Sufism (Arabic: ٱلصُّوفِيَّة), also known as Tasawwuf[1] (ٱلتَّصَوُّف), is a mystic body of religious practice with Islam characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ritualism, asceticism and esotericism.

It has been variously defined as "Islamic mysticism""the mystical expression of Islamic faiththe 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".

 

Practitioners of Sufism are referred to as "Sufis" (from صُوفِيّ, ṣūfīy), and historically typically belonged to "orders" known as tariqa (pl. ṭuruq) – congregations formed around a grand master wali who would be the last in a chain of successive teachers linking back to Muhammad.

 

Sufi doctrines and institutions are complementary to the basic framework of Islamic practice. While Sufis strictly observed Islamic law and belonged to various schools of Islamic jurisprudence and theology, they are unified by their opposition to dry legalism. Important focuses of Sufi worship include dhikr, the practice of remembrance of God.

 

Sufism emerged early on in Islamic history, partly as a reaction against the worldliness of the early Umayyad Caliphate (661–750), and Sufis played an important role in Islamic history through their missionary and educational activities.

 

Despite a relative decline of Sufi orders in the modern era, Sufism has continued to play an important role in the Islamic world, and has also influenced various forms of spirituality in the West.

 

Source : Wikipedia

Dervish dance - first part.

Danza Derviscia - prima parte.

Col termine Derviscio (in persiano e arabo darwīsh, lett. «povero», «monaco mendicante») si indicano i discepoli di alcune confraternite islamiche (turuq) che, per il loro difficile cammino di ascesi e di salvazione, sono chiamati a distaccarsi nell'animo dalle passioni mondane e, per conseguenza, dai beni e dalle lusinghe del mondo. Si tratta di un termine afferente a molte generiche confraternite islamiche sufi, anche se tendenzialmente ci si riferisce alla ṭarīqa della Mawlawiyya/Mevleviyè. I dervisci sono asceti che vivono in mistica povertà, simili ai frati mendicanti cristiani.(Wikipedia)

 

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Dervish dance - second part.

Danza Derviscia - seconda parte.

Col termine Derviscio (in persiano e arabo darwīsh, lett. «povero», «monaco mendicante») si indicano i discepoli di alcune confraternite islamiche (turuq) che, per il loro difficile cammino di ascesi e di salvazione, sono chiamati a distaccarsi nell'animo dalle passioni mondane e, per conseguenza, dai beni e dalle lusinghe del mondo. Si tratta di un termine afferente a molte generiche confraternite islamiche sufi, anche se tendenzialmente ci si riferisce alla ṭarīqa della Mawlawiyya/Mevleviyè. I dervisci sono asceti che vivono in mistica povertà, simili ai frati mendicanti cristiani.(Wikipedia)

 

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Col termine Derviscio (in persiano e arabo darwīsh, lett. «povero», «monaco mendicante») si indicano i discepoli di alcune confraternite islamiche (turuq) che, per il loro difficile cammino di ascesi e di salvazione, sono chiamati a distaccarsi nell'animo dalle passioni mondane e, per conseguenza, dai beni e dalle lusinghe del mondo.

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The term Dervish (in Persian and Arabic darwīsh, lit. "poor", "mendicant monk") indicates the disciples of some Islamic brotherhoods (turuq) who, due to their difficult path of asceticism and salvation, are called to detach themselves in the soul from worldly passions and, consequently, from the goods and allurements of the world.

“THE HEART OF A FOOL IS IN HIS MOUTH AND THE TONGUE OF A WISE MAN IS IN HIS HEART.”

HAZRAT ALI.

 

Name - Ali

 

Title - Al-Murtaza, Al-Amir-ul-Mo’mineen, Abu-Turab, Asadullah

 

Kunyat - Abul Hasan

 

Born - Friday 13th of Rajab, in the Holy Ka’ba

 

Father’s Name - Abu Talib-ibne-Abdul Muttalib

 

Mother’s Name - Fatima bint-e-Asad

 

Died - at the age of 63 years, at Kufa, on Monday, the 21st Ramadan 40 AH, murdered by an assassin who mortally wounded him with a poisoned sword in the Mosque at Kufa during morning prayers on the 19th of Ramadan.

