Sufism

“Sufi” redirects here. For other uses, see Sufi (disam-biguation).Not to be confused with sophism.

Sufism (Arabic: ; تصوف taṣawwuf) is a concept in Islam,defined by scholars as the inner, mystical dimension ofIslam. Traditional Sufis, throughout history (i.e. BayazidBastami, Jalaluddin Rumi, Haji Bektash Veli, JunaidBaghdadi, Al-Ghazali etc.) and presently, have main-tained Sufism to be purely based on the tenets of Is-lam and the teachings of Muhammad.[1][2][3][4] Some aca-demics like Kamuran Godelek, however, have argued thatSufism has been heavily influenced by Neoplatonism.[5]

There are some who hold the notion that its essence hasalso been expressed via other religions and metareligiousphenomena, while others believe Sufism to be totallyunique to Islam.[6][7][8][9][10][11]

Practitioners of Sufism (Tasawuf) referred to as Sufis(ṣūfī) (/ˈsuːfi/; (ُصوِفّي often belong to different ṭuruq or“orders”—congregations formed around a grand masterreferred to as a Mawla who maintains a direct chainof teachers back to the Prophet Muhammad.[12] Theseorders meet for spiritual sessions (majalis) in meetingplaces known as zawiyahs, khanqahs, or tekke.[13] e.g.Khanqah Khairiyyah Sufis strive for ihsan (perfection ofworship) as detailed in a hadith: “Ihsan is to worship Al-lah as if you see Him; if you can't see Him, surely He seesyou.”[14] Jalaluddin Rumi stated: “The Sufi is hanging onto Muhammad, like Abu Bakr.”[15] Sufis consider them-selves to be the original true proponents of this pure origi-nal form of Islam. Sufis orders have faced criticism in theMuslim world. Sufism is generally opposed by followersof Wahhabist or Salafist movements within Sunni Islam,causing tensions due to a resurgence of Sufi practice inSaudi Arabia.[16] The Islamic Republic of Iran bans thepractice of Sufism and in recent years has arrested Sufi ac-tivists and clerics[17] because it views Sufism is unauthen-tic and incompatible with Twelver Shi'ite Islam.[18][19][20]

Sufi orders (turuq) generally trace many of their originalprecepts from the Islamic prophet Muhammad throughhis cousin and son-in-law Ali ibn Abi Talib- with thenotable exception of Naqshbandi order, which does sothrough the first Caliph, Abu Bakr.[21] Sufi orders arelargely Sunni and follow one of the four schools of SunniIslam and maintain a Sunni Aqidah or creed.[22] Overthe years various Sufi orders have been influenced byand adopted into various Shi'ite movements includingIsmailism- which led to the Safaviyya order’s conver-sion to Shi'ite Islam and the spread of Twelver Shi'ism

throughout Persia.[23] The Twelver Shi'ite influencedAlevi and Sunni Bektashi[24] orders both claim that allSufi orders trace their spiritual lineage (silsilah or Silsila)back to one of The Twelve Imams. Some orders in-clude Alevi, Bektashi, Burhaniya, Mevlevi, Ba 'Alawiyya,Chishti, Rifa'i, Khalwati, Naqshbandi, Nimatullahi,Oveyssi, Qadiria Boutshishia, Qadiriyyah, Qalandariyya,Sarwari Qadiri, Shadhiliyya and Suhrawardiyya.[25]

Classical Sufi scholars have defined Sufism as “a sciencewhose objective is the reparation of the heart and turningit away from all else but God”.[26] Alternatively, in thewords of the Darqawi Sufi teacher Ahmad ibn Ajiba, “ascience through which one can know how to travel into thepresence of the Divine, purify one’s inner self from filth,and beautify it with a variety of praiseworthy traits”.[27]

Muslims and mainstream scholars of Islam define Su-fism as simply the name for the inner or esoteric dimen-sion of Islam[6] which is supported and complemented byoutward or exoteric practices of Islam, such as Islamiclaw.[28] In this view, “it is absolutely necessary to be aMuslim” to be a true Sufi, because Sufism’s “methodsare inoperative without” Muslim “affiliation”.[29] In con-trast, author Idries Shah states Sufi philosophy is univer-sal in nature, its roots predating the rise of Islam andChristianity.[30] Some schools of Sufism in Western coun-tries allow non-Muslims to receive “instructions on fol-lowing the Sufi path”.[31] Some Muslim opponents of Su-fism also consider it outside the sphere of Islam.[6][32]

Classical Sufis were characterised by their attachmentto dhikr, (a practice of repeating the names of God,often performed after prayers)[33] and asceticism. Su-fism gained adherents among a number of Muslims asa reaction against the worldliness of the early UmayyadCaliphate (661–750 CE).[34] Sufis have spanned sev-eral continents and cultures over a millennium, origi-nally expressing their beliefs in Arabic, before spreadinginto Persian, Turkish, and Urdu among dozens of otherlanguages.[35]

1 Etymology

Two origins of the word sufi have been suggested. Com-monly, the lexical root of the word is traced to ṣafā ,(صفاء)which in Arabic means “purity”. Another origin is ṣūf,(ُصوف) “wool” in Arabic, referring to the simple cloaksthe early Muslim ascetics wore. The two were combinedby the Sufi al-Rudhabari who said, “The Sufi is the one

1

2 2 BELIEFS

who wears wool on top of purity”.[36][37]

Others have suggested that the word comes from the termahl aṣ-ṣuffah (“the people of the bench”), who were agroup of impoverished companions of Muhammad whoheld regular gatherings of dhikr. These men and womenwho sat at Al-Masjid al-Nabawi are considered by someto be the first Sufites in existence.[38][39] Abd al-Karīmibn Hawāzin Qushayri and Ibn Khaldun both rejected allpossibilities other than ṣūf on linguistic grounds.[40]

According to the medieval scholar Abū Rayḥān al-Bīrūnī,the word sufi is derived from the Greek word sofia(σοφία), meaning wisdom.[41][42][43]

According to Qur'anist, the word Sufi derived from theword suhufi(ie.Suhufi-papers, pages, records, scripturesfrom a Qur'anic/Islamic stand point). Which further ex-plains their persistence in music and dancing (king David)or their visiting of tombs (Jesus by Mary) which they arebest known for practicing.

2 Beliefs

The tomb of Sheikh Rukn-ud-Din Abul Fath located in Multan,Pakistan. The city of Multan is known for various Sufi Sainttombs, as they call it the City of Saints

While all Muslims believe that they are on the pathway toAllah and hope to become close to Allah in Paradise—after death and after the “Final Judgment”—Sufis alsobelieve that it is possible to draw closer to Allah and tomore fully embrace the Divine Presence in this life.[44]

The chief aim of all Sufis is to seek the pleasing of Allah

by working to restore within themselves the primordialstate of fitra,[45] described in the Qur'an. In this statenothing one does defies Allah, and all is undertaken withthe single motivation of love of Allah.To Sufis, Sufism involves the study and ritual purifica-tion of traits deemed reprehensible while adding praise-worthy traits. This is independent of whether or not thisprocess of religious cleansing and purifying leads to es-oteric knowledge of Allah. This can be conceived interms of two basic types of law (fiqh), an outer law con-cerned with actions, and an inner law concerned withone’s own actions and qualities. The outer law consistsof rules pertaining to worship, transactions, marriage, ju-dicial rulings, and criminal law—what is often referredto, broadly, as qanun. The inner law of Sufism consistsof rules about repentance from sin, the purging of con-temptible qualities and evil traits of character, and adorn-ment with virtues and good character.[46]

The typical early Sufi lived in a cell of a mosque andtaught a small band of disciples. The extent to which Su-fism was influenced by Buddhist and Hindu mysticism,and by the example of Christian hermits and monks, isdisputed, but self-discipline and concentration on Allahquickly led to the belief that by quelling the self andthrough loving ardor for Allah it is possible to maintaina union with the divine in which the human self meltsaway.[47]

2.1 Teaching

A Sufi student enters the faith by seeking a teacher. Su-fism emphasises a strong relationship between the seekerand the teacher. To be considered legitimate by the Suficommunity, the teacher must have received the authoriza-tion to teach (ijazah) from another Master of the Way, inan unbroken succession (silsilah) leading back to Muham-mad. To the Sufi, it is the transmission of divine lightfrom the teacher’s heart to the heart of the student, ratherthan worldly knowledge, that allows the adept to progress.They further believe that the teacher should attempt to in-errantly follow the Divine Law.[48]

According to Moojan Momen “one of the most importantdoctrines of Sufism is the concept of the “Perfect Man”(al-Insan al-Kamil). This doctrine states that there willalways exist upon the earth a "Qutb" (Pole or Axis, ofthe Universe)—a man who is the perfect channel of gracefrom Allah to man and in a state of wilaya (sanctity, beingunder the protection of Allah). The concept of the SufiQutb is similar to that of the Shi'i Imam.[49] However, thisbelief puts Sufism in “direct conflict” with Shi'ism, sinceboth the Qutb (who for most Sufi orders is the head ofthe order) and the Imam fulfill the role of “the purveyorof spiritual guidance and of Allah’s grace to mankind”.The vow of obedience to the Shaykh or Qutb which istaken by Sufis is considered incompatible with devotionto the Imam”.[49]

3

Entrance of Sidi Boumediene mosque in Tlemcen, Algeria, builtto honor 12th century Sufi master Abu Madyan

As a further example, the prospective adherent of theMevlevi Order would have been ordered to serve in thekitchens of a hospice for the poor for 1,001 days priorto being accepted for spiritual instruction, and a further1,001 days in solitary retreat as a precondition of com-pleting that instruction.[50]

Some teachers, especially when addressing more gen-eral audiences, or mixed groups of Muslims and non-Muslims, make extensive use of parable, allegory, andmetaphor.[51] Although approaches to teaching varyamong different Sufi orders, Sufism as a whole is pri-marily concerned with direct personal experience, and assuch has sometimes been compared to other, non-Islamicforms of mysticism (e.g., as in the books of HosseinNasr).Many Sufi believe that to reach the highest levels of suc-cess in Sufism typically requires that the disciple livewith and serve the teacher for a large period of time.An example is the folk story about Baha-ud-Din Naqsh-band Bukhari, who gave his name to the NaqshbandiOrder. He is believed to have served his first teacher,Sayyid Muhammad Baba As-Samasi, for 20 years, untilas-Samasi died. He is said to then have served severalother teachers for lengthy periods of time. He is said tohave helped the poorer members of the community formany years and after this concluded his teacher directedhim to care for animals cleaning their wounds, and assist-ing them.[52]

3 History

Main article: History of Sufism

3.1 Origins

Ali is considered to be the “Father of Sufism” in Islamictradition.[53]

Eminent Sufis such as Ali Hujwiri claim that the traditionfirst began with Ali ibn Abi Talib. Furthermore, Junaydof Baghdad regarded Ali as the Sheikh of the principalsand practices of Sufism.[53]

Practitioners of Sufism hold that in its early stages of de-velopment Sufism effectively referred to nothing morethan the internalization of Islam.[54] According to oneperspective, it is directly from the Qur'an, constantlyrecited, meditated, and experienced, that Sufism pro-ceeded, in its origin and its development.[55] Others haveheld that Sufism is the strict emulation of the way ofMuhammad, through which the heart’s connection to theDivine is strengthened.[56]

According to Marshall Hodgson, the Muslim conquestshad brought large numbers of Christian monks and her-mits, especially in Syria and Egypt, under the rule ofMuslims. They retained a vigorous spiritual life for cen-turies after the conquests, and many of the especiallypious Muslims who founded Sufism were influenced bytheir techniques and methods.[57] However, others dis-agree with this view by asserting Sufism to be uniquewithin the confines of the Islamic religion and contendthat Sufism developed from devout followers of Islam,like Bayazid Bastami who in his utmost reverence to theSunnah refused to eat a watermelon as he did not findany proof that the prophet Muhammad ever ate it.[10][58]

According to late Medieval mystic Jami, Abd-Allah ibn

4 3 HISTORY

Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah was the first person to becalled a “Sufi”.[40]

Important contributions in writing are attributed to Uwaisal-Qarni, Harrm bin Hian, Hasan Basri and Sayid ibn al-Mussib. Ruwaym, from the second generation of Sufisin Baghdad, was also an influential early figure,[59][60] aswas Junayd of Baghdad; a number of early practitionersof Sufism were disciples of one of the two.[61]

Sufism had a long history already before the subse-quent institutionalization of Sufi teachings into devo-tional orders (tarîqât) in the early Middle Ages.[62] TheNaqshbandi order is a notable exception to general ruleof orders tracing their spiritual lineage through Muham-mad’s grandsons, as it traces the origin of its teach-ings from Muhammad to the first Islamic Caliph, AbuBakr.[21]

3.2 Formalization of doctrine

Towards the end of the first millennium CE, a numberof manuals began to be written summarizing the doc-trines of Sufism and describing some typical Sufi prac-tices. Two of the most famous of these are now availablein English translation: the Kashf al-Mahjûb of Hujwiri,and the Risâla of Qushayri.[63] Two of Imam Al Ghazali'sgreatest treatises, the “Revival of Religious Sciences” andthe “Alchemy of Happiness”, argued that Sufism orig-inated from the Qur'an and thus was compatible withmainstream Islamic thought, and did not in any way con-tradict Islamic Law—being instead necessary to its com-plete fulfillment. This became the mainstream positionamong Islamic scholars for centuries, challenged only re-cently on the basis of selective use of a limited body oftexts. Ongoing efforts by both traditionally trained Mus-lim scholars and Western academics are making ImamAl-Ghazali’s works available in English translation forthe first time, allowing English-speaking readers to judgefor themselves the compatibility of Islamic Law and Sufidoctrine. Several sections of the Revival of ReligiousSciences have been published in translation by the Is-lamic Texts Society.[64] The Alchemy of Happiness hasbeen published in a complete translation by Claud Field(ISBN 978-0935782288), and presents the argument ofthe much larger Revival of Religious Sciences in summaryform.

