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Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī, or simply Rumi, was a 13th-century poet, Hanafi faqih, Islamic scholar, Maturidi theologian and Sufi mystic originally from Greater Khorasan in Greater Iran.
Sufism, also known as Tasawwuf, is a mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic purification, spirituality, ritualism, asceticism, and esotericism. It has been variously defined as "Islamic mysticism", "the mystical expression of Islamic faith", "the inward dimension of Islam", "the phenomenon of mysticism within Islam", the "main manifestation and the most important and central crystallization" of mystical practice in Islam, and "the interiorization and intensification of Islamic faith and practice".
A tariqa is a school or order of Sufism, or specifically a concept for the mystical teaching and spiritual practices of such an order with the aim of seeking haqiqa, which translates as "ultimate truth".
The Mevlevi Order or Mawlawiyya is a Sufi order that originated in Konya and which was founded by the followers of Jalaluddin Muhammad Balkhi Rumi, a 13th-century Persian poet, Sufi mystic, and Islamic theologian. The Mevlevis are also known as the "whirling dervishes" due to their famous practice of whirling while performing dhikr. Dervish is a common term for an initiate of the Sufi path; whirling is part of the formal sema ceremony and the participants are properly known as semazens.
Sama is a Sufi ceremony performed as part of the meditation and prayer practice dhikr. Sama means "listening", while dhikr means "remembrance". These performances often include singing, playing instruments, dancing, recitation of poetry and prayers, wearing symbolic attire, and other rituals. Sama is a particularly popular form of worship in Sufism.
The Masnavi, or Masnavi-ye-Ma'navi, also written Mathnawi, or Mathnavi, is an extensive poem written in Persian by Jalal al-Din Muhammad Balkhi, also known as Rumi. The Masnavi is one of the most influential works of Sufism, ascribed to be like a "Quran in Persian". Some Muslims regard the Masnavi as one of the most important of Islamic literature, falling behind only the Quran. It has been viewed by many commentators as the greatest mystical poem in world literature. The Masnavi is a series of six books of poetry that together amount to around 25,000 verses or 50,000 lines. It is a spiritual text that teaches Sufis how to reach their goal of being truly in love with God.
Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity (tariqah), or more narrowly to a religious mendicant, who chose or accepted material poverty. The latter usage is found particularly in Persian and Turkish (derviş) as well as in Amazigh (Aderwish), corresponding to the Arabic term faqīr. Their focus is on the universal values of love and service, deserting the illusions of ego (nafs) to reach God. In most Sufi orders, a dervish is known to practice dhikr through physical exertions or religious practices to attain the ecstatic trance to reach God. Their most popular practice is Sama, which is associated with the 13th-century mystic Rumi. In folklore and with adherents of Sufism, dervishes are often credited with the ability to perform miracles and ascribed supernatural powers. Historically, the term Dervish has also been used more loosely, as the designation of various Islamic political movements or military entities.
Sufi whirling is a form of physically active meditation which originated among certain Sufi groups, and which is still practiced by the Sufi Dervishes of the Mevlevi order and other orders such as the Rifa'i-Marufi. It is a customary meditation practice performed within the sema, or worship ceremony, through which dervishes aim to reach greater connection with Allah. This is sought through abandoning one's nafs, ego or personal desires, by listening to the music, focusing on God, and spinning one's body in repetitive circles, which has been seen as a symbolic imitation of planets in the Solar System orbiting the Sun.
Dhikr is a form of Islamic prayer in which phrases or prayers are repeatedly chanted in order to remember God. It plays a central role in Sufi Islam, and each Sufi order has usually adopted a specific dhikr, typically accompanied by specific posture, breathing, and movement. In Sufi Islam, dhikr refers to both the act of this remembrance as well as the prayers used in these acts of remembrance. Dhikr can be performed in solitude or as a collective group. It can be counted on a set of prayer beads or through the fingers of the hand. A person who recites the Dhikr is called a Dhakir, literally "he who remembers." The content of the prayers includes the names of God, or a dua taken from the hadiths or the Quran.