 

Buried - Najaf, near Kufa.

 

1. A wise man first thinks and then speaks and a fool speaks first and then thinks. - Hazrat Ali Ibn-e-Abi Talib

 

3. Be generous but not extravagant,

  

What is Nahjul Balagha ?

 

The Nahjul Balagha is a collection of sermons, precepts, prayers, epistles and aphorisms of 'Ali ('a) compiled by al-Sayyid al-Sharif al-Radi about one thousand years ago. However, neither the recorded words of Mawla 'Ali are confined to those collected by al-Sayyid al-Radi, nor was he the only man to compile the sayings of Amir al-Muminin. Al-Masudi, who lived a hundred years before al-Sayyid al-Radi, in the second volume of his work Muruj al-dhahab , writes: "At present there are over 480 sermons of 'Ali in the hands of the people," whereas the total number of sermons included by al-Sayyid al-Radi in his collection is 239 only.

 

The alienation from the Nahjul Balagha was not confined to me or others like me, but pervaded through the Islamic society. Those who understood this book, their knowledge did not go beyond the translation of its words and explanatory notes on its sentences. The spirit and the content of the book were hidden from the eyes of all. Only lately, it may be said, the Islamic world has begun to explore the Nahjul Balagha , or in other words, the Nahjul Balagha has started its conquest of the Muslim world.

 

What is surprising is that a part of the contents of the Nahjul Balagha , both in Shi'ite Iran and Arab countries, was first discovered either by atheists or non-Muslim theists, who revealed the greatness of the book to the Muslims. Of course, the purpose of most or all of them was to utilize the Nahjul Balagha of 'Ali ('a) for justifying and confirming their own social views; but the outcome was exactly opposite of what they desired. Because, for the first time the Muslims realized that the views expressed grandiloquently by others had nothing new to offer and that they cannot surpass what is said in the NNahjul Balagha of 'Ali ('a), or translated into action through the character ( sirah ) of 'Ali and his disciples like Salman al-Farsi, Abu Dharr, and 'Ammar. The result of it was that instead of supporting the pretentious views of those who wished to exploit the Nahjul Balagha , 'Ali and his book defeated their purpose. Nevertheless, it must be accepted that before this occurred, most of us had little knowledge of the Nahjul Balagha and it hardly went beyond appreciation of few sermons about virtues of piety and abstinence. Nobody had yet recognized the significance of the valuable epistle of Mawla 'Ali to Malik al-'Ashtar al-Nakh'i; nobody had paid attention to it.

  

Addressee's of Nahjul Balagha

 

Imam Ali(a.s) in his sermons addressed several categories and groups of people both in positive and negative sense, we have summarized the groups over here:

 

1. His Ahlulbayt (a.s) - Preachings , Guidance and Will

 

2. His sincere followers (a.s) - Guidance Advices (like Hamam, Meesam, Malik-e-Ashtar)

 

3. First Group of Opponents, the Mushrikeen (infidels, Jews)

 

4. Second Group of Opponents, those companion of Prophet(s.w) who opposed him.

 

5. Third Group of Opponents , those companion of Prophet(s.w) who did not oppose directly but remained silent when injustice was done to him and Islam.

