HIST 2890 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Tawhid, Ulama, Sadus
9 Jan 2017
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Sufism: islamic mysticism: from arabic word suf which means wool term supposedly came from fact that a lot of wandering mystics (darwish) wore this wool clothing. Mystical communion with the divine (tawhid: a kind of meditation not unlike that of other religions, repetition of words and body movements the goal of which is reaching spiritual union with god. Although sufis see muhammad as first sufi because he would meditate in mountains: looking inward instead of outward. Some sufi orders became quite heterodox in their appearance, practices, and lifestyle, resembling the holy sadus (hindu mendicants of asia who wanted the countryside) People would wonder and others would join them women included. All sufi orders have master-disciple spiritual chain deriving ultimately from the prophet or the caliphs. On this basis prominent sufi mystics claimed islamic spiritual legitimacy, though the orthodox religious establishment may have disagreed with their practices or behaviour.
