Sufism
Sufism or tasawwuf is the name for various
mystical and movements in Islam. It aims at
establishing direct communion between god and
man through personal experience of mystery
which lies within Islam. Every religion gives rise
to mystical tendencies is its fold at a particular
stage of its evolution. In this sense, Sufism was a
natural development within Islam based on the
spirit of Quaranic Piety. The Sufis while
accepting the shariat did not confine their
religious practice to formal adherence and
stressed cultivation of religious experience aimed
at a direct perception of god.
There developed a number of Sufi orders of
silsilah in and outside India. All these orders had
their specific characteristics. However, there
were a number of features which are common
to all Sufi orders.
1. Sufism as it developed in the Islamic
world came to stress the importance of
traversing the Sufi path (tariqa) as a
method of establishing direct
communion with divine reality
(haqiqat).
2. According to the Sufi beliefs, the novice
has to pass through a succession of
“stations” of “stages” (maqamat) and
changing psychological conditions or
“states” (hal) to experience god.
3. The sufi path could be traversed only
under the strict supervision of a spiritual
director (sheikh, pir or murshid) who
had himself successfully traversed and
consequently established direct
communion with god.
4. the disciple (murid) progressed through
the “stages” and “states” by practising
such spiritual exercise as self-mortification,
recollection of god’s name to attain
concentration (zikr) and contemplation.
5. The sufis organised impassioned musical
recitals (soma). The practice of sama
was intended to induce a mystical state
of ecstasy. However, some sufi orders
did not approve of certain forms of sama
and the ulema were particularly hostile
to the practice.
6. Yet another feature of sufism is the
organisation of the Sufis into vatious
orders (silsilah). Each of these silsilah,
e.g. suhrawardi, qadiri, chishti, weer
founded by a leading figure who lent
his name to it. A silsilah consisted of
persons who had become disciples of a
particular Sufi.
7. The hospice (dhanqah) was the centre
of the activities of a sufi order. It was
the place where the pir imparted
spiritual training to his disciples. The
popularity of the khanqah and its
capacity fo attract disciples depended
on the reputation of the pir. Khanqahs
were supported by endowment and
charity.
By the time the various Sufi orders began
their activities in India from the beginning of the
13th century, Sufism had already grown into a
full-fledge movement in different parts of the
Islamic world. Sufism acquired distinct
characteristics in the Indian environment but its
growth in India, particularly in the initial phase,
was linked in many ways with the development
that occurred in Sufi beliefs and practice in the
Islamic world during the period between 17th
and 13th centuries. The growth of Sufism in the
central lands of islam during this period can be
divided into three broad phases.
