ly accepted among the t:ar ̄ıqahs, though many S:u ̄f ̄ı manuals
defend it when properly regulated. Some orders also hold
communal ceremonies involving the piercing of body parts
with skewers or knives in trance-like states to induce or dem-
onstrate the achievement of ecstatic states.
COMMUNAL LIFE. The nucleus from which the t:ar ̄ıqahs de-
veloped was the relationship established between master and
adept. This mirrored the teacher-student relationship in the
madrasahs or the master-apprentice relationship in the urban
craft guilds (from whose ranks the t:ar ̄ıqahs drew much of
their membership). A popular preacher or revivalist, a healer,
a visionary mystic, an ascetic or other holy man might draw
a number of devoted listeners to hear lectures or to experi-
ence the charisma and spiritual energy (barakah) of his pres-
ence. This might develop into a lasting relationship between
a spiritual guide (murshid), or elder (Arabic, shaykh; Persian,
p ̄ır), directing his seeker (mur ̄ıd). Prior to the twelfth century
the relationship of such disciples to one another was typically
unstructured, though they might travel together when ac-
companying the master on a journey and either do odd jobs
or beg to support themselves. Some groups, such as the
Karra ̄m ̄ıyah (based on the teachings of the ascetic preacher
Ibn Karra ̄m, d. 869), apparently evolved into more systemat-
ic movements.
S:u ̄f ̄ı teachers who acquired a wider reputation were
eventually able to set up hospices or lodges of their own to
accommodate students. One of the earliest, a “small cloister”
(duwayrah), was established by the ascetic EAbd al-Wa ̄h:id ibn
Zayd (d. c. 750) on the island of EAbba ̄da ̄n in the Persian
Gulf and continued to operate after his death. Other similar
institutions at about this time are described as existing in
eastern Persia, in Damascus, on the Byzantine frontier, and
in Alexandria and North Africa.
As a fraternity grew, it might move from the master’s
private house or shop to a separate compound, which could
include a hall for devotional exercises, a large kitchen for
guests and disciples, a small mosque, and possibly a school.
Larger centers included living quarters for some initiates, ei-
ther individual cells or a larger dormitory. Often such centers
grew up around the tomb of the founder of the t:ar ̄ıqah or
a local shrine visited by pilgrims. The names of these centers
or retreats varied according to location and function, typical-
ly za ̄wiyah and riba ̄t: in the Maghreb; tekke in Anatolia and
the Balkans; kha ̄naqa ̄h, a Persian word, throughout Iran and
India (sometimes as kha ̄nagah) as well as in Egypt and the
Levant (as kha ̄nqa ̄h). The Persian word darga ̄h (literally
“threshhold” but used for the royal court or palace) is also
found, particularly in India. The Chisht ̄ıyah shaykhs in India
prefer to use their own personal residence, designated as a
“community home” (jama ̄Eat-kha ̄nah), to avoid the adepts
becoming entangled in the mundane distractions of adminis-
tering a large center and its endowments.
Some such kha ̄naqa ̄h centers kept open house, while
others might be visited only by appointment. The shaykh
lived with his family in one quarter, saw his disciples at fixed
hours, and led the five daily prayers. Some kha ̄naqa ̄hs were
large and could accommodate both long- and short-term vis-
itors. The SaE ̄ıd al-SuEada ̄D in Egypt, founded by Saladin
(S:ala ̄h: al-D ̄ın) in 1173, accommodated three hundred der-
vishes, and contemporary chronicles record how every Friday
people gathered round to gain blessings by watching them
leave the compound for the Friday noon prayer.
The communal life of the t:ar ̄ıqah had obvious attrac-
tions. Congregational prayer gave strength and warmed
faith, collective pursuit of spiritual exercises created an en-
couraging environment, and communal worship ceremonies
like dhikr and sama ̄E fostered mystical experience. The com-
munal setting of the t:ar ̄ıqah also led to greater formalization
of the relationship between the shaykh and his disciples. Fa-
vored disciples enjoyed close companionship and conversa-
tion with the shaykh, pursued in some of the t:ar ̄ıqahs
through the technique of tawajjuh, or total face-to-face con-
centration. This was practiced by the disciple concentrating
on his shaykh as he performed the dhikr or by the shaykh who
reciprocated by concentrating on his disciple, entering his
heart and guiding him.
The spiritual authority of the t:ar ̄ıqahs and their shaykhs
are certified by a silsila, or “chain” of transmission, which (in
a parallel to the isna ̄d of a h:ad ̄ıth report) certify the founder
of the order’s link to a presumed oral tradition of interpreta-
tion handed down the generations from the Prophet. These
silsilas, not all of them historically plausible, function as spiri-
tual geneaologies and naturally diverge according to the date,
birthplace, and heritage claimed by the founder of the partic-
ular t:ar ̄ıqah. Most, however, converge on JaEfar al-S:a ̄diq
(d. 765) and trace their way back to Muh:ammad through
his cousin and son-in-law EAl ̄ı, who thus holds a special mys-
tical significance for both Sunna ̄ and Sh ̄ıE ̄ı S:u ̄f ̄ıs.
A master of outstanding spiritual authority and charis-
ma might create so strong an impression on his followers that
his method and the community of disciples attached to him
continued after his death. His mantle, literally symbolized
by the bestowal of a ceremonial patchwork cloak (khirqah),
was passed to one or more of his chosen disciples, who inher-
ited his authority and continued his work either in the home
kha ̄naqa ̄h or in an ancillary one in another city. This new
shaykh, who might be chosen from among the elder shaykh’s
sons, appointed by the shaykh, or elected, was succeeded in
turn by one of his disciples. In this way a line of transmission
of authority and barakah was established, so that the spiritual
power of the founding shaykh could be transmitted forward
to future generations of disciples.
A new disciple then did not become simply the follower
of a shaykh. He made his oath of allegiance both to his shaykh
and to the founder of the line of transmission to which his
shaykh was heir. By so doing he gained the right to have
knowledge of the special dhikr formulas distinctive to the
order and to share in the spiritual power of the entire line
of transmission. Thus to the relationship between teacher
and disciple (joined by their mutual desire to draw closer toT:AR ̄IQAH 9005