Sufism

Dervishes practice this

Sufism is the mystical dimension of Islam, emphasizing direct personal experience of the divine through devotional practices, meditation, and spiritual discipline.

Sufis seek inner purification and union with God, often guided by a master within an order.

Practices include chanting, breath control, and ecstatic movement—the "whirling dervishes" being the most famous example.

She studied Sufism and its poetry of divine love.

figures

Rumi

HafizQuran-remembering honorific
AttarPersian mystical poet
sheikhArab tribal head

faqir · dervish · saint · master · disciple

spiritual

mysticism

Pursuit of divine union

tariqaSufi spiritual brotherhood
fanaEgo's dissolution in God
ihsanWorship with divine awareness

baqa · silsila · wird

philosophy

unity

Wholeness through cohesion

onenessState of being unified
annihilationUtter, complete destruction
subsistenceMinimal means of living

divine love · gnosis · enlightenment · theophany · emanation · immanence · transcendence · pantheism · monism · esoteric

practices

whirling

Rotating swiftly in place

meditationFocused attention practice
chantingRhythmic repetitive vocalization
fastingDeliberate food avoidance

seclusion · contemplation · prayer · recitation · breathing · retreat · vigil · asceticism · renunciation · pilgrimage

poetry

masnavi

Persian didactic couplet verse

devotionalRelating to worship
metaphorImplied identity comparison
belovedOne who is treasured

wine · tavern · longing · ecstasy · union · separation · intoxication · nightingale · rose · moth

orders

lodge

Temporary woodland dwelling

brotherhoodKinship among men
lineageDescent from progenitors
initiationFormal admission ceremony

Sufism

Rumi

mysticism

unity

whirling

masnavi

lodge

Sufism

Opposites

Categories

Family