 

6. Fourth Group, the opponents of Battle of Jamal

 

7. Fifth Group, the opponents of Siffeen (the companions of Muwiyah)

 

8. Sixth Group, the opponents of Naharwan (the Khwarij who deviated from him)

 

9. Seventh Group, his own followers who lacked the sense of responsibilty and were condemned by him on several occassions in very harsh language (the Kufis)

  

The Contents of Nahjul Balagha

 

Nahjul Balagha comprises various issues that cover major problems of metaphysics, theology, fiqh, tafsir, hadith, prophetology, imamate, ethics,social philosophy, history, politics, administration, civics, science, rhetoric, poetry, literature, etc. Most of the discussions about various theological issues and philosophical notions in Islam have their origin in this very book. Similarly, all the controversies regarding socio-political problems in the Muslim society and state left their echo in Nahjul Balagha ,or rather those were inspired from the utterances of al-lmam 'Ali (as). The book not only reflects the spirit of early Islam and the teachings of the Quran and the Prophet (saw) in the proper perspective, but also serves as a guide to traverse the future in the light of these teachings. It is a matter of regret that Nahjul Balagha was not properly utilized by the Muslims as a source book of Islamic philosophy, kalam, fiqh, and ethics due to misconceptions about its attribution to al-Imam'Ali (as) In the presence of strong and sufficient evidence in support of the contents of the book being authentic, it was sheer prejudice and lack of the spirit of inquiry that was responsible for neglecting such a reliable source of Islamic ideas. In recent times, the Orientalists have spread the unfounded doubts of Ibn Khallikan and al-Dhahabi among Muslim and non-Muslim scholars in the name of objectivity in research, thus giving a respectable appearance to their ignorance, which was, of course, combined and prompted by their motive to ali enate the Muslims from their intellectual heritage. I know many a scholar in India and Pakistan questioning the authenticity of Nahjul Balagha's ascription to Amir al-Mu'minin using lofty words of research-objectivity with a hefty-pose of a dispassionate seeker of truth. None of them, I am sure, ever studied any book about early sources of the sermons and letters of al-'Imam 'Ali (as), nor did any one of them ever try to gain really objective information about the book. Unfortunately none of them bothered to go through even the valuable research done by Imtiyaz 'Ali Khan 'Arshi, a widely read and respected writer in the literary circles of Urdu in the Subcontinent. It was because of my first-hand knowledge of this pitiable situation that I have intentionally devoted the major part of the present article to the issue of the authenticity of the attribution of the contents of Nahjul Balagha , in the light of earlier sources, to 'Ali (as). Those who insist upon denying the veracity of Nahjul Balagha are either suffering from a malady of deep-rooted prejudice spread through the propaganda of the supporters of Banu Umayyah, or their minds and spirits have been blinded by the propagation of falsehood by the Orientalists under the garb of high-sounding academic jargon. If our minds are cured of this jaundiced perception of our own past, Nahjul Balagha can be paid the attention it deserves and its contents will be studied and its meanings will be fully explored and exploited for a better understanding of Islamic ideas and realities. A look at the subjects discussed in Nahjul Balagha will be helpful in ascertaining the wide scope of this invaluable treasure of wisdom. So far a few attempts to classify the subject matter of the book have been made none of which has been comprehensive. A subject-wise index of the contents of Nahjul Balagha has been prepared by 'Ali Ansariyan and published in Arabic under the title al-Dallil 'ala mawdu'at Nahjul Balagha in 1395/1975. It was translated and published three years ago in Persian with the sub-title Nahjul Balagha mawdu'i. The compiler has divided the contents into eight categories, each dealing with a specific subject further divided into various issues pertaining to the main theme.

The main divisions are as follows:

1. Ma'rifat Allah,

2. Ma'rifat al-kawn,

3. Ma'rifat al-hujjah,

4. Ma'rifat nizam al-huqumah wa al-mujtama',

5. Ma'rifat al-'ahkam,

6. Ma'rifat al-'akhlaq,

7. Ma'rifat al-ta'rikh, and

8. Ma'rifat al-ma'dd

 

Misconceptions about Nahjul Balagha

 