3.3 Growth of influence

The rise of Islamic civilization coincides strongly with thespread of Sufi philosophy in Islam. The spread of Sufismhas been considered a definitive factor in the spread ofIslam, and in the creation of integrally Islamic cultures,especially in Africa[65] and Asia. The Senussi tribes ofLibya and Sudan are one of the strongest adherents of Su-fism. Sufi poets and philosophers such as Khoja AkhmetYassawi, Rumi and Attar of Nishapur (c. 1145 – c. 1221)

The tomb of Khoja Afāq, near Kashgar, China.

greatly enhanced the spread of Islamic culture in Ana-tolia, Central Asia, and South Asia.[66][67] Sufism alsoplayed a role in creating and propagating the culture ofthe Ottoman world,[68] and in resisting European imperi-alism in North Africa and South Asia.[69]

Between the 13th and 16th centuries CE, Sufism pro-duced a flourishing intellectual culture throughout the Is-lamic world, a “Golden Age” whose physical artifacts sur-vive. In many places a pious foundation would endow alodge (known variously as a zaouia, khanqah, or tekke)in perpetuity (waqf) to provide a gathering place for Sufiadepts, as well as lodging for itinerant seekers of knowl-edge. The same system of endowments could also payfor a complex of buildings, such as that surrounding theSüleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul, including a lodge forSufi seekers, a hospice with kitchens where these seekerscould serve the poor and/or complete a period of initi-ation, a library, and other structures. No important do-main in the civilization of Islam remained unaffected bySufism in this period.[70]

3.4 Present

Mawlānā Rumi's tomb, Konya, Turkey

Current Sufi orders include Azeemia, Alians, Bektashi

5

Order, Mevlevi Order, Ba 'Alawiyya, Chishti, Jerrahi,Naqshbandi, Nimatullahi, Qadiriyyah, Qalandariyya,Sarwari Qadiri, Shadhiliyya, Suhrawardiyya, Ashrafia,Saifiah (Naqshbandiah) and Uwaisi (Oveyssi).[25] The re-lationship of Sufi orders to modern societies is usuallydefined by their relationship to governments.[71]

Turkey and Persia together have been a center for manySufi lineages and orders. The Bektashi was closely af-filiated with the Ottoman Janissary and is the heart ofTurkey’s large and mostly liberal Alevi population. It hasbeen spread westwards to Cyprus, Greece, Albania, Bul-garia, Macedonia, Bosnia, Kosovo and more recently tothe USA (via Albania). Most Sufi Orders have influencesfrom pre-Islamic traditions such as Pythagoreanism, butthe Turkic Sufi traditions (including Alians, Bektashiand Mevlevi) also have traces of the ancient Tengrismshamanism.Sufism is popular in such African countries as Tunisia,Algeria, Morocco and Senegal, where it is seen as a mys-tical expression of Islam.[72] Sufism is traditional in Mo-rocco but has seen a growing revival with the renewal ofSufism around contemporary spiritual teachers such asSidi Hamza al Qadiri al Boutshishi. Mbacke suggests thatone reason Sufism has taken hold in Senegal is because itcan accommodate local beliefs and customs, which tendtoward the mystical.[73]

The life of the Algerian Sufi master Emir Abd al-Qadir isinstructive in this regard.[74] Notable as well are the livesof Amadou Bamba and Hajj Umar Tall in sub-SaharanAfrica, and Sheikh Mansur Ushurma and Imam Shamilin the Caucasus region. In the twentieth century somemore modernist Muslims have called Sufism a supersti-tious religion that holds back Islamic achievement in thefields of science and technology.[75]

A number of Westerners have embarked with varying de-grees of success on the path of Sufism. One of the firstto return to Europe as an official representative of a Sufiorder, and with the specific purpose to spread Sufism inWestern Europe, was the Swedish-born wandering SufiAbd al-Hadi Aqhili (also known as Ivan Aguéli). RenéGuénon, the French scholar, became a Sufi in the earlytwentieth century and was known as Sheikh Abdul WahidYahya. His manifold writings defined the practice of Su-fism as the essence of Islam but also pointed to the uni-versality of its message. Other spiritualists, such as G. I.Gurdjieff, may or may not conform to the tenets of Su-fism as understood by orthodox Muslims.Other noteworthy Sufi teachers who have been active inthe West in recent years include Bawa Muhaiyaddeen,Inayat Khan, Nazim Al-Haqqani, Javad Nurbakhsh,Bulent Rauf, Irina Tweedie, Idries Shah, Muzaffer Ozak,Nahid Angha and Ali Kianfar.Currently active Sufi academics and publishers includeLlewellyn Vaughan-Lee, Nuh Ha Mim Keller, AbdullahNooruddeen Durkee, Waheed Ashraf, Omer Tarin andAbdal Hakim Murad.

4 Theoretical perspectives

The works of Al-Ghazali firmly defended the concepts of Sufismwithin the Islamic faith.

Traditional Islamic scholars have recognized two majorbranches within the practice of Sufism, and use this as onekey to differentiating among the approaches of differentmasters and devotional lineages.[76]

On the one hand there is the order from the signs to theSignifier (or from the arts to the Artisan). In this branch,the seeker begins by purifying the lower self of every cor-rupting influence that stands in the way of recognizingall of creation as the work of God, as God’s active Self-disclosure or theophany.[77] This is the way of Imam Al-Ghazali and of the majority of the Sufi orders.On the other hand there is the order from the Signifier toHis signs, from the Artisan to His works. In this branchthe seeker experiences divine attraction (jadhba), and isable to enter the order with a glimpse of its endpoint,of direct apprehension of the Divine Presence towardswhich all spiritual striving is directed. This does notreplace the striving to purify the heart, as in the otherbranch; it simply stems from a different point of entryinto the path. This is the way primarily of the masters ofthe Naqshbandi and Shadhili orders.[78]

Contemporary scholars may also recognize a thirdbranch, attributed to the late Ottoman scholar Said Nursi

6 5 DEVOTIONAL PRACTICES

and explicated in his vast Qur'an commentary called theRisale-i Nur. This approach entails strict adherence tothe way of Muhammad, in the understanding that thiswont, or sunnah, proposes a complete devotional spiri-tuality adequate to those without access to a master ofthe Sufi way.[79]

4.1 Contributions to other domains ofscholarship

Sufism has contributed significantly to the elaborationof theoretical perspectives in many domains of intellec-tual endeavor. For instance, the doctrine of “subtle cen-ters” or centers of subtle cognition (known as Lataif-e-sitta) addresses the matter of the awakening of spiritualintuition[80] in ways that some consider similar to certainmodels of chakra in Hinduism. In general, these subtlecenters or latâ'if are thought of as faculties that are to bepurified sequentially in order to bring the seeker’s wayfar-ing to completion. A concise and useful summary of thissystem from a living exponent of this tradition has beenpublished by Muhammad Emin Er.[76]

Sufi psychology has influenced many areas of thinkingboth within and outside of Islam, drawing primarily uponthree concepts. Ja'far al-Sadiq (both an imam in the Shiatradition and a respected scholar and link in chains of Sufitransmission in all Islamic sects) held that human beingsare dominated by a lower self called the nafs, a faculty ofspiritual intuition called the qalb or spiritual heart, and aspirit or soul called ruh. These interact in various ways,producing the spiritual types of the tyrant (dominated bynafs), the person of faith and moderation (dominated bythe spiritual heart), and the person lost in love for God(dominated by the ruh).[81]

Of note with regard to the spread of Sufi psychology inthe West is Robert Frager, a Sufi teacher authorized in theKhalwati Jerrahi order. Frager was a trained psychologist,born in the United States, who converted to Islam in thecourse of his practice of Sufism and wrote extensively onSufism and psychology.[82]

Sufi cosmology and Sufi metaphysics are also noteworthyareas of intellectual accomplishment.

5 Devotional practices

The devotional practices of Sufis vary widely. This isbecause an acknowledged and authorized master of theSufi path is in effect a physician of the heart, able to di-agnose the seeker’s impediments to knowledge and pureintention in serving God, and to prescribe to the seekera course of treatment appropriate to his or her maladies.The consensus among Sufi scholars is that the seeker can-not self-diagnose, and that it can be extremely harmful toundertake any of these practices alone and without formal

Sufi gathering engaged in Dhikr

authorization.[83]

Prerequisites to practice include rigorous adherence toIslamic norms (ritual prayer in its five prescribed timeseach day, the fast of Ramadan, and so forth). Addi-tionally, the seeker ought to be firmly grounded in su-pererogatory practices known from the life of Muham-mad (such as the “sunna prayers”). This is in accordancewith the words, attributed to God, of the following, a fa-mous Hadith Qudsi:

My servant draws near to Me through noth-ing I love more than that which I have madeobligatory for him. My servant never ceasesdrawing near to Me through supererogatoryworks until I love him. Then, when I love him,I am his hearing through which he hears, hissight through which he sees, his hand throughwhich he grasps, and his foot through which hewalks.

It is also necessary for the seeker to have a correct creed(Aqidah),[84] and to embrace with certainty its tenets.[85]

The seeker must also, of necessity, turn away from sins,love of this world, the love of company and renown,obedience to satanic impulse, and the promptings of thelower self. (The way in which this purification of the heartis achieved is outlined in certain books, but must be pre-scribed in detail by a Sufi master.) The seeker must alsobe trained to prevent the corruption of those good deedswhich have accrued to his or her credit by overcomingthe traps of ostentation, pride, arrogance, envy, and longhopes (meaning the hope for a long life allowing us tomend our ways later, rather than immediately, here andnow).Sufi practices, while attractive to some, are not a meansfor gaining knowledge. The traditional scholars of Sufismhold it as absolutely axiomatic that knowledge of God isnot a psychological state generated through breath con-trol. Thus, practice of “techniques” is not the cause, butinstead the occasion for such knowledge to be obtained (ifat all), given proper prerequisites and proper guidance by

5.2 Muraqaba 7

a master of the way. Furthermore, the emphasis on prac-tices may obscure a far more important fact: The seekeris, in a sense, to become a broken person, stripped of allhabits through the practice of (in the words of Imam Al-Ghazali) solitude, silence, sleeplessness, and hunger.[86]

Magic has also been a part of Sufi practice, notably inIndia.[87] Mansur Al-Hallaj (d. 922), visited Sindh in or-der to study “Indian Magic”, where he accepted Hinduideas of cosmogony and divine descent and also seems tohave believed in the Transmigration of the soul.[88] Thepractice of magic intensified during the declining yearsof Sufism in India when the Sufi orders grew steadily inwealth and in political influence while their spiritualitygradually declined and they concentrated on saint vener-ation, miracle working, magic and superstition.

5.1 Dhikr

Main article: DhikrDhikr is the remembrance of Allah commanded in the

Allah as having been written on the disciple’s heart according toQadiri Al-Muntahi order

Qur'an for all Muslims through a specific devotional act,such as the repetition of divine names, supplications andaphorisms from hadith literature and the Qur'an. Moregenerally, dhikr takes a wide range and various layers ofmeaning.[89] This includes dhikr as any activity in whichthe Muslim maintains awareness of Allah. To engage indhikr is to practice consciousness of the Divine Presenceand love, or “to seek a state of godwariness”. The Qur'anrefers to Muhammad as the very embodiment of dhikrof Allah (65:10–11). Some types of dhikr are prescribedfor all Muslims and do not require Sufi initiation or the

prescription of a Sufi master because they are deemed tobe good for every seeker under every circumstance.[90]

Some Sufi orders[91] engage in ritualized dhikr cere-monies, or sema. Sema includes various forms ofworship such as: recitation, singing (the most wellknown being the Qawwali music of the Indian subcon-tinent), instrumental music, dance (most famously theSufi whirling of the Mevlevi order), incense, meditation,ecstasy, and trance.[92]

Some Sufi orders stress and place extensive reliance uponDhikr. This practice of Dhikr is called Dhikr-e-Qulb (in-vocation of Allah within the heartbeats). The basic ideain this practice is to visualize the Allah as having beenwritten on the disciple’s heart.[93]

5.2 Muraqaba

Main article: Muraqaba

The practice of muraqaba can be likened to the practicesof meditation attested in many faith communities. Theword muraqaba is derived from the same root (r-q-b) oc-curring as one of the 99 Names of God in the Qur'an, al-Raqîb, meaning “the Vigilant” and attested in verse 4:1 ofthe Qur'an. Through muraqaba, a person watches over ortakes care of the spiritual heart, acquires knowledge aboutit, and becomes attuned to the Divine Presence, which isever vigilant.While variation exists, one description of the practicewithin a Naqshbandi lineage reads as follows:

He is to collect all of his bodily senses inconcentration, and to cut himself off from allpreoccupation and notions that inflict them-selves upon the heart. And thus he is toturn his full consciousness towards God MostHigh while saying three times: "Ilahî antamaqsûdî wa-ridâka matlûbî—my God, you aremy Goal and Your good pleasure is what Iseek”. Then he brings to his heart the Nameof the Essence—Allâh—and as it coursesthrough his heart he remains attentive to itsmeaning, which is “Essence without likeness”.The seeker remains aware that He is Present,Watchful, Encompassing of all, thereby exem-plifying the meaning of his saying (may Godbless him and grant him peace): “Worship Godas though you see Him, for if you do not seeHim, He sees you”. And likewise the prophetictradition: “The most favored level of faith is toknow that God is witness over you, whereveryou may be”.[94]

8 6 PERSECUTION

5.3 Visitation

In popular Sufism (i.e., devotional practices that haveachieved currency in world cultures through Sufi influ-ence), one common practice is to visit or make pilgrim-ages to the tombs of saints, great scholars, and righ-teous people. This is a particularly common practicein South Asia, where famous tombs include those ofKhoja Afāq, near Kashgar, in China; Lal Shahbaz Qa-lander, in Sindh,Ali Hajwari in Lahore Bawaldin Zikryain Multan Pakistan; Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer, India;Nizamuddin Auliya in Delhi, India, and Shah Jalal inSylhet, Bangladesh. Likewise, in Fez, Morocco, a pop-ular destination for such pious visitation is the ZaouiaMoulay Idriss II and the yearly visitation to see the cur-rent Sheikh of the Qadiri Boutchichi Tariqah, Sheikh SidiHamza al Qadiri al Boutchichi to celebrate the Mawlid(which is usually televised on Moroccan National televi-sion). The purpose of such visitations is usually two-fold,first and foremost the aim is to receive spiritual guidanceand blessings from the Saint who rests in the shrine, whichhelps the Seeker in his or her own path towards enlight-enment. Secondly, the Saint is also approached for inter-cession in prayers, be it in worldly matters or religious.

6 Persecution

See also: Sufi-Salafi relations

Sufis and Sufism has been subject to destruction of Sufishrines and mosques, suppression of orders, and discrim-ination against adherents in a number of Muslim coun-tries where most Sufis live. The Turkish Republican statebanned all the different Sufi orders and closed their insti-tutions in 1925 after Sufis opposed the new secular order.The Iranian Islamic Republic has harassed Shia Sufi, re-portedly for their lack of support for the government doc-trine of "velayat-e faqih" (i.e., that the supreme Shiitejurist should be the nation’s political leader). In mostother Muslim countries, attacks on Sufis and especiallytheir shrines has come from some Muslims from the morepuritanical schools of thought who believe Sufi practicessuch as celebration of the birthdays of Sufi saints, andDhikr (“remembrance” of God) ceremonies[95] are Bid‘ahor impure innovation, and polytheistic (Shirk).[96][97]

6.1 History

During the Safavid era of Iran, “both the wanderingdervishes of 'low' Sufism” and “the philosopher-ulamaof 'high' Sufism came under relentless pressure” frompower cleric Muhammad Baqir Majlisi (d1110/1699).Majlisi—"one of the most powerful and influential”Twelver Shi'a ulama “of all time”—was famous for(among other things), suppression of Sufism, which he

Ali Dede the Bosnian’s book Three Hundred Sixty Sufi Ques-tions.

and his followers believed paid insufficient attention toShariah law. Prior to Majlisi’s rise, Shiism and Sufismhad been “closely linked”.[98]

In 1843, the Senussi Sufi were forced to flee Mecca andMedina and head to Sudan and Libya.[34][99]

According to a 2005 article in The Guardian:

Before the first world war there were al-most 100,000 disciples of the Mevlevi or-der throughout the Ottoman empire. But in1925, as part of his desire to create a mod-ern, western-orientated, secular state, Atatürkbanned all the different Sufi orders and closedtheir tekkes. Pious foundations were sus-pended and their endowments expropriated;Sufi hospices were closed and their contentsseized; all religious titles were abolished anddervish clothes outlawed. [...] In 1937,Atatürk went even further, prohibiting by lawany form of traditional music, especially theplaying of the ney, the Sufis’ reed flute.[100][101]

6.2 Current attacks 9

6.2 Current attacks

In recent years, Sufi shrines, and sometimes Sufimosques, have been damaged or destroyed in many partsof the Muslim world. Some Sufi adherents have beenkilled as well. Ali Gomaa, a Sufi scholar and Grand Muftiof Al Azhar, has criticized the destruction of shrines andpublic property as unacceptable.[102]

6.2.1 Pakistan

Tomb of Syed Abdul Rahim Shah Bukhari constructed by theMughal Emperor Aurangzeb.