Haji Bektash Veli was an Islamic scholar, mystic, saint, sayyid, and philosopher from Khorasan who lived and taught in Anatolia. His original name was Sayyid Muhammad ibn Sayyid Ibrāhim Ātā. He is also referred to as the "Sultan of Hearts" and the "Dervish of the Dervishes".
Islamic culture or Muslim culture refers to the historic cultural practices that developed among the various peoples living in the Muslim world. These practices, while not always religious in nature, are generally influenced by aspects of Islam, particularly due to the religion serving as an effective conduit for the inter-mingling of people from different ethnic/national backgrounds in a way that enabled their cultures to come together on the basis of a common Muslim identity. The earliest forms of Muslim culture, from the Rashidun Caliphate to the Umayyad Caliphate and the early Abbasid Caliphate, was predominantly based on the existing cultural practices of the Arabs, the Byzantines, and the Persians. However, as the Islamic empires expanded rapidly, Muslim culture was further influenced and assimilated much from the Iranic, Caucasian, Turkic, Indian, Malay, Somali, Berber, and Indonesian cultures.
Sufi literature consists of works in various languages that express and advocate the ideas of Sufism.
Reynold Alleyne Nicholson, FBA, or R. A. Nicholson, was an eminent English orientalist, scholar of both Islamic literature and Islamic mysticism and widely regarded as one of the greatest Rumi scholars and translators in the English language.
The Mevlâna Museum, in Konya, Turkey, started life as the dervish lodge (Tekke) of the Mevlevi order, better known as the whirling dervishes. It houses the mausoleum of Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi, a Persian Sufi mystic.
Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Adil Al-Qubrusi Al-Haqqani, commonly known as Shaykh Nazim, was a Turkish Cypriot Sunni Muslim imam and one of the most influential members of the Sublime Naqshbandí Order (tariqa) of Sunni Islam.
Leonard Lewisohn was an American author, translator and lecturer in the area of Islamic studies and a specialist in Persian language and Sufi literature. He was the editor of Mawlana Rumi Review, a publication of the Rumi Institute and Archetype, Cambridge, published once a year. He was a member of the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies in University of Exeter.
Eva de Vitray-Meyerovitch was a French scholar of Islam, a researcher at the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS), and a translator and writer, who published a total of forty books and numerous articles. She was a disciple of the Sufi master Hamza al Qadiri al Boutchichi.
Abdülbaki Gölpınarlı (1900—1982) was a Turkish literary historian of Azerbaijani descent, known for his works on Sufism, Divan literature and Iranian literature. He was a translator and educator, "an outstanding interpreter of Sufism, especially the Mawlaviyya and Bektashiyya schools", as well as "one of the greatest scholars of Turkish Sufism".
Şefik Can was a Turkish spiritual leader and the last Sufi master in the Mevlevi Sufi tradition in Turkey.
Mustafa İslamoğlu, is a Turkish theologian, poet, writer. He also appears in religious shows of Diyanet TV.
References
- ↑ "Shems Friedlander". The Muslim 500. Retrieved 2019-12-07.
- ↑ "Sufi Ramadan traditions". Daily News Egypt. 2006-10-04. Retrieved 2019-12-07.
- ↑ "New photography exhibition portrays essence of Sufism". gulfnews.com. Retrieved 2019-12-07.
- ↑ Şafak, Yeni (2017-06-11). "Ramazan'da sokakta yemek Türklere mahsus". Yeni Şafak (in Turkish). Retrieved 2019-12-07.
- ↑ "Dünyadaki en etkin 500 Müslüman'ı arasındaki Şems Frıedlander konuştu - Timeturk: Haber, Timeturk Haber, HABER, Günün haberleri, yorum, spor, ekonomi, politika, sanat, sinema". www.timeturk.com. Retrieved 2019-12-07.
- ↑ Merkezi, Haber (2022-11-24). "US Muslim writer Shems Friedlander laid to rest in Türkiye". Yeni Şafak. Retrieved 2022-11-29.