No scholar of Sunni or Shi'a profession has questioned the genuineness and authenticity of Nahjul Balagha for more than two centuries. The first person to raise doubts about its attribution to Amir al-Mu'minin was Ibn Khallikan (d. 681/1282), who, without referring to any author or source,made the following remarks about the authorship of Nahjul Balagha : People have different opinions about the compiler of Nahjul Balagha , a collection of the utterances of al-'Imam 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (as) There is difference as to whether it was compiled by al-Sharif al-Murtada or his brother al-Radi. It is also said that it is not at all the composition of 'Ali (as) and that the one who compiled it and attributed it to him made it himself; but Allah knows the truth. These remarks were made in Wafayat al-aya'n in connection with the account of the life and work of al-Sharif al-Murtada, al-Radi's elder brother. Ibn al-'Athir al Jazari (555-630/1160-1232) in Mukhtasar al-Wafayat, Salah al-Din al-Safadi (d. 764/1362) in al-Wafi bi al-wafayat, al-'Allamah al-Yafi'i(d. 768/1366) in Mir'at al Jinan, and Ibn al-'Imad in Shadharat al-dhahab were content just to repeat Ibn Khallikan's conjecture without bothering to substantiate it. Al-'Allamah al-Dhahabi (d. 748/1347) in Mizan ul-'i'tidal was the first person to pick up the audacity to raise the unfounded doubt to a degree of certainty a century after Ibn Khallikan. He wrote in his account of al-Murtada: Al Sharif al-Murtada, who is accused of fabricating Nahjul Balagha , was a scholar of considerable knowledge. Whosoever sees his book Nahjul Balagha would come to believe that it was falsely attributed to Amir al-Mu'minin (as), because it contains open abuse rather than downgrading of the two caliphs Abu Bakr and 'Umar. Contradictions and mean matters have also crept into it, which do not conform with the spirit of the Companions of the Quraysh and our knowledge of the later Companions. One is convinced that the major part of this book is forged and unauthentic. Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani (d. 748/1347) repeated al-Dhahabi's objections without bothering to probe deeper into the matter. The most interesting and at the same time the weakest part of the objections concerns ascription of the authorship of Nahjul Balagha to al-Murtada. The objectors belonged to the Umayyad West and had deep prejudices against Shiii scholars, and perhaps under the impact of Umayyad propaganda their prejudice was so deep-rooted that even their scholarship could not rise above it. Among the four contemporaries of al-Radi and al-Murtada, three, that is, al-Tha'alibi, al-Najashi (d. 450/1058), and al-Khatib al-Baghdadi (d. 463/1071) have given accounts of both the brothers. Al Shaykh al-Tusi did not give any account of al-Radi in al-Fihrist or al-Rijal, but he did not count Nahjul Balagha among the works of al-Murtada, which dispel any conjecture attributing its authorship to him, because al-Tusi was very close to him as his student. Al-Tha'alibi and al-Khatib al-Baghdadi did not mention Nahjul Balagha either in the account of al-Murtada or that of al-Radi.Al-Najashi in unambiguous terms attributed Nahjul Balagha to al-Radi. Al-Tusi's exclusion of Nahjul Balagha from the works of al-Murtada,and al-Najashi's mention of it among the works of al-Radi are sufficient to prove that it was without any doubt a work of al-Radi. The objectors, who could not even determine authorship of the book exactly, depended on nothing but their whim to raise doubts about its authenticity. A more convincing proof of al-Radi's authorship of Nahjul Balagha can be found in his own other works in which he has mentioned it. Those books are the following: 1. Khasa'is al- 'A'immah: A manuscript of this work of al-Radi is in Rida Library Rampur (India) which reveals that Fadl Allah ibn 'Ali al- Husayn al-Rawandi (d. 555/1160) accepted Khasa'is as al-Radi's work. In this book, as quoted above, al-Radi has mentioned his intention of compiling Nahj al-balaghah. 