Since March 2005, 209 people have been killed and560 injured in 29 different terrorist attacks targetingshrines devoted to Sufi saints in Pakistan, according todata compiled by the Center for Islamic Research Col-laboration and Learning (CIRCLe).[103] At least as of2010, the attacks have increased each year. The attacksare generally attributed to banned militant organizationsof Deobandi or Ahl-e-Hadith (Salafi) backgrounds.[104]

(Primarily Deobandi background according to anothersource—author John R. Schmidt).[105] Deobandi andBarelvi being the “two major sub-sects” of Sunni Mus-lims in South Asia[106] that have clashed—sometimesviolently—since the late 1970s in Pakistan.[106] AlthoughBarelvi are fully described as Sunni Sufis,[107] whether thedestruction and death is a result of Deobandi’s bannedmilitant organizations persecution of Sufis(Barelvus).[108]

In 2005, the militant organizations began attacking “sym-bols” of the Barelvi community such as mosques, promi-nent religious leaders, and shrines.[104]

Timeline

2005

• 19 March: a suicide bomber kills at least 35 peopleand injured many more at the shrine of Pir RakhelShah in remote village of Fatehpur located in JhalMagsi District of Balochistan. The dead includedShia and sunni devotees.[109]

• 27 May: As many as 20 people are killed and 100injured when a suicide-bomber attacks a gatheringat Bari Imam Shrine during the annual festival. Thedead were mainly Shia.[110] According to the po-lice members of Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) andLashkar-i-Jhangvi (LJ) were involved.[111] Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), were arrested from ThandaPani and police seized two hand grenades from theircustody.[112][113]

2006

• 11 April: A suicide-bomber attacked a celebrationof the birthday of Prophet Muhammad (Eid Mawlidun Nabi) in Karachi’s Nishtar Park organised bythe Barelvi Jamaat Ahle Sunnat. 57 died includ-ing almost the entire leadership of the Sunni Tehrik;over 100 were injured.[114] Three people associatedwith Lashkar-i-Jhangvi were put on trial for thebombing.[115] (see: Nishtar Park bombing)

2007

• 18 December: The shrine of Abdul Shakoor MalangBaba is demolished by explosives.[116]

2008

• March 3: ten villagers killed in a rocket attack on the400-year-old shrine of Abu Saeed Baba. Lashkar-e-Islam takes credit.[116]

2009

• 17 February: Agha Jee shot and killed in Peshwar,the fourth faith healer killed over several months inPakistan. Earlier Pir Samiullah was killed in Swatby the Taliban 16 December 2008. His dead bodywas later exhumed and desecrated. Pir Rafiullah waskidnapped from Nowshera and his beheaded bodywas found in Matani area of Peshawar. Pir JumaKhan was kidnapped from Dir Lower and his be-headed body was found near Swat.[117] Faith healingis associated with Sufi Islam in Pakistan

Pakistani faith healers are known as pirs,a term that applies to the descendants of Sufi

10 6 PERSECUTION

Muslim saints. Under Sufism, those descen-dants are thought to serve as conduits to God.The popularity of pirs as a viable healthcarealternative stems from the fact that, in muchof rural Pakistan, clinics don't exist or are dis-missed as unreliable.[118]

and suppressing it has been a cause of “extrem-ist” Muslims there.[119]

• March 5: The shrine of Rahman Baba, “the mostfamous Sufi Pashto language poet”, razed to theground by Taliban militants “partly because localwomen had been visiting the shrine”.[116][120]

• 8 March: Attack on shrine of “famous Sufi poet”Rahman Baba in Peshawar. “The high intensity de-vice almost destroyed the grave of the Rehman Babaand the gates of a mosque, canteen and conferencehall situated in the spacious Rehman Baba Com-plex. Police said the bombers had tied explosivesaround the pillars of the tombs, to pull down themausoleum”.[121]

• May 8: shrine of Shaykh Omar Babadestroyed.[116][122]

• 12 June: Mufti Sarfraz Ahmed Naeemi killed bysuicide bomber in Lahore. A leading Sunni Is-lamic cleric in Pakistan he was well known for hismoderate views and for publicly denouncing theTaliban’s beheadings and suicide bombings as “un-Islamic”.[123]

2010

• 22 June: Taliban militants blow up the MianUmar Baba shrine in Peshawar. No fatalitiesreported.[116][124]

• 1 July: Multiple bombings of Data Durbar Com-plex Sufi shrine, in Lahore, Punjab. Two suicidebombers blew themselves up killing at least 50 peo-ple and injuring 200 others.[116]

• 7 October: 10 people killed, 50 injured in a dou-ble suicide bombing attack on Abdullah Shah Ghazishrine in Karachi[125]

• 7 October: The tomb of Baba Fariddudin GanjShakkar in Pakpattan is attacked. Six people werekilled and 15 others injured.[116]

• 25 October: 6 killed, and at least 12 wounded inan attack on the shrine of 12th-century saint, BabaFarid Ganj Shakar in Pakpattan.[126]

• 14 December: Attack on Ghazi Baba shrine in Pe-shawar, 3 killed.[127]

2011

• 3 February: Remote-controlled device is triggeredas food is being distributed among the devotees out-side the Baba Haider Saieen shrine in Lahore, Pun-jab. At least three people were killed and 27 othersinjured.[116]

• 3 April: Twin suicide attack leaves 42 dead and al-most a hundred injured during the annual Urs festi-val at shrine of 13th century Sufi saint Sakhi Sarwar(a.k.a. Ahmed Sultan) in the Dera Ghazi Khan dis-trict of Punjab province. Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan(TTP) claims responsibility for the attack.[116][128]

2012

• 21 June: Bomb kills three people and injures 31others at the Pinza Piran shrine in Hazarkhwani in(Peshwar). “A police official said the bomb wasplanted in a donkey-cart that went off in the after-noon when a large number of people were visitingthe popular shrine”.[129]

6.2.2 Kashmir, India

In this predominately Muslim, traditionally Sufiregion,[130] some six places of worship have been eithercompletely or partially burnt in “mysterious fires” inseveral months leading up to November 2012.[131] Themost prominent victim of damage was the DastageerSahib Sufi shrine in Srinagar which burned in June 2012,injuring 20.[132] While investigators have so far foundno sign of arson, according to journalist Amir Rana thefires have occurred within the context of a surging Salafimovement which preaches that “Kashmiri tradition ofvenerating the tombs and relics of saints is outside thepale of Islam”.[131]

mourners outside the burning shrine cursedthe Salafis for creating an atmosphere of hate,[while] some Salafis began posting incendiarymessages on Facebook, terming the destructionof the shrine a “divine act of God”.[131]

6.2.3 Somalia

Under the Al-Shabab rule in Somali, Sufi ceremonieswere banned[133] and shrines destroyed.[134] As the powerof Al-Shabab has waned, however, Sufi ceremonies aresaid to have “re-emerged”.[130]

6.2.4 Mali

In the ancient city of Timbuktu, sometimes called “thecity of 333 saints”, UNESCO reports that as many ashalf of the city’s shrines “have been destroyed in a dis-play of fanaticism”, as of July 2012. A spokesman for

6.2 Current attacks 11

Ansar Dine has stated that “the destruction is a divine or-der”, and that the group had plans to destroy every singleSufi shrine in the city, “without exception”.[135] In Gaoand Kidal, as well as Timbuktu, Salafi Islamists have de-stroyed musical instruments and driven musicians (musicis not Haraam under Sufi Islam) into “economic exile”away from Mali.[136]

International Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor FatouBensouda described the Islamists’ actions as a “warcrime”.[137][138]

• A manuscript from Timbuktu belonging to Al-Mukhtar ibn Aḥmad ibn Abi Bakr al-Kunti al-Kabir.

• A manuscript from Timbuktu belonging to Baba ibnAhmad al-Alawi al-Maliki al-Maghribi al-Shingiti.

6.2.5 Egypt

A May 2010 ban by the ministry of awqaf (religious en-dowments) of centuries old Sufi dhikr gatherings (de-voted to the remembrance of God, and including danc-ing and religious songs) has been described as a “an-other victory for extreme Salafi thinking at the expenseof Egypt’s moderate Sufism”. Clashes followed at Cairo'sAl-Hussein Mosque and al-Sayyida Zeinab mosques be-tween members of Sufi orders and security forces whoforced them to evacuate the two shrines.[95] In 2009, themoulid of al-Sayyida Zeinab, Muhammad’s granddaugh-ter, was banned ostensibly over concern over the spreadof swine flu[139] but also at the urging of Salafis.[95]

According to Gaber Qassem, deputy of the Sufi Orders,approximately 14 shrines have been violated in Egyptsince the January 2011 revolution. According to SheikhTarek El-Rifai, head of the Rifai Sufi Order, a number ofSalafis have prevented Sufi prayers in Al-Haram. SheikhRifai said that the order’s lawyer has filed a report at theAl-Haram police station to that effect. In early April2011, a Sufi march from Al-Azhar Mosque to Al-HusseinMosque was followed by a massive protest before Al-Hussein Mosque, “expressing outrage at the destruction”of Sufi shrines. The Islamic Research Centre of Egypt,led by Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmed El-Tayeb, hasalso renounced the attacks on the shrines.[97] Accord-ing to the Muslim Brotherhood website ikhwanweb.com,in 2011 “a memorandum was submitted to the ArmedForces” citing 20 “encroachments” on Sufi shrines.[102]

6.2.6 Libya

Following the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi, severalSufi religious sites in Libya were deliberately destroyedor damaged.[140] In the weeks leading up to September2012, “armed groups motivated by their religious views”attacked Sufi religious sites across the country, “destroy-ing several mosques and tombs of Sufi religious leaders

and scholars”.[141] Perpetrators were described as “groupsthat have a strict Islamic ideology where they believe thatgraves and shrines must be desecrated.” Libyan InteriorMinister Fawzi Abdel A'al, was quoted as saying, “If allshrines in Libya are destroyed so we can avoid the deathof one person [in clashes with security forces], then thatis a price we are ready to pay.”[141]

In September 2012, three people were killed in clashesbetween residents of Rajma (50 km south-east of Beng-hazi) and “Salafist Islamists” trying to destroy a Sufishrine in Rajma, the Sidi al-Lafi mausoleum.[142] In Au-gust 2012 the United Nations cultural agency Unescourged Libyan authorities to protect Sufi mosques andshrines from attacks by Islamic hardliners “who considerthe traditional mystical school of Islam heretical”. The at-tacked have “wrecked mosques in at least three cities anddesecrated many graves of revered Sufi scholars”.[143]

6.2.7 Tunisia

In an article on the rise of Salafism in Tunisia, the me-dia site Al-Monitor reported that 39 Sufi shrines weredestroyed or desecrated in Tunisia, from the 2011 rev-olution to January 2013.[144]

6.2.8 Russia, Dagestan

Said Atsayev—also known as Sheikh Said Afandi al-Chirkavi—a prominent 74-year-old Sufi Muslim spiritualleader in Dagestan Russia, was killed by a suicide bomb-ing August 28, 2012 along with six of his followers. Hismurder follows “similar religiously-motivated killings” inDagestan and other regions of ex-Soviet Central Asia, tar-geting religious leaders—not necessarily Sufi—who arehostile to violent jihad. Afandi had survived previousattempts on his life and was reportedly in the processof negotiating a peace agreement between the Sufis andSalafis.[145][146][147]

6.2.9 Iran

The book Mystic Regimes. Sufism and the State in Iran,from the late Qajar era to the Islamic Republic by Matthijsvan den Bos discusses the status of Sufism in Iran in the19th and 20th century.[148] According to Seyed MostafaAzmayesh, an expert on Sufism and the representative ofthe Ni'matullāhī order outside Iran, a campaign againstthe Sufis in Iran (or at least Shia Sufis) began in 2005when several books were published arguing that becauseSufis follow their own spiritual leaders do not believe inthe Islamic state’s principle of "velayat-e faqih" (i.e., thatthe supreme Shiite jurist should be the nation’s politicalleader), Sufis should be treated as second-class citizens.They should not be allowed to have government jobs,and if they already have them, should be identified andfired.[149]

12 7 ISLAM AND SUFISM

Since 2005 the Ni'matullāhī order—Iran’s largest Sufiorder—have come under increasing state pressure. Threeof their houses of worship have been demolished. Offi-cials accused the Sufis of not having building permits andof narcotics possession—charges the Sufis reject.[149]

The government of Iran is considering an outright banon Sufism, according to the 2009 Annual Report ofthe United States Commission on International ReligiousFreedom.[150] It also reports:

In February 2009, at least 40 Sufis inIsfahan were arrested after protesting the de-struction of a Sufi place of worship; all werereleased within days.

In January, Jamshid Lak, a GonabadiDervish from the Nematollahi Sufi order wasflogged 74 times after being convicted in 2006of slander following his public allegation of ill-treatment by a Ministry of Intelligence official.

In late December 2008, after the closureof a Sufi place of worship, authorities arrestedwithout charge at least six members of theGonabadi Dervishes on Kish Island and con-fiscated their books and computer equipment;their status is unknown.

In November 2008, Amir Ali MohammadLabaf was sentenced to a five-year prison term,74 lashes, and internal exile to the southeasterntown of Babak for spreading lies, based on hismembership in the Nematollahi Gonabadi Sufiorder.

In October, at least seven Sufi Muslims inIsfahan, and five others in Karaj, were arrestedbecause of their affiliation with the Nematol-lahi Gonabadi Sufi order; they remain in de-tention.

In November 2007, clashes in the west-ern city of Borujerd between security forcesand followers of a mystic Sufi order resultedin dozens of injuries and the arrests of approx-imately 180 Sufi Muslims. The clashes oc-curred after authorities began bulldozing a Sufimonastery. It is unclear how many remain indetention or if any charges have been broughtagainst those arrested. During the past year,there were numerous reports of Shi'a clericsand prayer leaders, particularly in Qom, de-nouncing Sufism and the activities of Sufi Mus-lims in the country in both sermons and publicstatements.[150]

In 2009 the mausoleum of the 19th century Sufi poetNasir Ali and an adjoining Sufi prayer house werebulldozed.[151]

Not all Sufis in Iran have been subject to governmentpressure. Sunni dervish orders—such as the Qhaderidervishes—in the Sunni-populated parts of the country

are thought by some to be seen as allies of the govern-ment against Al-Qaeda.[149]

7 Islam and Sufism

7.1 Critique of Sufism’s anti-materialisticaspects

Certain aspects of Sufi philosophy are controversial andoften debated, chief among them is the anti-materialisticstrain within its ethos. Gamal Marzouq, Professor ofIslamic Philosophy in Ain-Shams University, in his pa-per titled “The effect of Christianity on the first emer-gence of Islamic Sufism”, has highlighted the monasticand anti-materialist trends within Sufism, calling atten-tion to their “abandoning materialism and living only forpraying, something similar to monasticism”.[152]

Conversely, the Quran calls out monasticism as a hu-man invention not prescribed by God in the verse 57:27:“monasticism, which they innovated; We did not pre-scribe it for them...”. Furthermore, there is much em-phasis on physical laws of the universe within the Quran,urging believers to study and understand the “signs” ofGod in the physical world (e.g. verse 2:164), which pre-cludes the possibility of avoiding or shunning the materialworld. Ibrahim B. Syed has called attention to the factthat the only definition of the word alim in the Quran, aword commonly understood to mean “religious leader”today, is actually referring to scientists, indicating thehigh importance afforded by the Quran to the materialworld and the act of engaging with it, so as to understandGod’s universe.[153] There are also the active aspects ofthe Quran’s teachings which urge believers to seek to im-prove the human condition and work to establish the lawsof God within human society (verse 22:41), a mission thatdoes not fit well with the hermetic and monastic tenden-cies within Sufism.

