Sufism

Sufism (Arabic: التصوف‎, romanised: al-Taṣawwuf) whose practitioners are known as "Sufis" (from صُوفِيّ, ṣūfīy), is a mystic body of religious practices within Islam that is characterised by a focus on purification, spirituality, ritualism, and asceticism. Sufism has been defined in various ways —incorporating the dimension of Islamic belief— as mysticism, "the inward dimension of Islam", "the internalization and deepening of Islamic belief and practice" or Islamic esoterism. Regarding the origins of Sufism —for which pointing to non-Islamic sources as well, various theories have been proposed— it is generally assumed that the movement emerged during the early period of Islamic history under the spiritual leadership of the hagiographic figure Hasan al-Basri, as an ascetic reaction to the expansion and luxurious lifestyle of the Umayyad Caliphate (661–750). The ultimate aim of Sufis is expressed as to seek the pleasure of God by endeavouring to return to their original state of purity and natural disposition, known as fitra. To achieve this aim, Sufis typically join structures known as tariqa (pl. turuq)—congregations formed around a grand wali (saint) said to be the last in a chain of successive teachers linking back to Muhammad, with the goal of undergoing tazkiyah (self-purification) and the hope of reaching the spiritual station of ihsan. The Sufi order leader, known as the murshid, leads his followers —referred to as murids— in vocal, ceremonial, and collective acts of worship, or assigns them silent, individual dhikr, the practice of the remembrance of God. Sufis also played an important role in the spread of Islam through their missionary and educational activities. Although the overwhelming majority of Sufis, both pre-modern and modern, remain adherents of Sunni Islam, some strands of Sufi thought transferred over to the ambits of Shia Islam during the late Middle Ages after the Safavid conversion of Iran under the...