Sufism the essentialsFor more than a millennium, Sufism has been the core of the spiritual experience of countless Muslims. As the chief mystical tradition of Islam, it has helped to shape the history of Islamic societies. Although it is the Sufi face of Islam that has often appealed to Westerners, Sufis and Sufism remain mysterious to many in the West, and are still widely misunderstood. In this new, redesigned paperback edition of this bestselling book, a scholar with long experience of Sufism in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Europe succinctly presents the essentials of Sufism and shows how Sufis live and worship, and why. As well as what Sufism is and where it comes from, the book discusses Sufi orders not only in the Islamic world but also in the West. The political, social, and economic significance of Sufism are outlined, and the question of how and why Sufism has become one of the more controversial aspects of contemporary Islamic religious life is addressed. -- Back cover. |
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Abd al-Qadir activities Ahmadiya al-Din al-Ghazali al-Mirghani al-Sanusi al-Shadhili Arabic areas Azhar Baraka become Bedouin Cairo Chapter Three countries Damascus death dhikr educated Egypt esoteric established European example fiqh Guénon hadith Hijaz hijra Ibn al-'Arabi Ibn Ata Allah Ibn Idris Ibn Taymiya important Islamic law Islamic societies Islamic world jadhb jihad Kadizade Kadizadelist khalifa khalwa later live majdhub mawlid Mecca Medina modern mosque Muhammad Muslim world nafs Naqshbandiya Nazim nineteenth non-Sufis normal origins of Sufism Ottoman particularly perhaps political practice of Islam prayer Prophet Qadiriya Quran religion religious Rumi Salafis Sanusiya Saudi scholar Shadhili Shadhiliya shaykh qv significance silsila someone sometimes spiritual spread Sudan Sudanese Sufi communities Sufi follows Sufi orders Sufi practices Sufi shaykh Sufi's love Sufism sultan sunna Syria Tariqa teaching tion tomb tradition Traditionalist twentieth century ulema umma usually variety various Wahhabis wali wear a beard West Western women zawiya