7.2 Sufism and Islamic law

Scholars and adherents of Sufism sometimes describe Su-fism in terms of a threefold approach to God as explainedby a tradition (hadîth) attributed to Muhammad, “TheCanon is my word, the order is my deed, and the truth is myinterior state”. Sufis believe the sharia (exoteric “canon”),tariqa (esoteric “order”) and haqiqa (“truth”) are mutu-ally interdependent.[154]

The tariqa, the 'path' on which the mystics walk, has beendefined as 'the path which comes out of the sharia, for themain road is called branch, the path, tariq.' No mysticalexperience can be realized if the binding injunctions ofthe sharia are not followed faithfully first. The tariqa how-ever, is narrower and more difficult to walk.It leads the adept, called salik or “wayfarer”, in his sulûk

7.4 Traditional and Neo-Sufi groups 13

Tomb of Shaikh Salim Chisti, Fatehpur Sikri, Agra, UttarPradesh, India.

or “road” through different stations (maqâmât) until hereaches his goal, the perfect tawhîd, the existential con-fession that God is One.[155] Shaykh al-Akbar Muhiud-deen Ibn Arabi mentions, “When we see someone in thisCommunity who claims to be able to guide others to God,but is remiss in but one rule of the Sacred Law—even ifhe manifests miracles that stagger the mind—assertingthat his shortcoming is a special dispensation for him, wedo not even turn to look at him, for such a person is nota sheikh, nor is he speaking the truth, for no one is en-trusted with the secrets of God Most High save one inwhom the ordinances of the Sacred Law are preserved.(Jami' karamat al-awliya')".[156]

The Amman Message, a detailed statement issued by 200leading Islamic scholars in 2005 in Amman, and adoptedby the Islamic world’s political and temporal leadershipsat the Organisation of the Islamic Conference summitat Mecca in December 2005, and by six other interna-tional Islamic scholarly assemblies including the Inter-national Islamic Fiqh Academy of Jeddah, in July 2006,specifically recognized the validity of Sufism as a part ofIslam—however the definition of Sufism can vary drasti-cally between different traditions (what may be intendedis simple tazkiah as opposed to the various manifestationsof Sufism around the Islamic world).[157]

7.3 Traditional Islamic thought and Su-fism

The literature of Sufism emphasizes highly subjectivematters that resist outside observation, such as the sub-tle states of the heart. Often these resist direct refer-ence or description, with the consequence that the au-thors of various Sufi treatises took recourse to allegor-ical language. For instance, much Sufi poetry refers tointoxication, which Islam expressly forbids. This usageof indirect language and the existence of interpretationsby people who had no training in Islam or Sufism led todoubts being cast over the validity of Sufism as a part of

Islam. Also, some groups emerged that considered them-selves above the Sharia and discussed Sufism as a methodof bypassing the rules of Islam in order to attain salvationdirectly. This was disapproved of by traditional scholars.For these and other reasons, the relationship between tra-ditional Islamic scholars and Sufism is complex and arange of scholarly opinion on Sufism in Islam has beenthe norm. Some scholars, such as Al-Ghazali, helped itspropagation while other scholars opposed it. W. Chittickexplains the position of Sufism and Sufis this way:

In short, Muslim scholars who focusedtheir energies on understanding the normativeguidelines for the body came to be known asjurists, and those who held that the most im-portant task was to train the mind in achiev-ing correct understanding came to be dividedinto three main schools of thought: theology,philosophy, and Sufism. This leaves us withthe third domain of human existence, the spirit.Most Muslims who devoted their major effortsto developing the spiritual dimensions of thehuman person came to be known as Sufis.

7.4 Traditional and Neo-Sufi groups

The mausoleum (gongbei) of Ma Laichi in Linxia City, China.

The traditional Sufi orders, which are in majority, em-phasize the role of Sufism as a spiritual discipline withinIslam. Therefore, the Sharia (traditional Islamic law) andthe Sunnah are seen as crucial for any Sufi aspirant. One

14 8 PROMINENT SUFIS

proof traditional orders assert is that almost all the famousSufi masters of the past Caliphates were experts in Shariaand were renowned as people with great Iman (faith) andexcellent practice. Many were also Qadis (Sharia lawjudges) in courts. They held that Sufism was never dis-tinct from Islam and to fully comprehend and practiceSufism one must be an observant Muslim.“Neo-Sufism” and “universal Sufism” are terms usedto denote forms of Sufism that do not require adher-ence to Shariah, or a Muslim faith. The terms arenot always accepted by those it is applied to. TheUniversal Sufism movement was founded by Inayat Khan,teaches the essential unity of all faiths, and accepts mem-bers of all creeds. Sufism Reoriented is an offshootof Khan’s Western Sufism charted by the syncretisticteacher Meher Baba. The Golden Sufi Center existsin England, Switzerland and the United States. It wasfounded by Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee to continue the workof his teacher Irina Tweedie, herself a practitioner ofboth Hinduism and Sufism. The Afghan-Scottish teacherIdries Shah has been described as a neo-Sufi by theGurdjieffian James Moore.[158] Other Western Sufi organ-isations include the Sufi Foundation of America and theInternational Association of Sufism.Western Neo-Sufi practices may differ from traditionalforms, for instance having mixed-gender meetings andless emphasis on the Qur'an.

8 Prominent Sufis

8.1 Abul Hasan al-Shadhili

Geometric arabesque tiling on the underside of the dome of HafizShirazi’s tomb in Shiraz.

Abul Hasan al-Shadhili (died 1258 CE), the founder ofthe Shadhiliyya Sufi order, introduced dhikr jahri (Themethod of remembering Allah through loud means). Sufiorders generally preach to deny oneself and to destroy theego-self (nafs) and its worldly desires. This is sometimescharacterized as the “Order of Patience-Tariqus Sabr”.

A manuscript of Sufi Islamic theology, Shams al-Ma'arif (trans-lated as The Book of the Sun of Gnosis) was written by theAlgerian Sufi master Ahmad al-Buni during the 12th century

In contrast, Imam Shadhili taught that his followers neednot abstain from what Islam has not forbidden, but tobe grateful for what God has bestowed upon them.[159]

This notion, known as the “Order of Gratitude-TariqushShukr”, was espoused by Imam Shadhili. Imam Shadhiligave eighteen valuable hizbs (litanies) to his followers outof which the notable Hizbul Bahr[160] is recited worldwideeven today.

8.2 Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani

Al-Sayyid Muhiyudin Abu Muhammad Abdal Qadir Al-Jilani Al-Hasani Wal-Hussaini (born 11 Rabi al-Thani),470 Hijri, in the town of Na'if, district of Gilan, IlamProvince Or Amol of Tabarestan, Persia, died 8 Rabial-Awwal 561 AH, in Baghdad,[1] (1077–1166 CE),was a Persian Hanbali jurist and Sufi based in Baghdad.Qadiriyya was his patronym. Al Gilani spent his earlylife in Na'if, the town of his birth. There, he pursued thestudy of Hanbali law. Abu Ali al-Mukharrimi gave Al Gi-lani lessons in Fiqh. He was given lessons about Hadithby Abu Bakr ibn Muzaffar. He was given lessons aboutTafsir by Abu Muhammad Ja'far, a commentator. In Ta-sawwuf, his spiritual instructor was Abu'l-Khair Ham-mad ibn Muslim al-Dabbas. After completing his educa-tion, Gilani left Baghdad. He spent twenty-five years as a

8.6 Mansur al-Hallaj 15

reclusive wanderer in the desert regions of Iraq. In 1127,Al Gilani returned to Baghdad and began to preach to thepublic. He joined the teaching staff of the school belong-ing to his own teacher, al-Mukharrimii,and was popularwith students. In the morning he taught hadith and tafsir,and in the afternoon he held discourse on the science ofthe heart and the virtues of the Qur'an. He was said tohave been a convincing preacher and converted numer-ous Jews and Christians. His strength came in the recon-ciling of the mystical nature of the Sufi and strict natureof the Qur'an. He felt it important to control egotism andworldliness in submission to God.

8.3 Ibn Arabi

Muhyiddin Muhammad b. 'Ali Ibn 'Arabi (or Ibn al-'Arabi) AH 561- AH 638 (July 28, 1165 – November10, 1240) is considered to be one of the most impor-tant Sufi masters, although he never founded any order(tariqa). His writings, especially al-Futuhat al-Makkiyyaand Fusus al-hikam, have been studied within all theSufi orders as the clearest expression of tawhid (DivineUnity), though because of their recondite nature theywere often only given to initiates. Later those who fol-lowed his teaching became known as the school of wah-dat al-wujud (the Oneness of Being). He himself con-sidered his writings to have been divinely inspired. As heexpressed the Way to one of his close disciples, his legacyis that 'you should never ever abandon your servanthood('ubudiyya), and that there may never be in your soul alonging for any existing thing'.[161]

8.4 Junayd Baghdadi

Junayd Baghdadi (830–910 CE) was one of the greatearly Sufis, and is a central figure in the golden chain ofmany Sufi orders. He laid the groundwork for sober mys-ticism in contrast to that of God-intoxicated Sufis like al-Hallaj, Bayazid Bastami and Abusaeid Abolkheir. Dur-ing the trial of al-Hallaj, his former disciple, the Caliphof the time demanded his fatwa. In response, he issuedthis fatwa: “From the outward appearance he is to dieand we judge according to the outward appearance andGod knows better”. He is referred to by Sufis as Sayyid-ut Taifa—i.e., the leader of the group. He lived and diedin the city of Baghdad.

8.5 Moinuddin Chishti

He was born in 1141 and died in 1236 CE. Also knownas Gharīb Nawāz “Benefactor of the Poor”, he is themost famous Sufi saint of the Chishti Order of the IndianSubcontinent. Moinuddin Chishti introduced and estab-lished the order in the subcontinent. The initial spiritualchain or silsila of the Chishti order in India, comprising

A Mughal era, Sufi Prayer Book from the Chishti order.

Moinuddin Chishti, Bakhtiyar Kaki, Baba Farid, Niza-muddin Auliya (each successive person being the disci-ple of the previous one), constitutes the great Sufi saintsof Indian history. Moinuddin Chishtī turned towards In-dia, reputedly after a dream in which Prophet Muham-mad blessed him to do so. After a brief stay at La-hore, he reached Ajmer along with Sultan Shahāb-ud-DinMuhammad Ghori, and settled down there.[4] In Ajmer,he attracted a substantial following, acquiring a great dealof respect amongst the residents of the city. Moinud-din Chishtī practiced the Sufi Sulh-e-Kul (peace to all)concept to promote understanding between Muslims andnon-Muslims

8.6 Mansur al-Hallaj

Mansur al-Hallaj (died 922 CE) is renowned for his claim“Ana-l-Haqq” (I am The Truth). His refusal to recantthis utterance, which was regarded as apostasy, led to along trial. He was imprisoned for 11 years in a Baghdadprison, before being tortured and publicly dismemberedon March 26, 922. He is still revered by Sufis for his will-ingness to embrace torture and death rather than recant.It is said that during his prayers, he would say “O Lord!You are the guide of those who are passing through theValley of Bewilderment. If I am a heretic, enlarge myheresy”.[162]

9 Sufi Orders

Main articles: Sufism and Tariqa

Sufism is a mystical-ascetic form of Islam. It is not a sect,rather it is considered as the branch of Islamic teachingthat deals with the purification of inner self. By focusingon the more spiritual aspects of religion, Sufis strive toobtain direct experience of God by making use of “intu-itive and emotional faculties” that one must be trained to

16 9 SUFI ORDERS

use.[163] Tasawwuf is regarded as a science of Islam thathas always been an integral part of Orthodox Islam.In hisAl-Risala al-safadiyya, Ibn Taymiyya describes the Sufisas those who belong to the path of the Sunna and repre-sent it in their teachings and writings.Jurist and Hadith master Ibn Taymiyya’s Sufi inclinationsand his reverence for Sufis like 'Abd al-Qadir Gilani canalso be seen in his hundred-page commentary on Futuhal-ghayb, covering only five of the seventy-eight sermonsof the book, but showing that he considered tasawwufessential within the life of the Islamic community.In his commentary, Ibn Taymiyya stresses that the pri-macy of the Shari`a forms the soundest tradition in ta-sawwuf, and to argue this point he lists over a dozen earlymasters, as well as more contemporary shaykhs like hisfellow Hanbalis, al-Ansari al-Harawi and `Abd al-Qadir,and the latter’s own shaykh, Hammad al-Dabbas:The up-right among the followers of the Path—like the major-ity of the early shaykhs (shuyukh al-salaf) such as Fudaylibn `Iyad, Ibrahim ibn Adham, Ma`ruf al-Karkhi, al-Sarial-Saqati, al-Junayd ibn Muhammad, and others of theearly teachers, as well as Shaykh Abd al-Qadir, ShaykhHammad, Shaykh Abu al-Bayan and others of the latermasters—do not permit the followers of the Sufi path todepart from the divinely legislated command and prohi-bitionImam Ghazali narrates in Al-Munqidh min-al-dalal:

The vicissitudes of life, family affairs andfinancial constraints engulfed my life and de-prived me of the congenial solitude. The heavyodds confronted me and provided me with fewmoments for my pursuits. This state of af-fairs lasted for ten years but wherever I hadsome spare and congenial moments I resortedto my intrinsic proclivity. During these tur-bulent years, numerous astonishing and inde-scribable secrets of life were unveiled to me.I was convinced that the group of Aulia (holymystics) is the only truthful group who followthe right path, display best conduct and surpassall sages in their wisdom and insight. They de-rive all their overt or covert behaviour from theillumining guidance of the holy Prophet, theonly guidance worth quest and pursuit.

9.1 Bektashi

Main article: Bektashi

The Bektashi Order was founded in the 13th century bythe Islamic saint Haji Bektash Veli, and greatly influencedduring its fomulative period by the Hurufi Ali al-'Ala inthe 15th century and reorganized by Balım Sultan in the16th century.

9.2 Chishti

Main article: Chishti Order

The Chishti Order (Persian: ( چشتی� was founded by(Khawaja) Abu Ishaq Shami (“the Syrian"; died 941) whobrought Sufism to the town of Chisht, some 95 miles eastof Herat in present-day Afghanistan. Before returningto the Levant, Shami initiated, trained and deputized theson of the local Emir (Khwaja) Abu Ahmad Abdal (died966). Under the leadership of Abu Ahmad’s descendants,the Chishtiyya as they are also known, flourished as a re-gional mystical order.

9.3 Kubrawiya

Main article: Kubrawiya

The Kubrawiya order is a Sufi order ("tariqa") namedafter its 13th-century founder Najmuddin Kubra. TheKubrawiya Sufi order was founded in the 13th century byNajmuddin Kubra in Bukhara in modern Uzbekistan.[164]

The Mongols had captured Bukhara in 1221, they com-mitted genocide and killed nearly the whole population.Sheikh Nadjm ed-Din Kubra was among those killed bythe Mongols.

9.4 Mawlawiyya

Main article: Mawlawiyyah

The Mevlevi Order is better known in the West as the“whirling dervishes”.

9.5 Muridiyya

Main article: Muridiyya

Mouride is a large Islamic Sufi order most prominent inSenegal and The Gambia, with headquarters in the holycity of Touba, Senegal.[165]

9.6 Naqshbandi

Main article: Naqshbandi

The Naqshbandi order is one of the major Sufi ordersof Islam. Formed in 1380, the order is considered bysome to be a “sober” order known for its silent dhikr (re-membrance of God) rather than the vocalized forms ofdhikr common in other orders. The word "Naqshbandi"(نقشبندی) is Persian, taken from the name of the founderof the order, Baha-ud-Din Naqshband Bukhari. Some

9.10 Qadiri 17

have said that the translation means “related to the image-maker”, some also consider it to mean “Pattern Maker”rather than “image maker”, and interpret “Naqshbandi”to mean “Reformer of Patterns”, and others consider it tomean “Way of the Chain” or “Golden Chain”.As mentioned below, the conception of Naqshbandi mayrequire more elaboration and clarity as the explanation tothis effect creating ambiguity and complicity with in it.The meanings of “Naqshbandi” is to follow the pattern ofhead of the former. In other words, “Naqshbandi” maybe taken as “followup or like a flow chart” of practicesexercised by the head of this school of thought.

