Sunday, February 10, 2008

Sufism

Sufism (Arabic: تصوف - taṣawwuf, Persian: صوفی‌گری, sufigari) is generally understood by scholars to be the inner, mystical, or psycho-spiritual dimension of Islam.[1] A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as Sūfī (Arabic: صُوفِيّ), though some senior members of the tradition reserve this term for those practitioners who have attained the goals of the Sufi tradition. Another common denomination is the word Dervish (derived from Persian: درویش - darwīš). In many parts of the Muslim world a practitioner of this tradition is generally known as mutasawwif (term which indicates a person who has received the initiation by an authorized Spiritual Master, or Sheykh), while Sufi indicates the one who has arrived to the final station of Initiatic Journey (that is the final extintion in Supreme Principle not-duality), though some senior members of the tradition reserve this term for those practitioners who have attained the goals of the Sufi tradition.

Shaykh Ahmad Zarruq, a 15th century Shadhili Sufi master, wrote in his major work "The Principles of Sufism":[2]

[Sufism is] a science whose objective is the reparation of the heart and turning it away from all else but God.

Ahmad ibn Ajiba, a famous Moroccan Sufi in the Darqawi lineage, defined Sufism as "a science through which one can know how to travel into the presence of the Divine, purify one’s inner self from filth, and beautify it with a variety of praiseworthy traits."

Sufi orders or Sufi brotherhoods, such as the Mowlawī, Qādirī and Naqšnadī orders, are traditionally known as Tariqa. They may be associated with Sunni Islam or Shia Islam. Certain Sufi orders are associated with both sects, while others are associated with ghūlat streams (for example the Qezelbāš Sufi brotherhood).

It has been suggested that Sufi thought emerged from the Middle East in the eighth century, but adherents are now found around the world.


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