tariqa
Mystical Islamic brotherhood
A tariqa is a path or method in Sufi Islam—a spiritual order organized around a master-disciple lineage for pursuing mystical union with God.
Each tariqa has distinctive practices: prayer rituals, chanting, meditation, or ecstatic dance.
The word comes from Arabic for "way" or "path." Major tariqas include the Qadiriyya, Naqshbandiyya, and the whirling Mevlevi order: He joined a tariqa to deepen his spiritual practice.
Also spelled tariqah.
Sufi spiritual lineage
- shaykhArab elder title
- initiationFormal admission ceremony
- brotherhoodKinship among men
- fellowshipMutual goodwill among companions
lineage · transmission · succession · affiliation · congregation · community · master · disciple
Oral delivery from memory
- chantingRhythmic repetitive vocalization
- meditationFocused attention practice
- contemplationSustained reflective attention
- fastingDeliberate food avoidance
prayer · worship · devotion · wird · litany · invocation · breathing · ritual
Ego's dissolution in God
- gnosisExperiential sacred understanding
- illuminationProvision of light
- unveilingAct of first revealing
- ecstasyOverwhelming intense delight
baqa · annihilation · union · awakening · transcendence · purification · heart · secret
Muslim spiritual seeker
- dervishSufi order member
- faqirIslamic religious ascetic
- traditionCustom passed through generations
- schoolPlace of instruction
branch · founder · saint · transmission · heritage · teaching · way
Travel from place to place
- wayfarerTraveler, especially walking
- seekerOne who looks
- stationsFixed stops on routes
- progressionSequential forward movement
stages · ascent · guidance · direction · destination · traversal · waystation · milestone
silsila
Sufi spiritual lineage
- shaykhArab elder title
- initiationFormal admission ceremony
- brotherhoodKinship among men
fellowship · lineage · transmission · succession · affiliation · congregation · community · master · disciple · chain
recitation
Oral delivery from memory
- chantingRhythmic repetitive vocalization
- meditationFocused attention practice
- contemplationSustained reflective attention
fasting · prayer · worship · devotion · wird · litany · invocation · breathing · ritual · observance
fana
Ego's dissolution in God
- gnosisExperiential sacred understanding
- illuminationProvision of light
- unveilingAct of first revealing
baqa · ecstasy · annihilation · union · awakening · transcendence · purification · heart · secret · taste
Sufi
Muslim spiritual seeker
school · branch · founder · saint · transmission · heritage · teaching · way
journey
Travel from place to place
progression · stages · ascent · guidance · direction · destination · traversal · waystation · milestone · advancement
- IslamAllah, Quran, Muhammad, Mecca, Ramadan
- North African IslamIslam, Sunni Islam, Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha
- Sufismfana, sufi, Sufism, dervish, silsila
- African Islamimams, mosques, madrasas, Timbuktu, Sokoto Caliphate
- Moroccan Sufismmarabout, silsila, faqir, wird, spiritual master
- Senegalese Islammarabout