Uzbekistan: Tajik Sufi mendicant, Bukhara, early 20th century

Sufism or taṣawwuf (Arabic: تصوّف‎) is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a ṣūfī (صُوفِيّ). Another name for a Sufi is Dervish.

Classical Sufi scholars have defined Sufism as 'a science whose objective is the reparation of the heart and turning it away from all else but God'. Alternatively, in the words of the Darqawi Sufi teacher Ahmad ibn Ajiba, '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'.

Classical Sufis were characterised by their attachment to dhikr (a practice of repeating the names of God) and asceticism. Sufism gained adherents among a number of Muslims as a reaction against the worldliness of the early Umayyad Caliphate (661-750 CE). Sufis have spanned several continents and cultures over a millennium, at first expressed through Arabic, then through Persian, Turkish and a dozen other languages. 'Orders' (ṭuruq), which are either Sunni or Shia or mixed in doctrine, trace many of their original precepts from the Prophet Muhammad through his cousin 'Alī, with the notable exception of the Naqshbandi who trace their origins through the first Caliph, Abu Bakr.

Copyright:

Supplier: CPA Media Co. Ltd.

Credit:

Pictures From History

Theme:

SILK ROAD