ABSTRACT
Achieving human perfection is viewed by Sufis as a journey or a spiritual ascent which reaches a pinnacle with the Prophet Muhammad. Although Muhammad is the example of perfection for Sufis, from one perspective the sealing of Prophecy means that there can be no other legislating messenger and this is "a terrible blow" for the Sufis or Friends because it implies the impossibility of experiencing total and perfect servitude. Aziz Nasafi was one Sun who highlighted the importance of the relationship between Prophecy and Friendship. Friendship is a rank which has a closer standing to God and this is reflected in the knowledge of the Friend compared to that of the Prophet in his capacity as Prophet. It has been shown that the Prophet is also a Friend, but his Friendship is superior to his Prophecy. This chapter analyses the different interpretations of the Friends and the focuses on the political significance of Nasafi's interpretation of Friendship.
