ascetic quality, because it obliges Muslims to ren-
der some of their wealth (but not all of it) for the
welfare of the community. A concept of purifica-
tion is associated with this activity, as reflected in
the word zakat itself, which is based on an Arabic
word for “pure” or “sinless” (zaki).
The virtuosos of asceticism in Islam, however,
are Sufis, those who follow its mystical path.
Indeed, the name sufi is thought to be a reference
to the frock of wool (suf) worn by early ascetics.
Sufis claimed to have been inspired by the example
of mUhammad and early members of the Muslim
community, although historically their techniques
and beliefs seem to have been influenced by pre-
Islamic ascetic traditions found in the religions
of the Middle East and Asia. Muhammad was
remembered for his simple lifestyle, frequent vig-
ils, spiritual retreats, and extra fasting. Later, in
the aftermath of the early Arab Muslim conquests
(seventh and eighth centuries), ascetics such as
hasan al-basri (d. 728) were repulsed by the
wealth and luxurious lifestyle enjoyed by Muslim
rulers. They felt that this worldliness distracted
people from keeping their focus on God, obey-
ing his laws, and reaching paradise. Other early
ascetics were ibrahim ibin adham (d. ca. 778) and
rabia al-adaWiyya (d. 801). With the appearance
of organized Sufism after the 10th century, a mem-
ber of a brotherhood (tariqa) of Sufis was called
a faqir, “poor man,” or its Persian equivalent, der-
vish, because of his adherence to a spiritual life of
poverty. Sufis used ascetic practices to control the
impulses and passions of the lower soul (nafs),
and they identified them with stations on the path
to spiritual perfection: poverty, repentance, seclu-
sion, withdrawal, abstinence, renunciation, and
hunger. Special fasting practices, prayer postures,
nighttime vigils, self-mortification, and extended
periods of seclusion were developed by many of
the Sufi brotherhoods, which provided manuals
to their members to guide them in their practices.
Some groups in India, such as the Shattariyya,
adopted yogic forms of asceticism, but this was
not widespread. Others, such as the Qalandars,
engaged in what some call deviant ascetic prac-
tices, such as taking hallucinogenic drugs, walk-
ing about nearly naked, and practicing forms of
self-mutilation.
See also ablUtion; baqa and fana; sUFism.Further reading: Carl W. Ernst, Teachings of Sufism
(Boston: Shambala, 1999); Ahmet T. Karamustafa,
God’s Unruly Friends: Dervish Groups in the Islamic Later
Middle Period, 1200–1550 (Salt Lake City: University of
Utah Press, 1994).Ashari School
The Ashari School is the foremost school of the-
ology in Sunni islam. It is named after Abu al-
Hasan al-Ashari (873–935), who sought to define
and defend core doctrines about God, the qUran,
and Free Will in terms of rational philosophy.
Although we lack details about his life, we know
he was from the southern Iraqi town of Basra and
that he was a member of a respected family that
claimed descent from one of Muhammad’s earliest
followers. He was first an enthusiastic supporter
of the mUtazili school, which, armed with Greek
rationalism, refuted traditional religious beliefs
and argued instead that 1) the attributes assigned
to God in the Quran (such as hearing and seeing
or having face and hands) were not part of his
essential being; 2) the Quran was created; and 3)
humans could exercise free will independent from
that of God. However, by the time he was 40 years
old, al-Ashari had become convinced that these
positions and related ones were wrong. Switch-
ing course, he used the Mutazili tools of rational
disputation against them to argue instead that 1)
God’s attributes were real, even if we do not know
how they are so; 2) the Quran was God’s speech
and therefore eternal and uncreated as he is; and
3) human free will is impossible because God
creates everything, including individual human
actions.
The Ashari School grew in Basra and Baghdad,
drawing its inspiration from al-Ashari’s theologyK 66 Ashari School