9.7 Nimatullahi

Main article: Nimatullahi

The Ni'matullāhī order is the most widespread Sufi or-der of Persia today. It was founded by Shah Ni'matullahWali (d. 1367), established and transformed from his in-heritance of the Ma'rufiyyah circle.[166] There are severalsuborders in existence today, the most known and influ-ential in the West following the lineage of Dr. Javad Nur-bakhsh who brought the order to the West following the1979 Revolution in Iran.“Naqshbandi” does not meant for images or patterns fol-lowed by the followers of this school of thoughts. “Naqsh-bandi” manes the “flow chart” OR to follow the sayingsand doings of former.

9.8 Nurbakshi

Main article: Noorbakshia Islam

The “Noorbakshia”[167] (Arabic: ( ش also called Nubak-shia is an Islamic sect and the Sufi order[168][169] and waythat claims to trace its direct spiritual lineage and chain(silsilah) to the Islamic prophet Muhammad, through Ali,by way of Imam Ali Al-Ridha. This order became fa-mous as Nurbakshi after Shah Syed Muhammad Nur-bakhsh Qahistani who was attached with Kubrawiya or-der Sufi order (“tariqa”) .

9.9 Oveyssi (Uwaiysi)

Main article: Uwaisi

The Oveysi (or Uwaiysi) order claim to be founded 1,400years ago by Uwais al-Qarni from Yemen. Uways re-ceived the teachings of Islam inwardly through his heartand lived by the principles taught by him, although hehad never physically met Muhammad. At times Muham-mad would say of him, “I feel the breath of the Merciful,coming to me from Yemen.” Shortly before Muhammad

died, he directed Umar (second Caliph) and Ali (the firstImam of the Shia) to take his cloak to Uwais. “Accord-ing to Ali Hujwiri, Farid ad-Din Attar of Nishapur andSheikh Muhammad Ghader Bagheri, the first recipientof Muhammad’s cloak was Uwais al-Qarni. The 'OriginalCloak' as it is known is thought to have passed down thegenerations from the prophet Abraham to Muhammad, toUwais al-Qarni, and so on.”[170]

The Oveyssi order exists today in various forms and indifferent countries. According to Dr. Alan Godlas ofthe University of Georgia’s Department of Religion, aSufi Order or tariqa known as the Uwaysi is “very active”,having been introduced in the West by the 20th centurySufi, Shah Maghsoud Angha. The Uwaysi Order is a Shi'ibranch of the Kubrawiya.Godlas writes that there are two recent and distinct con-temporary branches of the Uwaysi Order in the West:Uwaiysi Tarighat, led by Shah Maghsoud Sadegh Angha’sdaughter, Seyyedeh Dr. Nahid Angha, and her husbandShah Nazar Seyed Ali Kianfar. Dr. Angha and Dr. Kian-far went on to found another the International Associationof Sufism (IAS) which operates in California and orga-nizes international Sufi symposia.Now developed into an international non-profit organi-zation, the Oveyssi order has over five-hundred thou-sand students with centers spanning five continents. Withthe use of modern technology and reach of the internet,weekly webcasts of the order’s lecture and zekr sessionsare broadcast live through the order’s official website.[171]

9.10 Qadiri

Main article: Qadiriyyah

The Qadiri Order is one of the oldest Sufi Orders. It de-rives its name from Abdul-Qadir Gilani (1077-1166), anative of the Iranian province of Gīlān. The order is oneof the most widespread of the Sufi orders in the Islamicworld, and can be found in Central Asia, Turkey, Balkansand much of East and West Africa. The Qadiriyyah havenot developed any distinctive doctrines or teachings out-side of mainstream Islam. They believe in the fundamen-tal principles of Islam, but interpreted through mysticalexperience.

9.11 Senussi

Main article: Senussi

Senussi is a religious-political Sufi order established byMuhammad ibn Ali as-Senussi. Muhammad ibn Ali as-Senussi founded this movement due to his criticism ofthe Egyptian ulema. Originally from Mecca, as-Senussilef tdue to pressure from Wahhabis to leave and settled

18 10 RECEPTION

in Cyrenaica where he was well received.[172] Idris binMuhammad al-Mahdi as-Senussi was later recognizedas Emir of Cyrenaica[173] and eventually became Kingof Libya. The monarchy was abolished by MuammarGaddafi but, a third of Libyan still claim to be Senussi.

9.12 Shadiliyya

Main article: Shadhili

The Shadhili is a Sufi order founded by Abu-l-Hassanash-Shadhili. Followers (murids Arabic: seekers) of theShadhiliyya are often known as Shadhilis.[174][175]

9.13 Suhrawardiyya

Main article: Suhrawardiyya

The Suhrawardiyya order (Arabic: ( سهروردية is a Sufi orderfounded by Abu al-Najib al-Suhrawardi (1097–1168).

9.14 Tijaniyya

Main article: Tijaniyyah

The Tijaniyyah order attach a large importance to cultureand education, and emphasize the individual adhesion ofthe disciple (murīd).

10 Reception

10.1 Perception outside Islam

A choreographed Sufi performance on Friday at Sudan.

Sufi mysticism has long exercised a fascination upon theWestern world, and especially its orientalist scholars.[176]

Figures like Rumi have become well known in the United

States, where Sufism is perceived as a peaceful and apo-litical form of Islam.[176]

The Islamic Institute in Mannheim, Germany, whichworks towards the integration of Europe and Muslims,sees Sufism as particularly suited for interreligious dia-logue and intercultural harmonisation in democratic andpluralist societies; it has described Sufism as a symbolof tolerance and humanism—nondogmatic, flexible andnon-violent.[177] According to Philip Jenkins, a Profes-sor at Baylor University, “the Sufis are much more thantactical allies for the West: they are, potentially, thegreatest hope for pluralism and democracy within Mus-lim nations.” Likewise, several governments and organ-isations have advocated the promotion of Sufism as ameans of combating intolerant and violent strains of Is-lam.[178] For example, the Chinese and Russian[179] gov-ernments openly favor Sufism as the best means of pro-tecting against Islamist subversion. The British govern-ment, especially following the 7 July 2005 London bomb-ings, has favoured Sufi groups in its battle against Muslimextremist currents. The influential RAND Corporation,an American think-tank, issued a major report titled“Building Moderate Muslim Networks,” which urged theUS government to form links with and bolster[180] Mus-lim groups that opposed Islamist extremism. The reportstressed the Sufi role as moderate traditionalists open tochange, and thus as allies against violence.[181][182] Newsorganisations such as the BBC, Economist and BostonGlobe have also seen Sufism as a means to deal with vio-lent Muslim extremists.[183]

10.2 Influence on Judaism

See also: Jewish philosophy

Both Judaism and Islam are monotheistic. However,there is evidence that Sufism did influence the develop-ment of some schools of Jewish philosophy and ethics. Agreat influence was exercised by Sufism upon the ethicalwritings of Jews in the Middle Ages. In the first writing ofthis kind, we see “Kitab al-Hidayah ila Fara'iḍ al-Ḳulub”,Duties of the Heart, of Bahya ibn Paquda. This book wastranslated by Judah ibn Tibbon into Hebrew under the ti-tle "Ḥōḇōṯ Ha-lleḇāḇōṯ".[184]

The precepts prescribed by the Torah num-ber 613 only; those dictated by the intellect areinnumerable.

This was precisely the argument used by the Sufis againsttheir adversaries, the Ulamas. The arrangement of thebook seems to have been inspired by Sufism. Its ten sec-tions correspond to the ten stages through which the Sufihad to pass in order to attain that true and passionatelove of God which is the aim and goal of all ethical self-discipline. A considerable amount of Sufi ideas entered

19

the Jewish mainstream through Bahya ibn Paquda’s work,which remains one of the most popular ethical treatisesin Judaism.It is noteworthy that in the ethical writings of the SufisAl-Kusajri and Al-Harawi there are sections which treatof the same subjects as those treated in the "Ḥovot ha-Lebabot” and which bear the same titles: e.g., “Bab al-Tawakkul"; “Bab al-Taubah"; “Bab al-Muḥasabah"; “Babal-Tawaḍu'"; “Bab al-Zuhd”. In the ninth gate, Baḥyadirectly quotes sayings of the Sufis, whom he calls Pe-rushim. However, the author of the Ḥōḇōṯ Ha-lleḇāḇōṯdid not go so far as to approve of the asceticism of theSufis, although he showed a marked predilection for theirethical principles.The Jewish writer Abraham bar Ḥiyya teaches the asceti-cism of the Sufis. His distinction with regard to the ob-servance of Jewish law by various classes of men is essen-tially a Sufic theory. According to it there are four prin-cipal degrees of human perfection or sanctity; namely:

1. of “Shari'ah”, i.e., of strict obedience toall ritual laws of Islam, such as prayer, fasting,pilgrimage, almsgiving, ablution, etc., which isthe lowest degree of worship, and is attainableby all2. of Ṭariqah, which is accessible only to ahigher class of men who, while strictly adher-ing to the outward or ceremonial injunctions ofreligion, rise to an inward perception of men-tal power and virtue necessary for the nearerapproach to the Divinity3. of "Ḥaḳikah”, the degree attained by thosewho, through continuous contemplation and in-ward devotion, have risen to the true percep-tion of the nature of the visible and invisible;who, in fact, have recognized the Godhead, andthrough this knowledge have succeeded in es-tablishing an ecstatic relation to it; and4. of the “Ma'arifah”, in which state man com-municates directly with the Deity.

Abraham ben Moses ben Maimon, the son of the Jew-ish philosopher Maimonides, believed that Sufi prac-tices and doctrines continue the tradition of the Biblicalprophets. See Sefer Hammaspiq, “Happerishuth”, Chap-ter 11 (“Ha-mmaʿaḇāq”) s.v. hithbonen efo be-masorethmufla'a zo, citing the Talmudic explanation of Jeremiah13:27 in Chagigah 5b; in Rabbi Yaakov Wincelberg’stranslation, “The Way of Serving God” (Feldheim), p.429 and above, p. 427. Also see ibid., Chapter 10(“Iqquḇim”), s.v. wa-halo yoḏeʾaʿ atta; in “The Way ofServing God”, p. 371. There are other such referencesin Rabbi Abraham’s writings, as well. He introduced intothe Jewish prayer such practices as reciting God’s names(dhikr).

Abraham Maimuni’s principal work is originally com-posed in Judeo-Arabic and entitled כפאיה" כתאב"אלעאבדין Kitāb Kifāyah al-'Ābidīn (“A ComprehensiveGuide for the Servants of God”). From the extant surviv-ing portion it is conjectured that Maimuni’s treatise wasthree times as long as his father’s Guide for the Perplexed.In the book, Maimuni evidences a great appreciation for,and affinity to, Sufism. Followers of his path continued tofoster a Jewish-Sufi form of pietism for at least a century,and he is rightly considered the founder of this pietisticschool, which was centered in Egypt.The followers of this path, which they called, inter-changeably, Hasidism (not to be confused with the [later]Jewish Hasidic movement) or Sufism (Tasawwuf), prac-ticed spiritual retreats, solitude, fasting and sleep depriva-tion. The Jewish Sufis maintained their own brotherhood,guided by a religious leader—like a Sufi sheikh.[185]

Abraham Maimuni’s two sons, Obadyah and David, con-tinued to lead this Jewish-Sufi brotherhood. ObadyahMaimonides wrote Al-Mawala Al Hawdiyya (“The Trea-tise of the Pool”)—an ethico-mystical manual based onthe typically Sufi comparison of the heart to a pool thatmust be cleansed before it can experience the Divine.The Maimonidean legacy extended right through to the15th century with the 5th generation of MaimonideanSufis, David ben Joshua Maimonides, who wrote Al-Murshid ila al-Tafarrud (The Guide to Detachment),which includes numerous extracts of Suhrawardi's Kali-mat at-Tasawwuf.

11 In popular culture

11.1 Films

• The Jewel of the Nile (1985), the eponymous Jewelis a Sufi holy man.

• In Hideous Kinky (1998), Julia (Kate Winslet) trav-els to Morocco to explore Sufism and a journey toself-discovery.

• In Monsieur Ibrahim (2003), Omar Sharif's charac-ter professes to be a Muslim in the Sufi tradition.

• Bab'Aziz (2005), a film by Tunisian director NacerKhemir, draws heavily on the Sufi tradition, contain-ing quotes from Sufi poets such as Rumi and depict-ing an ecstatic Sufi dance.

11.2 Music

Abida Parveen, a Pakistani Sufi singer is one of the fore-most exponents of Sufi music, together with Nusrat FatehAli Khan are considered the finest Sufi vocalists of themodern era. Sanam Marvi another Pakistani singer has

20 12 MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY SUFI SCHOLARS

Friday evening ceremony at Dargah Salim Chisti, India.

recently gained recognition for her Sufi vocal perfor-mances.A. R. Rahman, the Oscar-winning Indian musician, hasseveral compositions which draw inspiration from theSufi genre; examples are the filmi qawwalis Khwaja MereKhwaja in the film Jodhaa Akbar, Arziyan in the filmDelhi 6 and Kun Faya Kun in the film Rockstar.Bengali singer Lalan Fakir and Bangladesh’s national poetKazi Nazrul Islam scored several Sufi songs.Junoon, a band from Pakistan, created the genre of Sufirock by combining elements of modern hard rock andtraditional folk music with Sufi poetry.In 2005, Rabbi Shergill released a Sufi rock song called"Bulla Ki Jaana", which became a chart-topper in Indiaand Pakistan.[186][187]

Madonna, on her 1994 record Bedtime Stories, sings asong called "Bedtime Story" that discusses achieving ahigh unconsciousness level. The video for the song showsan ecstatic Sufi ritual with many dervishes dancing, Ara-bic calligraphy and some other Sufi elements. In her 1998song “Bittersweet”, she recites Rumi’s poem by the samename. In her 2001 Drowned World Tour, Madonna sangthe song “Secret” showing rituals from many religions,including a Sufi dance.Singer/songwriter Loreena McKennitt's record The Maskand Mirror (1994) has a song called “The Mystic’sDream” that is influenced by Sufi music and poetry. Theband mewithoutYou has made references to Sufi para-bles, including the name of their album It’s All Crazy! It’sAll False! It’s All a Dream! It’s Alright (2009). Tori Amosmakes a reference to Sufis in her song “Cruel”.Mercan Dede is a Turkish composer who incorporatesSufism into his music and performances.British folk singer Richard Thompson is a long-time Sufi.

A 17th century miniature of Nasreddin was a Seljuq satirical Sufi,currently in the Topkapi Palace Museum Library.

11.3 Literature

The Persian poet Rumi has become one of the mostwidely read poets in the United States, thanks largelyto the interpretative translations published by ColemanBarks.[188] Elif Safak's novel The Forty Rules of Love tellsthe story of Rumi becoming a disciple of the Persian Sufidervish Shams Tabrizi.

