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Mevlevi Order The Mawlaw’īyya – Mevlevi Order (Mevlevilik or Mevleviyye, طریقت مولویه) is a Sufi order in Konya (modern day Turkey) (capital of the Anatolian Seljuk Sultanate) founded by the followers of Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi-Rumi, a 13th-century Persian poet, Islamic theologian and Sufi mystic.[1] The Mevlevi are also known as...
Naqshbandi The Naqshbandi (نقشبندی) or Naqshbandiyah (نقشبندية, Naqshbandīyah) is a major Sunni spiritual order of Sufism. It got its name from Baha-ud-Din Naqshband Bukhari and traces its spiritual lineage to the Islamic prophet Muhammad through Abu Bakr, who was father-in-law, companion, and successor of Muhammad. Some Naqshbandi masters trace their lineage...
Ni’matullāhī Order The Ni’matullāhī or Ne’matollāhī (نعمتاللهی) (also spelled as “Nimatollahi”, “Nematollahi” or “Ni’matallahi) is a Sufi order (or tariqa) originating in Iran. According to Moojan Momen, the number of Ni’matullāhī in Iran in 1980 was estimated to be between 50,000 and 350,000. Following the emigration of Javad Nurbakhsh and other dervishes after the 1979 Iranian Revolution, the tariqa has attracted...
Qadiriyya Order The Qadiriyya (القادريه, قادریه, also transliterated Qadri, Qadriya, Kadri, Elkadri, Elkadry, Aladray, Alkadrie, Adray, Kadray, Qadiri, “Quadri” or Qadri) are members of the Qadiri tariqa (Sufi order). The tariqa got its name from Abdul Qadir Gilani (1077–1166, Jilani), who was from Gilan. The order relies strongly upon adherence to the fundamentals of Islam. The order, with its many...
Senussi Order The Senussi, or Sanussi (السنوسية), are a Muslim political-religious tariqa (Sufi order) and clan in colonial Libya and the Sudan region founded in Mecca in 1837 by the Grand Senussi (السنوسي الكبير), the Algerian Muhammad ibn Ali as-Senussi. Senussi was concerned with what it saw as both the decline of Islamic thought and spirituality and the weakening of Muslim political...
Tijaniyyah Order The Tijāniyyah (الطريقة التجانية, translit.Al-Ṭarīqah al-Tijāniyyah, ‘The Tijānī Path’) is a sufi tariqa (order, path) within Sunni Islam, originating in North Africa but now more widespread in West Africa, particularly in Senegal, The Gambia, Mauritania, Mali, Guinea, Niger, Chad, Ghana, Northern and South-western Nigeria and some part of Sudan. The...
Shadhili Order The Shadhili Tariqa (الطريقة الشاذلية) is a Sufi order of Sunni Islam founded by Abul Hasan Ali ash-Shadhili of Morocco. Followers (Arabic murids, “seekers”) of the Shadhiliya are known as Shadhilis. It has historically been of importance and influence in North Africa and Egypt with many contributions to Islamic literature. Among the figures most known for their literary and...
Suhrawardiyya Order The Suhrawardiyya (سهروردية) is a Sufi order founded by the Sufi Diya al-din Abu ‘n-Najib as-Suhrawardi (1097 – 1168 CE). It is a strictly Sunni order, guided by the Shafi`i school of Islamic law (madhhab), and, like many such orders, traces its spiritual genealogy (silsila) to Ali ibn Abi Talib through Junayd...
Mouride or Muridiyya The Mouride brotherhood (murit, الطريقة المريدية aṭ-Ṭarīqat al-Murīdiyyah or simply المريدية, al-Murīdiyyah) is a large tariqa (Sufi order) most prominent in Senegal and the Gambia with headquarters in the city of Touba, Senegal, which is a holy city for the order. Adherents are called Mourides, from the Arabic word murīd (literally “one who desires”), a term used generally in Sufism to...
Kubrawiya The Kubrawiya order (سلسلة کبرویة) or Kubrawi order,[1] also known as Firdausia Silsila, is a Sufi order that traces its spiritual lineage (Silsilah) to prophet Muhammad through Ali, Muhammad’s cousin, son-in-law and the First Imam. This is in contrast to most other Sufi orders that trace their lineage to Ali. The Kubrawiya order is named after its...
Bektashi Order Bektashi Order or Shī‘ah Imāmī Alevī-Bektāshī Ṭarīqah (Tarikati Bektashi; Bektaşi Tarîkatı) is a Sufi dervish order (tariqat) named after the 13th century Alevi Wali (saint) Haji Bektash Veli from Khorasan, but founded by Balım Sultan.[6] The order, whose headquarters is in Tirana, Albania, is mainly found throughout Anatolia and the Balkans, and was particularly strong in Albania, Bulgaria, and among Ottoman eraGreek...
Chishti Order The Chishtī Order (چشتی chishtī) is a Sunni Sufi order within the mystic Sufi tradition of Islam. It began in Chisht, a small town near Herat, Afghanistan about 930 CE. The Chishti Order is known for its emphasis on love, tolerance, and openness.[1] The Chishti Order is primarily followed in Afghanistan and Indian subcontinent. It was the...
Sufi Philosophy Sufi philosophy includes the schools of thought unique to Sufism, a mystical branch within Islam, also termed as Tasawwuf or Faqr according to its adherents. Sufism and its philosophical traditions may be associated with both Sunni Islam and Shia Islam. It has been suggested that Sufi thought emerged from the Middle East in the eighth century, but adherents are now found around...