2. Haqa'iq al-tanzil: Only the fifth part of this book is accessible to us. Its authorship is unanimously attributed to al-Radi. On page 167 of this book al-Radi makes this remark: Anybody who needs a proof of our claim should refer to our book Nahj al-balaghah and think upon its contents. We have compiled all forms and genres of the utteranees of Amir al-Mu'minin (as) in this book, which comprises sermons, letters, aphorisms, and admonitions, and is divided into three independent parts, each containing a specific genre. 3. Majazat al-'athar al-Nabawiyyah: Al-Najashi and others have included this book among al-Radi's works. At two places in this book al-Radi has referred to Nah; al-balagha as a work of his own compilation. It is important to note that even Ibn Khallikan, al-Dhahabi and Ibn Hajar did not question the authenticity of the attribution of Nahj al-balaghah in its entirety to'Ali (as). They were mainly skeptical of those parts which were critical of the Caliphs Abu Bakr and 'Umar. But if we find such utterances and writings of Amir al-Mu'minin (as) in both Shi'i and non-Shi'i sources earlier than Nahjal-balaghah,baseless-ness of al-Dhahabi's and Ibn Hajar's objections can be conclusively proved. Let us again refer to Istinad-e Nahj al-balagha by 'Arshi, a contemporary Sunni scholar of India. With respect to the harshest of the sermons concerning the issue of the caliphate, known as al-Khutbat aldhiqshiqiyyah, 'Arshi refers to the following early sources in which the sermon had occurred: 1. Abu Ja'far Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Khalid al-Barqi (d.274/887) has quoted it in full in al-Mahasin wa al-'adab. 2. Ibrahim ibn Muhammad al-Thaqafi al-Kufi (d. 283/896) quoted it in al-Gharat. In his notes on al-Gharat, Sayyid Jalal al-Din Muhaddith,quoting Imtiyaz 'Ali Khan 'Arshi, says that this khutbah is not found in it; even Ibn Abi al-Hadid and al-'Allamah Muhammad Baqir al-Majlisi (1037-1110 or 1111/1627-1698 or 99) did not refer to al-Gharat as an early source of this sermon. 3. Abu 'Ali Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab al Jubba'i al-Basri al-Mu'tazili(d. 303/915 -16) narrated it. 4. Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Qubbah al-Razi (a teacherof al- Mufid and a pupil of Abu al-Qasim al-Balkhi, a Mu'tazili in his youth) quoted it in al-Insaf. 5. Abu al Qasim 'Abd Allah ibn Ahmad ibn Mahmud al-Ka'bi al-Balkhi al-Mu'tazili (d. 319/931) in al-'Insaf. 6. Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn 'Ali ibn al-Husayn ibn Musa ibn Babawayh al-Qummi, known as alShaykh al-Saduq (d. 318/930), has quoted it in two of his books: Ilal al Sharayi' and Ma'ani al-'akhbar. 7. Abu 'Abd Allah Muhammad ibn al-Nu'man, known as al-Shaykh al-Mufid(d. 413/ 1022) inKitdb al-'irshad. 8. Shaykh al-Ta'ifah Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Tusi (d. 460/1068) in al-'Amali. 'Arshi adds that al Shaykh al Saduq has narrated this Khutbah on the authority of two different chains of narrators: Narrated to us Muhammad ibn 'Ali Majalawayh from his uncle Muhammad Ibn al-Qasim, he from Ahmad ibn 'Abd Allah al-Barqi he from his father, he from Ibn Abi 'Umayr, he from Aban ibn 'Uthman he from 'Aban ibn Taghlib, he from 'Ikrimah, he from 'Abd Allah ibn al-'Abbas. ('Ilal al-sharayi' and Ma'anial-' akhbar) Narrated to us Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Ishaq al-Taliqani, from 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn Yahya al Jalludi, from Abu 'Abd Allah Ahmad ibn 'Ammar ibn Khalid, from Yahya ibn 'Abd al-Hamid al- Hammani, from 'Isa ibn Rashid, from 'Ali ibn Khuzaymah, from 'Ikrimah, from Ibn al-'Abbas. (Ma'ani al 'akhbar) Al-Sayyid al-Radi has not quoted the entire chain of narrators, and was content to remark that the sermon was popularly known as 'al-Shiqshiqiyyah ', while his teacher al-Mufid narrates both the chain of narrators and the story behind its narration. This is indicative of