12 Modern and contemporary Sufischolars

12.1 Arabian Peninsula

• Abdallah Bin Bayyah (b. 1935) – Saudi Arabia

• Habib Ali al-Jifri (b. 1971) – Yemen

• Habib Umar bin Hafiz (b. 1962) – Yemen

• Muhammad Alawi al-Maliki (1944–2004) – SaudiArabia

12.2 Levant

• Abd al-Rahman al-Shaghouri (1912–2004) – Syria

• Mohamed Said Ramadan Al-Bouti (1929–2013) –Syria

• Muhammad al-Yaqoubi (b. 1963) – Syria

• Nuh Ha Mim Keller (b. 1954) – Jordan

12.6 Eastern Europe 21

• Wahba Zuhayli (b. 1932) – Syria

• Yusuf an-Nabhani (1849–1932) – Palestine

12.3 North Africa

• Sayyid Muhammad Ahmad Al Mahdi (1845–1885)– Sudan

• Sayyid Abd Al Rahman Al Mahdi (1885–1960) –Sudan

• Abd al-Hamid Kishk (1933–1996) – Egypt

• Ahmad al-Alawi (1869–1934) – Algeria

• Ahmed el-Tayeb (b. 1946) – Egypt

• Ali Gomaa (b. 1951) – Egypt

• Gibril Haddad (b. 1960) – Lebanon

• Hamza al Qâdiri al Boutchichi (b. 1922)

• Muhammad ibn al-Habib (1876–1972) – Morocco

• Muhammad Sayyid Tantawy (1928–2010) – Egypt

• Shawki Ibrahim Abdel-Karim Allam – Egypt

12.4 West, Central and Southern Africa

• Abdalqadir as-Sufi (b. 1930) – South Africa

• Ahmad Tijani Ali Cisse (b. 1955) – Senegal

• Amadou Bamba (1853–1927) – Senegal

• Hassan Cissé (1945–2008) – Senegal

• Sa'adu Abubakar (1954) - Nigeria

• Sanusi Lamido Sanusi (1961) - Nigeria

12.5 Western Europe

• Abdal Hakim Murad (b. 1960) – United Kingdom

• Ahmed Babikir – United Kingdom

• Frithjof Schuon (1907–1998) – Switzerland

• Idries Shah (1924–1996) – United Kingdom

• Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee (b. 1953) – United King-dom

• Martin Lings (1909–2005) – United Kingdom

• Muhammad Imdad Hussain Pirzada (b. 1946) –United Kingdom

12.6 Eastern Europe

• Hüseyin Hilmi Işık (1911–2001) – Turkey

• Nazim Al-Haqqani (b. 1922) – Turkey

• Said Afandi al-Chirkawi (1937–2012) – Dagestan

• Said Nursî (1878–1960) – Turkey

12.7 North America

• Ali Kianfar (b. 1944) – United States

• Ahmed Tijani Ben Omar (b. 1950) – United States

• Feisal Abdul Rauf (b. 1948) - United States

• Hamza Yusuf (b. 1960) – United States

• Hisham Kabbani (b. 1945) – United States

• Hossein Nasr (b. 1933) – United States

• Kabir Helminski (b. 1942) – United States

• M. A. Muqtedar Khan (b. 1966) – United States

• Muhammad bin Yahya al-Ninowy (b. 1966) –United States

• Sayyid Imam Issa Al Haadi Al Mahdi (b. 1945) –United States

• Nahid Angha (b. 1945) – United States

• Nooruddeen Durkee (b. 1938) – United States

• Sayyid Ahmed Amiruddin (b. 1978) - Canada

• Syed Soharwardy (b. 1955) - Canada

• Zaid Shakir (b. 1956) – United States

• Sayyid Ali Abdullah Muhammed Al Mahdi (b.1976) – United States

12.8 South Asia

• Hazrat Shah Sufi Syed Abdul Latif Amantuli.(1878-1963) – Called (BISHAW DARBAR)Bangladesh

• Ahmed Ullah Maizbhanderi (1826–1906) –Bangladesh

• Ahmed Raza Khan (1856–1921) – India

• Akhtar Raza Khan (b. 1943) – India

• Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (?−1986) – Sri Lanka

• Imdadullah Muhajir Makki (1817–1899) – India

• Khwaja Shamsuddin Azeemi (b. 1927) – Pakistan

22 15 REFERENCES

• Meher Ali Shah (1859–1937) – Pakistan

• Mohammad Abdul Ghafoor Hazarvi (1911-1970) -Pakistan

• Muhammad Abdul Qadeer Siddiqi Qadri (1871–1962) – India

• Hazrat Maulana Sufi Mufti Azangachhi Shaheb (b.1828 or 1829- d. 1932) - India

• Muhammad Akram Awan (b.1934) - Pakistan

• Muhammad Ilyas Qadri (b. 1950) – Pakistan

• Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri (b. 1951) - Pakistan

• Omer Tarin (b. 1966)- Pakistan

• Qalandar Baba Auliya (1898–1979) – Pakistan

• Qamaruzzaman Azmi (b. 1946) – India

• Saheb Qiblah Fultali (1913–2008) – Bangladesh

• Shah Shahidullah Faridi (1915–1978) – Pakistan

• Syed Muhammad Zauqi Shah (1878–1951) – Pak-istan

• Syed Waheed Ashraf (b. 1933) – India

• Tajuddin Muhammad Badruddin (1861-1925) – In-dia

• Thaika Shuaib (b. 1930) – India

• Wahid Baksh Sial Rabbani (?–1995) – Pakistan

• Waris Ali Shah (1819-1905) -India

12.9 Eastern and Central Asia

• Habib Munzir Al-Musawa (1973–2013) – Indonesia

• Muhammad Abdul Aleem Siddiqi (1892–1954) –Singapore

• Muhammad Ma Jian (1906–1978) – China

• Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas (b. 1931) –Malaysia

13 Gallery

• The Golden Chain of the Naqshbandiyya order

• Tomb of Khwaja Ghulam Farid at Mithankot

• Grave of Ma Yuanzhang, the Sufi Grand Master, inChina

• Sufi mosque in Srinagar India.

• The Great Mosque of Touba, home of the MourideSufi order of Senegal

• Haqqani Anjuman Faquiri Huzra Mubarak in Bag-mari, Kolkata(State:WB, County:Ind);established in1876 by Maulana Sufi Mufti Azangachhi Shaheb .

• Wali tomb, south of Karima, Sudan

• The Rumi Museum in Konya, Turkey

• An illustration of Ibrahima Fall, leader of theMouride Order

• The Mughal Emperor Jahangir preferring a Sufishaikh to kings

• Mazar e Soltani, Bidokht, Gonabad County. ShrineOf four Qutbs (masters) of the Nimatullahi Sufi or-der

• Kaygusuz Abdal.

• Mausoleum of Makhdoom Shah Daulat (d 1608),Ibrahim Khan, The Mughal governor of Bihar com-pleted his mausoleum in 1616, during the reign ofthe Mughal Emperor Jahangir.

• The shrine of Shah Arzani constructed during thereign of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir.

• Pir Dastgir from the Mughal Empire.

14 See also• Dala'il al-Khayrat

• Index of Sufism-related articles

• Rahe Bhander Ennoble Award

• Tawassul, a religious practice in which a Muslimseeks nearness to God.

• Universal Sufi Festival

• List of Sufi saints

15 References[1] http://www.dar-al-masnavi.org/corrections_popular.

html

[2] http://www.dar-al-masnavi.org/self-discovery.html

[3] Sufism. Retrieved 17 January 2015.

[4] An Introduction to Islamic Cosmological Doctrines. Re-trieved 17 January 2015.

[5] Kamuran Godelek. The Neoplatonist Roots of Sufi Philos-ophy. Twentieth World Congress of Philosophy, Boston,Massachusetts, USA, August 10–15, 1998. Archivedfrom the original on 2003-03-11. Retrieved 2015-01-17.

23

[6] Alan Godlas, University of Georgia, Sufism’s Many Paths,2000, University of Georgia

[7] Nuh Ha Mim Keller, “How would you respond to theclaim that Sufism is Bid'a?", 1995. Fatwa accessible at:Masud.co.uk

[8] Zubair Fattani. “The meaning of Tasawwuf”. IslamicAcademy.

[9] An Introduction to Islamic Cosmological Doctrines. Re-trieved 27 September 2014.

[10] Sufism. Retrieved 27 September 2014.

[11] http://www.worldsufimission.org

[12] http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/583591/tariqa

[13] The New Encyclopedia Of Islam By Cyril Glassé, p.499

[14] Shaikh Muhmmad bin Jamil Zeno, The Pillars of Islam &Iman, DARUSSALAM

[15] Quoted in Ibrahim Gamard, Rumi and Islam: Selectionsfrom His Stories, Poems, and Discourses—Annotated andExplained, p. 171.

[16] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/01/AR2006050101380.html

[17] http://observers.france24.com/content/20140924-police-iranian-sufi-protest-dervishes

[18] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephen-schwartz/iran-continues-crackdown-on-sufis_b_3181642.html

[19] http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/why-iranian-sufis-do-not-believe-tehran-s-new-diplomacy_773354.html

[20] https://hra-news.org/en/statements/attacks-sufis-confirm-iranian-governments-intolerance

[21] Kabbani, Muhammad Hisham (2004). Classical Islamand the Naqshbandi Sufi Tradition. Islamic SupremeCouncil of America. p. 557. ISBN 1-930409-23-0.

[22] http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/571823/Sufism

[23] Daftary |Farhad |2013 |A History of Shi'i Islam |New YorkNY |I.B. Tauris and Co ltd. |page 28 |isbn 9780300035315|4/8/2015

[24] “Excerpts from Baba Rexheb’s The Mysticism of Islam& Bektashism - The Bektashi Order of Dervishes”. Re-trieved 27 September 2014.

[25] The Jamaat Tableegh and the Deobandis by Sajid AbdulKayum, Chapter 1: Overview and Background.

[26] Ahmed Zarruq, Zaineb Istrabadi, Hamza Yusuf Hanson.The Principles of Sufism. Amal Press. 2008.

[27] An English translation of Ahmad ibn Ajiba's biographyhas been published by Fons Vitae.

[28] Insights into Islamic Esoterism and Taoism (Sophia Peren-nis 2003)

[29] The New Encyclopedia Of Islam By Cyril Glassé, p.500

[30] Munn, Richard C. (January–March 1969). “Reviewedwork(s): The Sufis by Idries Shah”. Journal of the Amer-ican Oriental Society (American Oriental Society) 89 (1):279–281. JSTOR 598339.

[31] “Sufism, Sufis, and Sufi Orders: Sufism’s Many Paths”.Uga.edu. Retrieved 2012-08-13.

[32] Idries Shah, The Sufis, ISBN 0-385-07966-4

[33] A Prayer for Spiritual Elevation and Protection (2007) byMuhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi, Suha Taji-Farouki

[34] Hawting, Gerald R. (2000). The first dynasty of Islam:The Umayyad Caliphate AD 661-750. Routledge. ISBN0-415-24073-5. See Google book search.

[35] Michael Sells, Early Islamic Mysticism, pg. 1

[36] The Naqshbandi Sufi Tradition Guidebook of Daily Prac-tices and Devotions, p. 83, Muhammad Hisham Kabbani,Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani, 2004

[37] “Sufism in Islam”. Mac.abc.se. Retrieved 2012-08-13.

[38] The Bloomsbury Companion to Islamic Studies by ClintonBennett, p 328

[39] “Origin of sufism - Qadiri”. Sufi Way. 2003. Retrieved2012-08-13.

[40] Rashid Ahmad Jullundhry, Qur'anic Exegesis in ClassicalLiterature, pg. 56. New Westminster: The Other Press,2010. ISBN 9789675062551

[41] Al-Bīrūnī : commemorative volume, Hakim MohammadSaid, Pakistan. Ministry of Education, Unesco, HamdardNational Foundation, Pakistan, 2010

[42] The memoirs of Sufis written in India: referenceto Kashaful-mahjub, Siyar-ul-auliya, and Siyar-ul-arifin,Mahmud Husain Siddiqui, Dept. of Persian, Urdu, andArabic, Faculty of Arts, Maharaja Sayajirao Universityof Baroda, 2009

[43] Introduction to Sufi Doctrine, p.3, Titus Burckhardt, KaziPublications, ISBN 978-1-56744-217-5, 1976

[44] Sufism, Sufis, and Sufi Orders: Sufism’s Many Paths

[45] Abdullah Nur ad-Din Durkee, The School of the Shadhd-huliyyah, Volume One: Orisons, ISBN 977-00-1830-9

[46] Muhammad Emin Er, Laws of the Heart: A Practical In-troduction to the Sufi Path, Shifâ Publishers, 2008, ISBN978-0-9815196-1-6

[47] Cavendish, Richard. Great Religions. New York: ArcoPublishing, 1980.

[48] Abdullah Nur ad-Din Durkee, The School of the Shadhd-huliyyah, Volume One: Orisons; see also Shaykh Muham-mad Hisham Kabbani, Classical Islam and the Naqsh-bandi Sufi Tradition, ISBN 978-1-930409-23-1, which re-produces the spiritual lineage (silsila) of a living Sufi mas-ter.

24 15 REFERENCES

[49] An Introduction to Shiʻi Islam: The History and Doctrinesof Shi'i Page 209

[50] See Muhammad Emin Er, Laws of the Heart: A Practi-cal Introduction to the Sufi Path, Shifâ Publishers, 2008,ISBN 978-0-9815196-1-6, for a detailed description ofthe practices and preconditions of this sort of spiritual re-treat.

[51] See examples provided by Muzaffar Ozak in Irshad: Wis-dom of a Sufi Master, addressed to a general audiencerather than specifically to his own students.

[52] Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani, Classical Islam andthe Naqshbandi Sufi Tradition, ISBN 978-1-930409-23-1

[53] “Khalifa Ali bin Abu Talib - Ali, The Father of Sufism -Alim.org”. Retrieved 27 September 2014.

[54] IslamOnline.net

[55] Massignon, Louis. Essai sur les origines du lexique tech-nique de la mystique musulmane. Paris: Vrin, 1954. p.104.

[56] Imam Birgivi, The Path of Muhammad, WorldWisdom,ISBN 0-941532-68-2

[57] Hodgson, Marshall G.S. (1958). The Venture of Islam,Vol 1: The Classical Age of Islam. Chicago and London:University of Chicago Press. p. 394.

[58] An Introduction to Islamic Cosmological Doctrines. Re-trieved 27 September 2014.

[59] Lloyd Ridgeon, Morals and Mysticism in Persian Sufism:A History of Sufi-Futuwwat in Iran, p. 32. Abingdon-on-Thames: Routledge, 2010.

[60] Ibn Khallikan's Biographical Dictionary, translated byWilliam McGuckin de Slane. Paris: Oriental Transla-tion Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. Sold by Institutde France and Royal Library of Belgium. Vol. 3, p. 209.

[61] Ahmet T. Karamustafa, Sufism: The Formative Period, pg.58. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2007.

[62] J. Spencer Trimingham, The Sufi Orders in Islam, OxfordUniversity Press, ISBN 978-0-19-512058-5.

[63] The most recent version of the Risâla is the translationof Alexander Knysh, Al-Qushayri’s Epistle on Sufism: Al-risala Al-qushayriyya Fi 'ilm Al-tasawwuf (ISBN 978-1859641866). Earlier translations include a partial ver-sion by Rabia Terri Harris (Sufi Book of Spiritual Ascent)and complete versions by Harris, and Barbara R. VonSchlegell.

[64] http://www.fonsvitae.com/sufism.html

[65] For the pre-modern era, see Vincent J. Cornell, Realm ofthe Saint: Power and Authority in Moroccan Sufism, ISBN978-0-292-71209-6; and for the colonial era, Knut Vikyr,Sufi and Scholar on the Desert Edge: Muhammad B. OaliAl-Sanusi and His Brotherhood, ISBN 978-0-8101-1226-1.

[66] Leonard Lewisohn, The Legacy of Medieval Persian Su-fism, Khaniqahi-Nimatullahi Publications, 1992.

[67] Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Islam: Religion, History, and Civi-lization, HarperSanFrancisco, 2003. (Ch. 1)

[68] Dina Le Gall, A Culture of Sufism: Naqshbandis in theOttoman World, 1450–1700, ISBN 978-0-7914-6245-4.

[69] Arthur F. Buehler, Sufi Heirs of the Prophet: The IndianNaqshbandiyya and the Rise of the Mediating Sufi Shaykh,ISBN 978-1-57003-783-2.

[70] Victor Danner, The Islamic Tradition: An introduction.Amity House. February 1988.

