Sufism in the 21st Century: A Living Tradition
Dr Ines Aščerić-Todd is a Lecturer in Arabic and Middle Eastern Cultures at the University of Edinburgh
Sufism – Islamic mysticism – encompasses a set of beliefs and practices used by many Muslims as a way of drawing closer to God and attaining personal experience or knowledge of the Divine. Sufism has a long history and is almost as old as Islam itself. Its beginnings can be traced to individual ascetics during the Umayyad period of classical Islam (7th-8th century AD). One of them was the famous early mystic from Basra, Rabi‘a al-‘Adawiyya (d. 801), who is considered to have played an important role in the formulation of original Sufi ideas, such as the concept of ‘unconditional love towards God’. Further Sufi teachings and methods were articulated and refined during the Baghdad school period (9th-12th century), and the formative period of Sufism ended with the crystallisation of different Sufi orders – tariqas (13th-14th century).
Although historically there were many individual mendicant, nonconformist, and at times even controversial Sufis devoted to a life of mystical endeavour with no material, this-worldly ties of any kind, most Sufi disciples embark upon their spiritual journey by joining a Sufi tariqa and undergo religious training under the guidance of their master, the sheikh. The tariqas, which centre around the teachings of their individual leader-founders, developed order-specific initiation ceremonies, rules of progression on the path, and set spiritual exercises (wird) for the disciples to follow. The establishment of the tariqas also signalled the transformation of Sufism from ‘spiritual elitism’ to a more popular movement, available to wider sections of population. This, in turn, led to further proliferation of Sufism across the Muslim world.
Thus, one of the most widespread tariqas, the Qadiriyya order, whose founding figure is the eponymous 12th century ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani (d. 1166), extended its influence from Morocco in the West where it aided the spread of Islam into West Africa, to the Indian subcontinent in the East in 14th century, and later as far as Indonesia. Today, it is just as popular among Muslims in Russia and Southeastern Europe, especially Bosnia, where it was established during the Ottoman Empire’s rule. The Shadhiliyya order, founded in Tunis in the 13th century by Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili (d. 1258), spread across North Africa into Spain, and from Egypt into Syria and the Hijaz. Today, it is one of the most popular orders in Western Europe, particularly in France and the UK, where it accounts for many 20th and 21st century conversions to Islam in those countries. The initial spread of Islam in India was facilitated by the influential Chishtiyya tariqa, founded by Mu‘in al-Din al-Chishti (d. 1236). The spread of this sect of Sufism highlights some of its key features which are largely responsible for ensuring its success across centuries and different countries, namely, its tolerance of and respect for other religions, and its adaptability to local traditions and customs. In the case of the Chishtiyya, for example, the local Hindu population was attracted to its spiritual practices of love for and contemplation of Allah, and the Chishtis themselves were happy to adopt many existing Hindu ceremonies and meditation techniques.
While some Sufi spiritual exercises have to be carried out individually, and sometimes even in isolation, the focus of a tariqa membership is on communal life and joint prayers and other devotional activities. The most important of those is the ritual of dhikr or Remembrance of God, which includes loud invocation or silent remembrance of God’s name (Allah or one of His many other names), recitation of surahs from the Qur’an, and other prayers or invocations, during a hadra, a Sufi gathering for this purpose. While most dhikrs include chanting, they are also often accompanied by drums or other musical instruments and dancing, and the sheer multitude and variety of dhikrs practiced today across the world is a testament to the rich variety within Sufism and Islam itself: from the comparably austere Shadhiliyya hadra in Egypt (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMD1nD0ADR4) or the Qadiri ones in Eastern Europe (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tx6dwa4u8Lg, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdS0MXDz89Y) to the vibrant Karkariyya dhikr in Morocco (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_gvfZJ0VEo) or the lively Naqshbandi hadra in Cyprus (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53oUMDFZ87Q).
Although the tariqas opened the doors for more Muslims to join the Sufi circles in the societies in which they were established, a lot of their activities are still in some cases closed to those outside the order and therefore inaccessible to many ordinary members of the population. There is, however, one particular aspect of Sufism which has had a wider reach and an enduring impact in Muslim societies throughout history – the popular custom of the veneration of Sufi saints. As Islam technically does not provide for the existence of ‘saints’ in the same way that Christianity does, this function is fulfilled by Sufi masters who are thought to have reached a particularly high spiritual state, including the ultimate goal of annihilation and subsistence in Allah. Referred to by the Qur’anic phrase ‘awliya’ Allah’, ‘the friends of God’, Sufi saints possess baraka – a spiritual quality bestowed upon them by God, which can be transferred to others by a dead or a living sheikh. Veneration of Sufi saints takes many forms throughout the Muslim world, one example being the practice in Morocco of tying pieces of cloth to a tree near a saint’s tomb or other holy location to have a wish or request granted or to express gratitude for a saint’s help.
The most common practice, however, is the visitation of Sufi saints’ tombs which are places of particular reverence in most Muslim communities; simply saying a short prayer at a saint’s tomb is considered to bring special blessings. During the visitation, the devotees greet the dead sheikh by touching the tomb with the right hand and then placing it upon their eye lids and forehead, while in some countries (mostly where this practice goes back to pre-Islamic customs) material offerings (such as incense or flower petals) are brought in order to receive the blessing.
A region with one of the most vibrant traditions of Sufi saint visitation is the Indian subcontinent, which is the home of several important Sufi tombs and festivals associated with them. These include the tomb (dargah) of the semi-legendary Abdullah Shah Ghazi, an 8th century Sufi patron-saint and protector of Karachi, and the Haji Ali Dargah in Mumbai, the shrine of the 15th century Sufi saint Haji Ali Shah Bukhari.
Probably the most famous of these sites is the dargah of Mu‘in al-Din al-Chishti, the above mentioned founding figure of Chishtiyya, in Ajmer in Rajasthan (pictured above). The tomb is visited by thousands of both Hindu and Muslim pilgrims daily, while the largest visitation takes place during the commemoration of the saint’s death (urs), a six-day festival which sees hundreds of thousands of devotees flock to the site.
Dating back to the classical Islamic period, Sufi beliefs and practices, although evolved over centuries, maintained their basic principles and have lived on in the teachings of Sufi tariqas which have spread across continents throughout the Muslim world and beyond. Although the more academic strands of Sufism, such as the philosophically-inclined works of Sufi thinkers like Muhyi al-Din ibn ‘Arabi (d. 1240) continue to interest Muslim and non-Muslim scholars alike, it is the appeal of the more simplistic Sufi messages of the love of God and the communal nature of the Sufi practices within the tariqas which ensured the acceptance of Sufism in every environment. This simplicity has played a key role in the spread of Islam in many parts of the world. Through membership of a tariqa, by taking part in or observing Sufi hadras and dhikrs, through direct personal experience of Sufi blessings at a visitation to a saint’s tomb, a Sufi lodge, or other sacred site, ordinary people of all faiths engage with Sufi traditions on an almost daily basis and Sufism remains a vital and thriving component of life in 21st century Muslim communities across the world.
The opinions expressed are those of the contributor, not of the RSAA.