the fact that this sermon was so famous in those days that al-Radi did not find it necessary to prove its veracity by quoting the chain of its narrators. Surprisingly, the same famous sermon was used by his and 'Ali's opponents to question his veracity and to malign him by accusing him and/or his brother of forging it. The kind of criticism Ibn Khallikan and his followers dabbled in not only discredits them as researchers but also makes their other works suspicious in the eyes of impartial and objective students of history. Those who could not find any of the above-mentioned books to cross-check the veracity of Nahj al-balaghah had failed miserably even in determining correctly its authorship. Al-Shaykh al-Mufid has collected a number of 'Ali's speeches in al-'Irshad concerning the issue of the succession to the Prophet (saw) and 'Ali's criticism of the ways and means adopted by his opponents to deprive him of the caliphate. The famous Khutbah known as al-Shiq-shiqiyyah begins with the following preface: (A group of traditionists report by a variety of chains of authority (turuq) on the authority of Ibn al-'Abbas, who said:) I [i.e. Ibn al-'Abbas, was with the Commander of the Faithful at al-Rahabah I mentioned the [matter of] Caliphate and those who had preeeded him. He breathed heavily and said: "By God, Ibn Abi Quhatah took on...." This khutbah ends with the following words: Then you would have found that your world is more insignificant in my eyes than a goat's snot. At this point 'Ali's speech was interrupted by a man from Kufah. Ibn al-'Abbas, after narrating the text of the speech, adds: I have never regretted anything nor felt such distress like the distress l felt at losing the rest of the speeeh of the Commander of the Faithful, peace be on him. When he finished reading the letter, I said: "Commander of the Faithful would you continue your speech from the point which you reached?" He answered: "In no way, in no way. It was like foam on the camel's mouth (shiqshiqah) as it opens its mouth to bellow and then falls silent." Apart from al-'Irshad this khutbah, as claimed by 'Arshi, is found in other sources also. In no way can it be dubbed as al-Radi's or al-Murtada's fabrication. Sayyid Hibat al-Din al-Shahristani, in Mahuwa Nahj al-balaghah, has quoted different versions of al-Khutbat al-Shiqshiqiyyah from: Nathral-durar wa nuzhat al-'adab by the vizier Abu Sa'id al-'Abi; al-'Irshad by al- Shaykh ai-Mufid; al-Mahasin wa al-'adab by al-Barqi; al-Saduq in Ila'l al-sharayi';and a book of al-Jalludi. All the versions have minor differences, which indicate that the source from which al-Radi quoted this sermon was other than these four. After enumerating the earlier works containing this khutbah,Hibat al-Din al- Shahristani points out that Ibn 'Abd Rabbih, one of tbe compilers of al-Khutbat al-Shiqshiqiyyah, was a follower of the Banu Umayyah and a staunch admirer of the third caliph 'Uthman ibn writes: 'Affan. Much earlier than Ibn Khallikan made his remark questioning the authenticity of the attribution of Nahj al- balaghah, certain doubts had come to circulate as indicated by Ibn Abi al-Hadid al-Mu'tazili (d. 555/1257), who referred to a discussion concerning the attribution of al-Khutbat al- Shiqshiqiyyah with his teacher Abu al-Khayr Musaddiq ibn Shabib [sic. Shayb] al-Wasiti (d. 605/1208), who said: I read this khutbah in the presenee of Abu Muhammad 'Abd Allah ibn Ahmad, known as Ibn al-Khashshab (493 -567/1099-1172)... and asked him if he considered this khutbah to be a forged one and not of 'Ali (as). Ibn al-Khashshab said: By God, I am convinced that it is from 'Ali and I am as sure of it as I am convineed of your truthfulness. Al-Wasiti said to Ibn al-Khashshab: "A group is of the view that this khutbah was fabricated by al-Radi, may God be pleased with him." Ibn al-Khashshab said: Is it not beyond the eloquence of al-Radi or any other? How could he speak from such a high level of spirituality in such a (forceful) style? We