[71] Masatoshi Kisaichi, “The Burhami order and Islamicresurgence in modern Egypt.” Popular Movements andDemocratization in the Islamic World, pg. 57. Partof the New Horizons in Islamic Studies series. Ed.Masatoshi Kisaichi. London: Routledge, 2006. ISBN9781134150618

[72] “Sufism and Religious Brotherhoods in Senegal”, Babou,Cheikh Anta, The International Journal of African Histor-ical Studies, v. 40 no. 1 (2007) pp. 184–6

[73] Sufism and Religious Brotherhoods in Senegal, KhadimMbacke, translated from the French by Eric Ross andedited by John Hunwick. Princeton, NJ: Markus Wiener,2005.

[74] See in particular the biographical introduction to MichelChodkiewicz, The Spiritual Writings of Amir Abd Al-Kader, ISBN 978-0-7914-2446-9.

[75] From the article on Sufism in Oxford Islamic Studies On-line

[76] Muhammad Emin Er, Laws of the Heart: A Practical In-troduction to the Sufi Order, Shifâ Publishers, 2008, ISBN978-0-9815196-1-6

[77] For a systematic description of the diseases of the heartthat are to be overcome in order for this perspective to takeroot, see Hamza Yusuf, Purification of the Heart: Signs,Symptoms and Cures of the Spiritual Diseases of the Heart,ISBN 978-1-929694-15-0.

[78] Concerning this, and for an excellent discussion of theconcept of attraction (jadhba), see especially the Intro-duction to Abdullah Nur ad-Din Durkee, The School ofthe Shadhdhuliyyah, Volume One: Orisons, ISBN 977-00-1830-9.

[79] Muhammad Emin Er, al-Wasilat al-Fasila, unpublishedMS.

[80] Realities of The Heart Lataif

[81] Annemarie Schimmel, Mystical Dimensions of Islam,ISBN 978-0-8078-1271-6 .

[82] See especially Robert Frager, Heart, Self & Soul: The SufiPsychology of Growth, Balance, andHarmony, ISBN 978-0-8356-0778-0.

[83] Hakim Moinuddin Chisti, The Book of SufiHealing, ISBN978-0-89281-043-7

25

[84] For an introduction to the normative creed of Islam as es-poused by the consensus of scholars, see Hamza Yusuf,The Creed of Imam al-Tahawi, ISBN 978-0-9702843-9-6, and Ahmad Ibn Muhammad Maghnisawi, ImamAbu Hanifa’s Al-Fiqh Al-Akbar Explained, ISBN 978-1-933764-03-0.

[85] The meaning of certainty in this context is emphasized inMuhammad Emin Er, The Soul of Islam: Essential Doc-trines and Beliefs, Shifâ Publishers, 2008, ISBN 978-0-9815196-0-9.

[86] See in particular the introduction by T. J. Winter to AbuHamid Muhammad al-Ghazali, Al-Ghazali on Disciplin-ing the Soul and on Breaking the Two Desires: Books XXIIand XXIII of the Revival of the Religious Sciences, ISBN978-0-946621-43-9.

[87] Akbar Ahmed, Diiscovering Islam, Making sense of Mus-lim History and Society,ISBN 0-415-28525-9(Pbk)

[88] Klaus K. Klostermaier, A Survey of Hinduism, ISBN 978-0-7914-7082-4 (Pbk)

[89] Abdullah Jawadi Amuli, “Dhikr and the Wisdom BehindIt”

[90] Hakim Moinuddin Chisti The Book of Sufi Healing, ISBN978-0-89281-043-7

[91] Naqshbandi Way of Dhikr

[92] Touma 1996, p.162

[93] What is Remembrance and what is Contemplation?

[94] Muhammad Emin Er, Laws of the Heart: A Practical In-troduction to the Sufi Path, ISBN 978-0-9815196-1-6, p.77.

[95] Salafi intolerance threatens Sufis| Baher Ibrahim|guardian.co.uk| 10 May 2010

[96] Mir, Tariq. “Kashmir: From Sufi to Salafi”. November 5,2012. Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. Retrieved 20February 2013.

[97] “Salafi Violence against Sufis”. Islamopedia Online. Re-trieved 24 February 2013.

[98] Momen, Moojan (1985). An Introduction to Shiʻi Islam:The History and Doctrines of Twelver Shiʻism. Yale Uni-versity Press,. pp. 115–116.

[99] Yadav, Rama Sankar (2007). Global Encyclopaedia ofEducation (4 Vols. Set). Global Vision Publishing House.p. 406.

[100] Dalrymple, William (5 November 2005). “What goesround...”. The Guardian (London).

[101] Introduction to Shi'i Islam, Momen, Moojan, Yale Univer-sity Press, 1985 p.14-16

[102] “Salafi destruction of shrines and public property unac-ceptable”. Ikhwanweb. 3 April 2011. Retrieved 24February 2013.

[103] a think-tank based in Rawalpindi

[104] Sunni Ittehad Council: Sunni Barelvi activism againstDeobandi-Wahhabi terrorism in Pakistan – by Aarish U.Khan| criticalppp.com| Let Us Build Pakistan

[105] John R. Schmidt states, “although most Deobandis are nomore prone to violence than their Christian fundamental-ist counterparts in the West, every jihadist group based inPakistan save one is Deobandi, as are the Afghan Taliban”.The Unraveling: Pakistan in the Age of Jihad | John R.Schmidt| 2011

[106] “Sects Within Sect: The Case of Deobandi–Barelvi En-counter in Pakistan”. Tandfonline.com. 1 January 1970.Retrieved 24 February 2013.

[107] Chakrabarty, Rakhi (Dec 4, 2011). “Sufis strike back”.The Times of India. Retrieved 5 March 2013.

[108] Researcher Amir Rana (a researcher and editor quarterlyresearch journal Conflict and Peace Studies. What isyoung Pakistan thinking?) claims than Deobandi them-selves are often Sufi, as "Naqshbandi, the major Suficult in Pakistan, is mainly comprised of the Deobandis”(source: Rana, Amir. “Where sufism stands”. 1 August2010. Express Tribune Blogs. Retrieved 4 March 2013.).Maulana Qasim Nomani, the Rector of Deobandi sem-inary Darul Uloom Deoband has denied either that hisschool is anti-sufi or promotes militancy, stating Deobandscholars like Ashraf Ali Thanwi, and others were Sufisaints as well and they had their Khanqahs (Sufi hospice).

Who said we are against Sufism? We verymuch follow the Sufi traditions and all of ourelders were Sufi practitioners of Sufi tradition(source: Ali, Md. “Deoband hits back, re-jects “baseless” charge of radicalizing Mus-lim youth”. 19 October 2011. TwoCir-cles.net. Retrieved 4 March 2013.)

According to the Jamestown Foundation, Deobandi havealso been victims of sectarian strife.

Scores of Deobandi leaders and membersof Ahle Sunnat wal Jamat (ASWJ, formerlythe banned Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan) havebeen assassinated in Karachi in recent years.Police sources say that the Sunni Tehrik,a Barelvi organization, is behind most ofthese assassinations. (source: Jamal, Arif.[http://www.jamestown.org/single/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews{[}tt_news{]}=39288“Karachi’s Deadly Political and SectarianWarfare Threatens the Stability of Pakistan’sCommercial Capital"]. Terrorism MonitorApril 20, 2012. Jamestown Foundation.Retrieved 4 March 2013.)

[109] Timeline: Persecution of religious minorities|DAWN.COM | 4 November 2012

[110] “Pakistani Shiite massacre: Pakistan - Bari Imam shrine”.May 27, 2005. Retrieved 5 March 2013.

[111] Azeem, Munawer (14 August 2011). “Two involved inBari Imam suicide attack arrested”. Dawn. Retrieved 4March 2013.

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[112] Raja, Mudassir (31 July 2011). “Bari Imam Shrine attack2005: Police await suspects on judicial remand in anothercase”. Express Tribune. Retrieved 24 February 2013.

[113] Bari Imam blast: Masterminds belong to LJ linked groupBy Shahzad Malik| 14 June 2005

[114] Three LJ activists indicted in Nishtar Park blast case,Dawn (newspaper), 2 September 2009

[115] Tanoli, Ishaq (5 February 2012). “Six years on, NishtarPark carnage trial remains inconclusive”. Dawn. Re-trieved 5 March 2013.

[116] http://www.jamestown.org/single/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews{[}tt_news{]}=37826

[117] PESHAWAR: Another faith healer shot dead in Peshawar|By Ali Hazrat Bacha| dawn.com| 18 February 2009

[118] “In Pakistan, faith healers have no shortage of believers”,Alex Rodriguez, Los Angeles Times, March 29, 2012

[119] Faith Healing and Skepticism in Pakistan: Challengesand Instability | Ryan Shaffer | csicop.org| Volume 36.6,November/December 2012

[120] Terrorism Monitor Brief, March 19, 2009

[121] And now Sunni vs Sunni Riaz ul Hassan| circa July 2010

[122] Al-Alawi, Irfan. “Urbanised Islam behind Pakistan’s Sufishrine bombings”. 15 March 2011. Lapidomedia. Re-trieved 26 Feb 2013.

[123] “LUBP | Sarfraz Naeemi”. Criticalppp.com. Retrieved24 February 2013.

[124] Express Tribune, June 22, 2010

[125] Haque, Jahanzaib (October 7, 2010). “Twin suicide at-tacks at Abdullah Shah Ghazi shrine”. Express Tribune.Retrieved 5 March 2013.

[126] “Blast at Baba Farid’s shrine kills six”. Express Tribune.October 26, 2010. Retrieved 5 March 2013.

[127] “Extremist Deobandis’ attack on Ghazi Baba shrine in Pe-shawar | LUBP”. Criticalppp.com. 14 December 2010.Retrieved 24 February 2013.

[128] “Blast at Pakistan Shrine Kills Dozens”. New York Times.April 3, 2011.

[129] “Three killed in Peshawar shrine blast”. The News. 22June 2012. Retrieved 5 March 2013.

[130] “Clashes follow fire at Kashmir Sufi shrine”. BBC News.25 June 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2013.

[131] Rana, Amir. “Kashmir: Sufi and Wahabbi Islam in Con-flict”. Pulitzer Center. Retrieved 24 February 2013.

[132] Ahmad, Mukhtar (June 25, 2012). “Fire destroys historicshrine, triggering anger in Kashmir”. CNN. Retrieved 7March 2013.

[133] “Libya and Mali: Salafi Islamists destroying shrines cour-tesy of Saudi Arabia and Qatar”. Modern Tokyo Times.26 August 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2013.

[134] Al Shabab of Somalia Destroy the Graves of Sufi Saints

[135] Timbuktu’s Destruction: Why Islamists Are WreckingMali’s Cultural Heritage| By Ishaan Tharoor|time.com|July 02, 2012

[136] “Sufism and Salafism, Mali’s deep religious divide”.Theafricareport.com. 21 December 2012. Retrieved 24February 2013.

[137] “Destroying the Shrines of Timbuktu: Some Arab Re-sponses”. Retrieved 24 February 2013.

[138] “Timbuktu shrine destruction 'a war crime'". Telegraph.2 July 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2013.

[139] Leila, Reem (23–29 July 2009). “Moulid ban The annualcelebration of birth of Sayeda Zeinab has been bannedamid concern over the spread of swine flu”. Al Ahram.Retrieved 20 February 2013.

[140] “Libya S.O.S.: Democracy Arrives in Libya: Sufi reli-gious sites attacked and destroyed by Salafis”. Libyasos.26 August 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2013.

[141] Libya: Stop Attacks on Sufi Sites | hrw.org | 31 August2012

[142] Libya clashes break out over Sufi shrine attack | bbc.co.uk|7 September 2012

[143] “UNESCO urges end to attacks on Libyan Sufi mosques,graves”. Retrieved 27 September 2014.

[144] Benoit-Lavelle, Mischa (30 January 2013). “TunisianSalafis on the Rise”. al-monitor. Retrieved 18 April 2013.

[145] “Sheikh Murdered Over Religious Split Say Analysts |Russia | RIA Novosti”. En.rian.ru. 30 August 2012. Re-trieved 24 February 2013.

[146] “Sufi scholar, 5 others killed in Dagestan suicide bombattack”. Retrieved 27 September 2014.

[147] “single - The Jamestown Foundation”. Retrieved 27September 2014.

[148] Van den Bos, M. 2002. Mystic Regimes. Sufism and theState in Iran, from the late Qajar era to the Islamic Repub-lic (Social, economic and political studies of the MiddleEast and Asia 83). Leiden: Brill.

[149] Esfandiari, Golnaz. “Wednesday, February 27, 2013 Fea-tures Sufism Under Attack In Iran”. February 27, 2013.rferl.org. Retrieved 27 Feb 2013.

[150] United States Commission on International ReligiousFreedom (May 2009). “Annual Report of the UnitedStates Commission on International Religious Freedom:Iran”. USG. Retrieved 25 December 2010.

[151] Schwartz, Stephen. “Iran Continues Crackdown on Sufis”.04/30/2013. Huffington Post. Retrieved 6 May 2014.

[152] http://www.arabwestreport.info/year-2000/week-19/25-monks-and-islamic-sufism

[153] http://www.irfi.org/articles/articles_101_150/quran_inspires_modern_science.htm

27

[154] Muhammad Emin Er, The Soul of Islam: Essential Doc-trines and Beliefs, Shifâ Publishers, 2008, ISBN 978-0-9815196-0-9.

[155] Annemarie Schimmel, Mystical Dimensions of Islam(1975) pg. 99

[156] (source: [pp. 778–795 of The Reliance of the Traveller,by Shaykh Nuh Ha Meem Keller])

[157] The Amman Message Summary. Retrieved on Feb 2,2010.

[158] Neo-Sufism: The Case of Idries Shah

[159] “Thareeqush Shukr”. Shazuli.com. Retrieved 2012-08-13.

[160] “Deen islam -Hizb ul Bahr - Litany of the Sea”. Retrieved27 September 2014.

[161] K. al-Wasa'il, quoted in The Unlimited Mercifier, StephenHirtenstein, p. 246

[162] Memoirs of the Saints, p.108

[163] Trimingham (1998), p. 1

[164] “Saif ed-Din Bokharzi & Bayan-Quli Khan Mausoleums”.Retrieved 15 February 2015.

[165] “Mourides Celebrate 19 Years in North America” byAyesha Attah. The African magazine. (n.d.) Retrieved2007-11-13.

[166] Nasr, Seyyed Hossein (2007). The Garden of Truth. NewYork, NY: HarperCollins. p. 195. ISBN 978-0-06-162599-2.

[167] “Sufia Noorbakhshia”. Sufia Noorbakhshia. Retrieved 15February 2015.

[168] Beyond Lines of Control: Performance and Politics on theDisputed. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)

[169] Encyclopaedia Of Untouchables : Ancient Medieval AndModern. 2008. p. 345. |first1= missing |last1= in Authorslist (help)

[170] Dr. Ronald Grisell (1983). Sufism. Ross Books. pp. 23.ISBN 978-0-89496-038-3

[171] “The Expansion of M.T.O. Shahmaghsoudi”. MTO Shah-maghsoudi. Retrieved 2011-12-26."Through Hazrat Pir’sdeep commitment to his father’s wish, the M.T.O. Shah-maghsoudi, School of Islamic Sufism, which he now leads,has developed into an international non-profit organiza-tion with over 500,000 students who attend centers locatedthroughout five continents in America, Europe, Australia,Africa and Asia.”

[172] Metz, Helen Chapin. “The Sanusi Order”. Libya: ACountry Study. GPO for the Library of Congress. Re-trieved 28 February 2011.

[173] A. Del Boca, “Gli Italiani in Libia - Tripoli Bel Suold'Amore” Mondadori 1993, p. 415

[174] Hazrat Sultan Bahu

[175] Home - ZIKR

[176] Ron Geaves, Theodore Gabriel, Yvonne Haddad, JaneIdleman Smith: Islam and the West Post 9/11, AshgatePublishing Ltd., p. 67

[177] Jamal Malik, John R. Hinnells: Sufism in the West, Rout-ledge, p. 25

[178] Philip Jenkins (January 25, 2009). “Mystical power”.Globe Newspaper Company. Retrieved 26 June 2014.

