Dhikr

Sufi dervish

Sufi Poetry

Sufi Poetry Sufi poetry (شعر‌ صوفی) has been written primarily in Persian, both for private devotional reading and as lyrics for music played during worship, or dhikr. Themes and styles established in Punjabi poetry, Sindhi poetry, Arabic poetry and mostly Persian poetry have had an enormous influence on Sufi poetry throughout the Islamic world, and is often part of Sufi...

La ilaha illallah (There Is No Deity But God’)

Refresh Your Faith

Refresh Your Faith What Does “Refresh Your Faith With ‘There Is No Deity But God’ (La Ilaha Illallah).”1 Mean? Man needs to renew, to refresh, his faith because both he and his personal world are being continually renewed. An individual acquires or is transformed into a different individuality every year...

Clifford Chanting Buddhism Zen

Chant

What Is A Chant? A chant (“to sing”) is the iterative speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two main pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of notes to highly complex musical structures, often including a great deal of repetition of musical...

Antique Chinese Buddhist Qinan prayer beads (Niànzhū), Qing Dynasty, 19th century, China. Adilnor Collection, Sweden

Prayer Beads

Prayer Beads Prayer beads are used by members of various religious traditions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Umbanda, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism and the Bahá’í Faith to mark the repetitions of prayers, chants or devotions, such as the rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Catholicism, dhikr (remembrance of God) in Islam and jaap in Hinduism. Origins and etymology Beads are among the earliest human ornaments...

Hands Sun Heaven Romance Hand God

Dhikr (Recitation of God’s Names)

Dhikr (Recitation of God’s Names) This article is all about Dhikr (Recitation of God’s Names). Literally meaning mentioning, remembrance, and recollection, in the speech of the Sufis dhikr denotes regular recitation of one or some of God’s Names in the same recitation session. Some spiritual or Sufi orders prefer to...

Ancient Sufi Dance: Rumi's Whirling Dervishes

Sama In Sufism

Sama In Sufism Sama in Sufism is a ceremony performed as dhikr. Sama means “listening”, while dhikr means “remembrance”. 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...

Muslim pilgrims gathered around the Ḍarīẖ covering the grave (qabr) of the 13th-century Sufi saint Lal Shahbaz Qalandar (shrine located in Sehwan Sharif); on 16 February 2017, ISIS claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on the shrine which resulted in the deaths of 90 people.

Persecution Of Sufis

Persecution Of Sufis Persecution of Sufis and Sufism has included destruction of Sufi shrines and mosques, suppression of orders, murder, and discrimination against adherents in a number of Muslim-majority countries. The Turkish Republican state banned all Sufi orders and abolished their institutions in 1925 after Sufis opposed the new secular order. The Iranian...

Sema ceremony at Sirkeci Railway Station, Istanbul

Sufi Whirling

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,...

Remember Me

Dhikr

What is Dhikr? Dhikr (also Zikr, Zekr, Zikir, Jikir, and variants; ذِكْر‎, ḏikr, plural أذكار aḏkār, meaning “mentioning”) are devotional acts in Islam in which short phrases or prayers are repeatedly recited silently within the mind or aloud. It can be counted on a set of prayer beads (Misbaha, مِسْبَحَة) or through fingers of the hand. A person who recites the...