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in an Algerian town, Leiden 1987.
K. Naamouni, Le culte de Bouya Omar, Casablanca 1995.
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F. M. Welte, Der Gnàwa-Kult, Frankfurt 1990.Margaret J. RauschTurkey, South Asia, Central Asia,
Afghanistan, Iran, the Caucasus, and
the Arab EastMany contemporary scholars have noted that the
mystical or Sufi interpretation and practice of Islam
is an arena that provides scope for female partici-
pation and women’s leadership. Others (Murata,
Ahmed) have understood Sufism as providing a
counter or alternative philosophical strand within
Islamic traditions that allows for greater expression
of feminine spirituality.
The fact that many manifestations of Sufism take
place outside of the mosque relieves female parti-
cipants of the strict imposition of certain formal
ritual restrictions such as gender segregation.
However, the mixing of males and females in these
environments may become a target of criticism for
opponents of Sufism. Whether in some cases the
incorporation of pre-Islamic popular practices and
concepts by Sufis gives greater opportunity for
women to participate is open to debate.History and theory
The understanding that Sufism arises from a
mystical philosophy embedded in the Qur±àn per-
mits the expression of the feminine or receptive
aspect of the ultimate reality represented by divine
attributes such as the Merciful, the Inner, and so
forth. In the other main source of religious author-
ity, the Prophet’s sunna, his “beautiful” (jamàlì)
qualities such as gentleness and forbearance may be
seen as supporting a feminine ideal.
The Qur±ànic figure most associated with con-
cepts of female sanctity is Mary, mother of Jesus.
Her attitude of acceptance and her state of purity
and receptivity to divine revelation sets a pattern
for female sainthood in Islam that is similar to her
role in Christian piety. Later Sufi-influenced poets
have expanded the Qur±ànic account of Yùsuf and
Zulaykha into an allegory of spiritual transforma-
tion in which the female’s lust for this handsome
youth is transformed through suffering into mature
spiritual love.766 sufi orders and movements
Among the Prophet’s family, his most saintly
female relative is his daughter, Fà†ima, who is
elevated to a special spiritual status in the Shì≠ìtra-
dition. Here she embodies the archetype of the suf-
fering mother whose sons will ultimately be
martyred, as well as the pure virgin (bàtùl) who is
beyond the lusts and defilements of the physical
body. Other descendants of the Prophet such as
SayyidnàNafìsa (824), a descendant of £asan,
his grandson, and SayyidnàZaynab, the Prophet’s
granddaughter, are venerated in Cairo as female
saints and their shrines are important pilgrimage
sites for both men and women.Female ascetics
The Sufi tradition’s most prominent female is
Ràbi≠a al-≠Adawiyya of Basra (d. ca. 801). Her story
is an appealing legend of a slave girl whose piety
won her freedom after which she became a lifelong
ascetic. The anecdotes of her reported by ≠A††àr (d.
1230) in the Tadhkirat al-awliyà±contrast her to the
male ascetic, £asan of Basra, whose spiritual states
and insights she is able to best through her prag-
matic wisdom and more developed miraculous
powers. ≠A††àr termed her a “man,” a common way
of appreciating the achievements of Sufi females.
For example, Jàmì(d. 1492) in his Nafa™àt al-uns
entitled the section of biographical anecdotes of 33
women, “those who have achieved the stations of
men.” According to Baldick, later legends of Ràbi≠a
conflate two historical persons. In this case, “the
pair of the penitent courtesan and the sexually
abstinent wife form a pattern that continues in Sufi
biographies” (1989, 30).
The wife of the Sufi al-£àkim Tirmidhì(d. ca.
932) is said to have achieved the same spiritual sta-
tus as her husband and her dreams are reported in
his spiritual autobiography. Other notable Sufi
women include Fà†ima of Nishapur (d. 849),
admired by famous male Sufis Bi߆àmìand Junayd.
Given the social conditions of earlier times many
female saints are reported as “anonymous” in the
biographical compendia.
While the literary tradition may under-report
their existence, at the popular level the evidence of
shrines to female saints remains, for example the
shrines of Lalla Sittìin Tlemcen, Lalla ≠â±isha al-
Mannubiyya in Tunis, and Bìbìjàn Pàk Dàmanàn in
Pakistan. Sùlamì(d. 1021) and many other early
hagiographers devoted separate sections to biogra-
phies of pious and ascetic females. Sùlàmì’s notices
present to us pre-†arìqafemale Sufis who embody
ascetic and world-denying qualities. As is the case
with female scholars in Islam, the number of female
saints proportionate to males who are reported