What Is Sufi Cosmology? Sufi cosmology (الكوزمولوجية الصوفية) is a Sufi approach to cosmology which discusses the creation of man and the universe, which according to mystics are the fundamental grounds upon which Islamic religious universe is based. According to Sufi cosmology, God’s reason for the creation of this cosmos and humankind is the “manifestation” and “recognition” of Himself...
Sufi Metaphysics Major ideas in Sufi metaphysics have surrounded the concept of weḥdah (وحدة) meaning “unity”, or in Arabic توحيد tawhid. Two main Sufi philosophies prevail on this topic. waḥdat al-wujūd literally means the “Unity of Existence” or “Unity of Being.” The phrase has been translated “pantheism.”[1] Wujud (i.e. existence or presence) here refers to Allah’s wujud...
The Alchemy of Happiness by Mohammad Al Ghazzali THE MOHAMMEDAN PHILOSOPHER. Translated from the Turkish, By HENRY A. HOMES, LIBRARIAN, STATE LIBRARY. ALBANY, N. Y.: J. MUNSELL, STATE STREET. 1873. In advance of the Transactions of the Albany Institute, vol. VIII. CONTENTS. Page. Introductory Notice, 5 CHAPTER I. On...
The Alchemy of Happiness Kimiya-yi Sa’ādat (کیمیای سعادت The Alchemy of Happiness) was a book written by Abū Ḥāmid Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ghazālī, a Persian theologian, philosopher, and prolific Sunni Muslim author regarded as one of the greatest systematic thinkers of Islam.[1] The Kimiya-yi Sa’ādat was written towards the end of his life shortly before...
Sama In Sufism Sama (Sema, Persian, Urdu and سَمَاع – samā‘un) is a Sufi ceremony performed as dhikr. Sama means “listening”, while dhikr means “remembrance”.[1] These rituals often include singing, playing instruments, dancing, recitation of poetry and prayers, wearing symbolic attire, and other rituals. It is a particularly popular form of worship in Sufism. In 2008, UNESCO confirmed the “Mevlevi Sama Ceremony” of Turkey as one of...
What Is Taqwa? Taqwa (تقوى taqwā / taqwá ) is an Islamic term for being conscious and cognizant of God, of truth, of the rational reality, “piety, fear of God”.[1][2] It is often found in the Quran. Al-Muttaqin (لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ Al-Muttaqin) refers to those who practice taqwa, or in the words of Ibn Abbas — “believers who avoid Shirk with Allah and who work in His...
What Is Karamat? In Sunni Islam, karamat (کرامات karāmāt, pl. of کرامة karāmah, lit. generosity, high-mindedness[1]) refers to supernatural wonders performed by Muslim saints. In the technical vocabulary of Islamic religious sciences, the singular form karama has a sense similar to charism, a favor or spiritual gift freely bestowed by God.[2] The marvels ascribed to Muslim saints have included supernatural...
Persecution of Sufis In most other Muslim countries, attacks on Sufis and especially their shrines have come from adherents of puritanical schools of thought who believe that practices such as celebration of the birthdays of Sufi saints, and dhikr (“remembrance” of God) ceremonies are bid‘ah or impure innovation, and polytheistic (Shirk).[1][2][3] Persecution of...
List of Sufi Orders The following is a list of Sufi orders or schools (ṭarīqah) A attariya Razaviya Alevi Aamiria Aâbid Abbasiyya Abululai (also Abululaiya) Adhamiyya Adrawiyya Agamiyya Ahmadiya (Imamut-Tarikat Sheikh Borhanuddin Uyesi) Ahmadiyya-Idrissiyya Aissawa (also Aïssâwa, Issawiyya, Issâwa, Aïssaoua, Issaoua) Akbariyya Akmaliyya (Haqmaliyya) Alamiyya Al Hakika Mizaan Mizaani Sufi Order (Sallahudin...
Who Is Wali? Walī (ولي, plural ʾawliyāʾ أولياء) is an Arabic word whose literal meanings include “custodian”, “protector”, “helper”, and “friend”.[1] In the vernacular, it is most commonly used by Muslims to indicate an Islamic saint, otherwise referred to by the more literal “friend of God”.[2][3][4] In the traditional Islamic understanding of saints, the saint is portrayed...
What Is Sufi Whirling? Sufi whirling (or Sufi turning) (Semazen) is a form of physically active meditation which originated among Sufis, and which is still practiced by the Sufi Dervishes of the Mevlevi order and other orders such as the Rifa’i-Marufi. It is a customary meditation practice performed within the Sema, or worship ceremony, through which dervishes (also called semazens,...
What Is Muraqabah? Murāqabah (ar. to observe) refers to meditation in Sufi terminology. Through murāqbah a person watches over their (spiritual) heart and gains insight into the heart’s relation with its creator and its own surroundings. Muraqābah is a core concept in commonly found ṭarīqas (ar. sufi orders). The objective of murāqbah...
What Is Ma’rifat? In Sufism, ma’rifa (معرفة, ma‘rifah, ‘knowledge’) describes the mystical intuitive knowledge of spiritual truth reached through ecstatic experiences, rather than revealed or rationally acquired. A seeker of ma’rifa is called ‘arif, “the one who knows”.[1] In one of the earliest accounts of the Maqamat-l arba’in (“forty stations”) in Sufism, Sufi master Abu Said ibn Abi’l-Khayr lists ma’rifa as the...
