Sufism in the 20th–21st centuries

Sufism (tasawwuf) is the strand of Islam that attends to moral and spiritual training; its historical organisational form is the Sufi orders (tariqa), in which the relation between murshid (guide) and murid (disciple) is central. Rabia al-Adawiyya (c. 714–801), one of the early figures among the ascetics of Basra, is known for stressing pure love of God. In later centuries orders formed around shaykhs such as Ahmad Yasawi (d. 1166/67), Jalaluddin Rumi (1207–1273) and Abdulkhaliq Ghijduvani. Bahauddin Naqshband (1318–1389) was born at Qasr-i Hinduvan (later Qasr-i Arifan) near Bukhara; he added three rules to the eight rules of the “Khwajagan” lineage founded by Ghijduvani, and the Naqshbandi order is named after him. He earned his living by farming and crafts; his saying “Dil ba yor, dast ba kor” (heart with the Friend, hand at work) expresses combining work with spiritual life. In the 20th–21st centuries Sufism exists in many parts of the Muslim world: in Turkey the activity of the orders was banned by a law of 1925 and later revived in various forms; in the former Soviet space they were restricted like other forms of religious life, and after 1991 historical shrines were restored and research expanded. Today the Naqshbandi order is also known in South and Southeast Asia, Turkey, Europe and North America; Rumi’s works have been translated into many languages and are widely read in cultural life. Scholars of religion study Sufism both as a religious phenomenon and as a cultural and literary heritage.