are well acquainted with al-Radi's writings, his style and his technique. I have assessed both his poetry and prose, these words as compared to those of al- Radi are so different that there is no question of confusing them with his writings." He further said: By God, I have read this sermon in books written two hundred years before the birth of al-Radi. Yes, of course, I have seen it written in many books. I can identify this khutbah very well and know that which of the 'ulama' and men of letters quoted it (in his work) mueh before al-Radi's father was born." (Sharh Nahj al-balaghah, vol. I) On another occasion, in his Sharh Nahj al-balaghah, Ibn Abi al-Hadid A group of blind followers of their own whims and wishes is of the opinion that the best part of Nahj al-balagha is fabricated and forged by a group of Shi'i writers and is something new. Most of them consider a part of it to be the product of al-Radi's pen or of others. But this group consists of prejudiced people, whose heart's vision is blocked by partiality and who have deviated from the right and straight path of truth; they have strayed from truth due to perversion, lack of knowledge, and unfamiliarity with literature and poetry. (vol. 1, p. 543) At another place he writes about the words of Amir al-Mu'minin (as): His eloquence is such that he is the leader of the eloquent and the guide and master of orators. It is said about his ulterances that his words are below the Word of the Creator only, but over and above the words of all creatures; and from him the world has learnt the art of speech and rhetoric. There were people in the age of al-Radi himself whose hearts and eyes were sealed in such a manner that they attributed some of 'Ali's utterances to Mu'fiwiyah. Al-Radi's commentary on the following khutbah,is important: His comment, are as follows: People with no ability to understand literature aseribe it to Mu'awiyah whereas these are undoubtedly the words of Amir al- Mu'minin. How can dirt compare with pure gold?... 'Amr ibn Bahr al Jahiz, a critic gifted with insight and a distinct sensibility, has probed the matter minutely. He has included this khutbah in al-Bayan wa al-tabyin, and has mentioned those who attributed it to Mu'awiyah. Subsequently he says: "This speech is very much like the speeches of 'Ali (as) and is in conformity with the great man's classification of people, and it also corresponds with his manner of depicting the people's modes of behaving in anger, under oppression and waywardness, and in the state of dissimulation and fear. Similarly, al-Radi refers to his sources on a number of occasions,and also gives an account of the circumstances that were responsible for the mood and theme of a certain sermon. He has referred to: al Jahiz; al-Waqidi; Abu Ja'far al-'Iskafi; Hisham ibn al-Kalbi; Sa'id ibn Yahya ai-'Umawi, the author of al-Maghazi; Abu 'Ubayd al- Qasim ibn Salam; al-Tabari; Tha'lab; Ibn al-'A'rabi; al-Mubarrad, and many others. How could an author who allegedly forged the utterances and writings of Amir al- Mu'minin (as) be so honest in acknowledging his indebtedness to his predecessors? Those who raised doubts about the contents of Nahj al-balagha were unaware of the high status and prestige of its compiler, both in the society and in the academic circles. A man of his eminence could not even think of fabricating sermons and letters in the name of al-'Imam 'Ali (as). Had any such attempt been made by anybody, Shi'i scholars themselves would have been the first to reject it, as an anthology of poetry attributed to al-'Imam 'Ali (as) (Diwan-e 'Ali) was never accepted by the majority of Shi'i scholars as authentic. Some other such works, for example, the commentary on the Quran attributed to al- Imam al-Hasan al-'Askari (as) or Fiqh al-Rida attributed to al Imam al-Rida (as),are at issue among Shi'i scholars. But no one among al-Radi's contemporaries or from the successive generations of Sunni or Shi'i 'ulama' ever questioned Nahj al-balaghah's