[179] Tom Parfitt (23 November 2007). “The battle for the soulof Chechnya”. Guardian News and Media Limited. Re-trieved 26 June 2014.

[180] “Sufism: Of saints and sinners”. The Economist Newspa-per. Dec 18, 2008. Retrieved 26 June 2014.

[181] “MUSLIM NETWORKS AND MOVEMENTS INWESTERN EUROPE”. Pew Research Center. Govern-ment Promotion of Sufism. September 15, 2010. Re-trieved 26 June 2014.

[182] Angel Rabasa, Cheryl Benard, Lowell H. Schwartz, PeterSickle (2007). “Building Moderate Muslim Networks”.RAND Corporation. Retrieved 26 June 2014.

[183] ALI ETERAZ (June 10, 2009). “State-Sponsored Su-fism”. FP. Retrieved 26 June 2014.

[184] A Sufi-Jewish Dialogue: Philosophy and Mysticism inBahya ibn Paquda’s Duties of the Heart, Diana Lobel

[185] Jewish pietism of the Sufi type, Mireille Loubet

[186] Zeeshan Jawed (4 June 2005). “Soundscape for the soul”.The Telegraph (Calcutta). Retrieved 2008-04-23.

[187] Bageshree S. (26 March 2005). “Urban balladeer”. TheHindu. Retrieved 2008-04-23.

[188] Curiel, Jonathan (February 6, 2005). “Islamic verses: Theinfluence of Muslim literature in the United States hasgrown stronger since the Sept. 11 attacks”. San FranciscoChronicle

16 Further reading• Abrahamov, Binyamin, Philosophical Mysticism, in

Muhammad in History, Thought, and Culture: AnEncyclopedia of the Prophet of God (2 vols.), Editedby C. Fitzpatrick and A. Walker, Santa Barbara,ABC-CLIO, 2014. ISBN 1610691776

• Abun-Nasr, Jamil. Muslim Communities of Grace:The Sufi Brotherhoods in Islamic Religious Life.London, Hurst, 2007.

• Al-Badawi, Mostafa. Sufi Sage of Arabia.Louisville: Fons Vitae, 2005.

• Algan, Refik & Camille Adams Helminski, transla-tors, Rumi’s Sun: The Teachings of Shams of Tabriz,(Sandpoint, ID:Morning Light Press, 2008) ISBN978-1-59675-020-3

28 16 FURTHER READING

• Ali-Shah, Omar. The Rules or Secrets of the Naqsh-bandi Order, Tractus Publishers, 1992, ISBN 978-2-909347-09-7.

• Angha, Nader. “Sufism: A Bridge Between Reli-gions”. MTO Shahmaghsoudi Publications, 2002,ISBN 0-910735-55-7

• Angha, Nader. “Sufism: The Lecture Series”. MTOShahmaghsoudi Publications, 1997, ISBN 978-0-910735-74-2.

• Angha, Nader. “Peace”. MTO ShahmaghsoudiPublications, 1994, ISBN 978-0-910735-99-5.

• Aractingi, Jean-Marc and Christian Lochon, Se-crets initiatiques en Islam et rituels maçonniques-Ismaéliens, Druzes, Alaouites,Confréries soufies; éd.L'Harmattan, Paris, 2008 (ISBN 978-2-296-06536-9).

• Arberry, A.J.. Mystical Poems of Rumi, Vols. 1&2.Chicago: Univ. Chicago Press, 1991.

• Austin, R.W.J.. Sufis of Andalusia, Gloustershire:Beshara Publications, 1988.

• Azeemi,Khwaja Shamsuddin. Muraqaba: Art andScience of Sufi Meditation, Houston:Plato Publish-ing,Inc., 2005, ISBN 0-9758875-4-8.

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• Emin Er, Muhammad. The Soul of Islam: EssentialDoctrines and Beliefs, Shifâ Publishers, 2008, ISBN978-0-9815196-0-9.

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• Khan, Inayat. “Part VI, Sufism”. The Sufi message,Volume IX—The Unity of Religious Ideals

• Koc, Dogan, “Gulen’s Interpretation Of Sufism”,Second International Conference on Islam in theContemporary World: The Fethullah Gülen Move-ment in Thought and Practice, December 2008

• Lewinsohn (ed.), The Heritage of Sufism, VolumeI: Classical Persian Sufism from its Origins to Rumi(700-1300).

• Michon, Jean-Louis. The Autobiography (Fahrasa)of a Moroccan Soufi: Ahmad Ibn 'Ajiba (1747–1809). Louisville: Fons Vitae, 1999.

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• Rahimi, Sadeq (2007). Intimate Exteriority: SufiSpace as Sanctuary for Injured Subjectivities inTurkey., Journal of Religion and Health, Vol. 46,No. 3, September 2007; pp. 409–422

• Schimmel, Annemarie, Mystical Dimensions of Is-lam. Chapel Hill: University of North CarolinaPress, 1983. ISBN 0-8078-1223-4

• Schmidle, Nicholas, “Pakistan’s Sufis Preach Faithand Ecstasy”, Smithsonian magazine, December2008

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• Shah, Sirdar Ikbal Ali. “The General Principles ofSufism,” The Hibbert Journal, Vol. XX, October1921/ July 1922.

• Shaikh Sharfuddin Maneri. Letters from a SufiTeacher. Mountain View, CA: Golden Elixir Press,2010. ISBN 978-0-9843082-4-8.

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• Wilcox, Lynn. “Women and the Holy Qur'an: a SufiPerspective”. MTO Shahmaghsoudi Publications,1998, ISBN 0-910735-65-4

29

17 External links• A Sufi Metamorphosis: Imam Ali

• The Bektashi Sufi Order of Dervishes

• Rifai Sufi Order: A Brief History of Sufism

• Sufism Oxford Islamic Studies Online

• Sufism at DMOZ

• Sufism, Sufis, and Sufi Orders - Sufism’s Many Paths

• Extensive photo Essay on Sufism by a National Ge-ographic photographer

• ProjectSufism - misconceptions, realities and trueessence of sufism

• Pak Naqshbandi

• A Survey Of Decisive Arguments And Proof ForTasawwuf - Sufism in Islam

30 18 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

18 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

18.1 Text• Sufism Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sufism?oldid=655816397 Contributors: Kpjas, Mav, Bryan Derksen, RK, Christian List,

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18.2 Images 31

Hashim.i.mohamed, Tassedethe, Numbo3-bot, Tuzk, NocturneSoul, Lightbot, Xizzling, Krano, Zorrobot, Jarble, Hiram111, Spiritualism,Tanyildizi, Luckas-bot, Yobot, 2D, Ajmerchishty, Sikandro, Ssrout, Fs11, Syedmohammad, KamikazeBot, Ghurabadeen, Nasiryounus,AnomieBOT, Andrewrp, Sulzliu, Stracalai, Robmlogic, Jim1138, Scythian77, AdjustShift, Dexterisme, Mahmudmasri, Materialscientist,Secular Anarchist, Citation bot, Dcapurro, Kngwa83, Dewan357, LilHelpa, Matthiashess, Xqbot, Ekwos, 4twenty42o, Canberkyuksel,Grim23, Locos epraix, Greenmtncville, Xashaiar, Gangasrotogati, Omnipaedista, Cyborgwittgenstein, Wasifwasif, GorgeCustersSabre,Earlypsychosis, Mahmagin, RibotBOT, Spirituality Guy, Safiel, Shadowjams, Eugene-elgato, RavShimon, Nikil44, Mudassir Rizwan,FrescoBot, Samir.warsi, LucienBOT, Tobby72, AbuIlyas, Balkhi13, Bruce Elphinston Robertson, Age Happens, Annexatious, Kwiki,Sakimonk, Mahakala achoui, Winterst, Rustum4u2u, Interestedinfairness, Pinethicket, I dream of horses, HRoestBot, Kapilsidhu, B97036,10metreh, SpeechlessOcean, Blubro, Datteln, Fat&Happy, Impala2009, Tahir mq, AttahUllahFan, SirMoo, Wixit, Lifewater000, Villa-bosphor, Rajendrakgupta, Vkg12, Comancheros, Khayati, Ashutoshchaturvedi07, Jade Harley, N998, Lotje, Javierito92, Qawwalilover,Dinamik-bot, Mohall76, Kuailong, Jigglyfidders, Abie the Fish Peddler, Indoscholar, Farhikht, Joodeak, ColbertsSweetness, Ali Mura-tovic, Damsirigi99, DARTH SIDIOUS 2, Italiano2012, ADDFL, Mzsabusayeed, Sam.rizae, WernerAs, Msin10, Blakeross, J36miles,EmausBot, Artefactual, John of Reading, Snakeeater330, WikitanvirBot, Elsacosta, Sikander.alis, Ajraddatz, Jujhar.pannu, Kuuhkuuh,GoingBatty, RA0808, Luckyaim, Boyfats, Loso3898, NoisyJinx, Rarevogel, Roctour, BeUnknown, Mazjoob, ZxxZxxZ, Satyakti121,Mynuddeenster, Rahmatgee, SexyKick, K6ka, AsceticRose, Turkiyem, Lilac Cotton, Greatscots, Arab4Ever, Sarabsethh, Fæ, Josve05a,Ilikenoodles12, Aqkiajib, Wellrung, Laur8927, Iwanttoeditthissh, Mar4d, 888chuli, UffieMusic, Azhar Mehmood, Access Denied, Walkson Water, Webasura, Makecat, Thine Antique Pen, Someone65, Arman Cagle, Talibghaffari, Alamukht, MansurHallaj, Erget2005, Don-ner60, Rmchopra, Basantptolani, Zain dakhan, Ash wki, ChuispastonBot, Crown Prince, Spicemix, Hundredpeaks, Bbeehvh, Cgt, ClueBotNG, Hyiltiz, Jack Greenmaven, Tanbircdq, Goldenbeehive, MelbourneStar, Code16, -sche, Webbi527, Masher13, Waddick, Zhuravlei,O.Koslowski, Patapsco913, Widr, Nijam121, Suninthegarden, North Atlanticist Usonian, Helpful Pixie Bot, Omer123hussain, Asfak95,Tsovas, BG19bot, Northamerica1000, TheBlindOwl, HyperEssence, Wahunjra, Dzlinker, Metricopolus, AbuSophia, Kamrul jami, MarkArsten, الدويك ,بلال Nijam122, Africanarab21, Peapub, Mughal Lohar, William4433, LuckyDukeSeven, RajaPakhralMinhas, Seth-neha2007, Itsurnemesis, The Almightey Drill, Sparthorse, Saifiadarbar, Adomhoar, Asrefaei, KingQajar, Caduon, Glacialfox, Safwanzul-fiqar, Docsufi, Klilidiplomus, Mirjam Amalthea, Carinae986, Woo2786, Priyanjana Roy, BattyBot, Isashake, RichardMills65, PabloG-Parera, HacksBack, Wnsqstv, GAYousefSaanei, Conorman123, Louey37, Su2400, Khazar2, BlueLupine, KhanzadaKhanzada, TheSeek-ing1, Hassaankhi, Jawad physics, Abdean, CHISTHI.ZA, JYBot, Mohital23, Trobor, StrongChristianEurope, Pirhayati, Sminthopsis84,Nissanleaf, Mogism, Love4Colombia, Medu321, Sufism786, Tausif04, Charan Gill, RexAustralis, Faizan, Soulspeaksproductions, Chris-tianChivalry, I am One of Many, BreakfastJr, Lsmll, Attarirazavi208, Julian Felsenburgh, Eppagh121, Melonkelon, Iztwoz, Tentinator,Sunnibarelvi, Daavar h, Jasimmahbubi, Johan Tristan Aslim, Harishoney, Faizanhb2, Am Not New, Kayelldee, YiFeiBot, Ksoban20,2wikibot, Truthandfaith, Fitzcarmalan, AddWittyNameHere, Faz.shah, FH87, Kingdomjoel, Sufidisciple, StuffandTruth, Skr15081997,Moramayelp, Monkbot, Filedelinkerbot, P-123, BethNaught, Kashem555, Dguzzo, Umarjifriya, Shabu5, Alsheikh ziauddin, ANONY-MOUS103, Aktiwari96, Bektashi, Aclarke9913, Shuayb Sahib, Habharchi, Raheem7864, Trueffelcat, Umar7175, Oxherdn, Ibnebatuta,AnonymousBusterBoyBusterBoy, 468SM, Mzoyeb, Mysagaym, Shadab salam1, Trueager, Pprr777, Mbcap, SanKhan, Outrgrav, Muham-mad b. Abdallah, Xtremedood, Elioun, Yasufi ibn Luqman, Zeanali12 and Anonymous: 1562

18.2 Images• File:'Ali_Dede_al-Busnawi_-_Three_Hundred_Sixty_Sufi_Questions_-_Walters_W585_-_Closed_Top_View_A.jpg

Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/%27Ali_Dede_al-Busnawi_-_Three_Hundred_Sixty_Sufi_Questions_-_Walters_W585_-_Closed_Top_View_A.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: Walters Art Museum: <ahref='http://thewalters.org/' data-x-rel='nofollow'><img alt='Nuvola filesystems folder home.svg' src='//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/81/Nuvola_filesystems_folder_home.svg/20px-Nuvola_filesystems_folder_home.svg.png'width='20' height='20' srcset='//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/81/Nuvola_filesystems_folder_home.svg/30px-Nuvola_filesystems_folder_home.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/81/Nuvola_filesystems_folder_home.svg/40px-Nuvola_filesystems_folder_home.svg.png 2x' data-file-width='128' data-file-height='128'/></a> Home page <a href='http://art.thewalters.org/detail/7580' data-x-rel='nofollow'><img alt='Information icon.svg'src='//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Information_icon.svg/20px-Information_icon.svg.png' width='20'height='20' srcset='//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Information_icon.svg/30px-Information_icon.svg.png 1.5x,//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Information_icon.svg/40px-Information_icon.svg.png 2x' data-file-width='620'data-file-height='620' /></a> Info about artwork Original artist:

'Ali Dede al-Busnawi (died 1007 AH/AD 1598)

Mustafá ibn al-Hajj Muhammad• File:5741-Linxia-Huasi-Gongbei.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/5741-Linxia-Huasi-Gongbei.jpg

License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: User:Vmenkov• File:Allah-green.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Allah-green.svg License: Public domain Contribu-

tors: Converted to SVG from Image:Islam.png, originally from en:Image:Ift32.gif, uploaded to the English Wikipedia by Mr100percent on4 February 2003. Originally described as “Copied from Public Domain artwork”. Original artist: ?

• File:Allah1.png Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Allah1.png License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Ownwork, derived from File:Allah.png by same uploader Original artist: Ibrahim ebi

• File:Alī.png Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/Al%C4%AB.png License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Ownwork Original artist: Ibrahim ebi

• File:Commons-logo.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg License: ? Contributors: ? Originalartist: ?

• File:Dhikr_Rifa-iyya.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/Dhikr_Rifa-iyya.jpg License: Public domainContributors: http://golib.narod.ru/obnov/mistyk/10.html Original artist: Unknown

• File:Dil.gif Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/Dil.gif License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: ? Original artist:?

32 18 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

• File:Friday_Evening_Qawali_at_Dargah_Salim_Chisti,_Fatehpur_Sikri,_UP,_India.theora.ogv Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/Friday_Evening_Qawali_at_Dargah_Salim_Chisti%2C_Fatehpur_Sikri%2C_UP%2C_India.theora.ogvLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Transferred from en.wikipedia; transferred to Commons by User:Innotata using CommonsHelper.Original artist: Fowler&fowler at en.wikipedia

• File:Kashgar-apakh-hoja-d04.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/Kashgar-apakh-hoja-d04.jpg Li-cense: CC BY-SA 2.5 es Contributors: ? Original artist: ?

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