises of identity, meaning and belonging that postmodern thought has caused in the conception of humanity and to evaluate the ontological, ethical and spiritual possibilities offered by sufism in response to these crises within a holistic framework. Postmodernism defines humans as beings lacking a fixed essence, fragmented, variable and largely determined by discourses and cultural constructions. This approach weakens the continuity and integrity of the self, transforming identity into a fluid, temporary and fragile structure. In such a context, the individual's sense of self becomes unstable, their sense of belonging erodes and their search for meaning faces a profound crisis. In the postmodern understanding of humanity, the excessive emphasis on individual autonomy and self-sufficiency reinforces a perspective that separates humanity from divine references. This situation leads to the need for God being pushed into the background and the concepts of truth and sacredness becoming relative and debatable, the relationship between religion and the individual takes on a fragmented and uncertain appearance, lacking continuity. Thus, religion is being reduced to a selective and subjective realm of meaning, confined to individual experiences, rather than being a binding and transformative source of truth. This process paves the way for the weakening of the bond between humans and religion and the spread of secular or superficial forms of spirituality. Sufism, on the other hand, presents a holistic understanding of existence that views humans as manifestations of Allah's names and attributes, in contrast to this fragmented conception of humanity. It positions humans not merely as products of social, historical, or cultural determinants, but as responsible subjects with the potential to connect with truth and attain moral maturity. The inseparable unity between sharia and truth, purification of the soul, the consciousness of unity (wahdat al-wujud) and the ideal of the the Perfect Human (al-insan al-kamil) form the cornerstones of this authentic identity model offered by sufism. In this context, sufism develops an identity perspective centred on meaning, stability, responsibility and morality, in contrast to the fragmented and directionless subject produced by postmodern thought. Malami disposition offers a unique critique of the modern and postmodern era's identity constructions based on visibility, performance and approval. This understanding rejects practices of self-construction based on the individual's pursuit of self-exposure, approval and social recognition; it develops a spiritual stance based on sincerity, self-control (muraqaba) and purification from self-assertion. Thus, the Malami attitude offers an alternative path that prioritises inner depth and moral consistency against the spectacle and consumption-centred understandings of identity prevalent in contemporary culture. The study examines the prominent themes of subjectivity, identity, truth and religion in postmodernist literature, comparing them with sufism's fundamental concepts such as the Perfect Human (al-insan al-kamil), purification of the soul, asceticism, the unity of sharia and truth and the concept of the Malāmatī Path, of which continues to exist more as a spirit and a disposition using a comparative methodology. In particular, the understanding of self-purification and asceticism is evaluated as a form of consciousness that develops a conscious distance from the world and questions consumer culture and pleasure-centred lifestyles. From the perspective of asceticism, the world is perceived in terms of its transience and deceptiveness, while the sufi sees the source of this allure not in external elements but in the inner tendencies of the self; through this inner tension, he turns towards moral maturity and awareness of truth. During the research process, classical sufi literature, particularly the Qur'an and hadiths, was analysed alongside contemporary local and foreign sources of thought on postmodernism. In this respect, the study aims to present sufism's holistic understanding of humanity within a theoretical, conceptual and critical framework as a response to the deepening identity and meaning crisis in the postmodern era. It also aims to demonstrate that sufism offers not only an individual spiritual realm but also a coherent model of identity and existence.