authenticity for more than two centuries. Regarding the contents of Nahj al-balaghah the Muslim scholars of all shades of opinion never doubted al-Radi's veracity. They were aware of the presence of earlier sources of al-'Imam 'Ali's utterances. There is abundant reliable evidence in support of the existence of such collections in the first and second centuries of Hijrah, from which 'Abd al-Hamid ibn Yahyfi, Ibn al- Muqaffa', and Zayd ibn 'Ali ibn al-Husayn ibn 'Ali ibn Abi Talib had quoted al-'Imam 'Ali's sermons and letters. In the third and fourth centuries, too, several collections of 'Ali's khutab and rasa'il were compiled, some of which have been already referred to above. Ibn Abi al-Hadid (d. 655 or 656/1257 or 58); Taqi al-Din Ahmad, known as Ibn Taymiyyah (661-728/1263-1328); and his pupil Salah al-Din al-Safadi (d.764/1362 -63) accepted Nahj al-balaghah as a genuine collection of al Imam 'Ali's words. The former not only wrote one of the most famous commentaries on it, but also repudiated all doubts about its authenticity. Ibn Taymiyyah and al-Safadi were among staunch opponents and critics of the Shi'ah, but both of them verified the authenticity of Nahj al-balagha and the veracity of al-Sharif al-Radi. Al-Safadi, in the account of al-Radi, writes: People are of the view that Nahj al-balaghah is his own writing. But I heard my teacher, al-'Imam al-'Allamah Taqi al-Din Ahmad ibn Taymiyyah say: "Nahj al-balaghah is not al-Sayyid al-Radi's product. What in this book is the utterance of 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (as) is known, and whatever is from al-Radi that is also known. (al-Wafi bi al-wafayat, vol. 2, p. 375) Instead of going into further details of the controversy about the authenticity of Nahj al- balaghah's ascription and forwarding more evidence against those who created doubts about it, I would recommend the keen reader to consult al-Mu'jam al-mufahras li alfaz Nahj al-balaghah, edited by al-Sayyid Kazim al-Muhammadi and al-Shaykh Muhammad al-Dashti, who have done a commendable job in preparing a very comprehensive bibliography of the sources of the book along with a detailed item- by-item list of the sources of each and every sermon, letter, and saying contained in Nahj al-balaghah. Moreover, since the death of al-Radi scholars of eminence have been always interested in writing commentaries on Nahj al-balagha, which is another very strong proof of its authenticity. So many Sunni, Mu'tazili, and Shi'i scholars would not have taken pains to comment upon al Radi's own fabrications. 'Ali Naqi Munzawi, in the catalogue of the library of Mishkat, donated to Tehran University, has enumerated 33 narrators of al-'Imam 'Ali's utterances before al-Radi and fourteen after him till the tenth Hijrah century. Danish Pizhoh, in his preface to Farman-e Malik Ashtar, edited by Husayn 'Alawi Awi, has given a list of its early commentators. Sayyid 'Abd al-Zahra' al-Khatib, in Masadir Nahj al balagha wa asaniduh, has counted thirty-three books written concerning the sources of Nahj al- balaghah. Hundreds of manuscripts of Nahj al-balaghah in various libraries of the world and even a greater number of the manuscripts of other earlier works containing al-'Imam 'Ali's utterances invite all seekers of truth to trace the sources and ascertain the authenticity of Nahj al-balaghah. There are also numerous documents available which contain certificates and testimonials issued by eminent scholars to their pupils authorizing them to narrate the contents of Nahj al-balaghah along with the permission to narrate ahadith of the Prophet (saw) and the Imams (as). This is enough to show that Nahj al-balaghah has been considered to be of equal value in reliability with the most authentic compendiums of hadith. The narration of Nahj al-balagha's traditions had started during the lifetime of al-Radi. Qutb al-Din al-Rawandi (d. 573/1177) in the preface of his commentary on Nahj al- balaghoh, refers to a daughter of al-Sharif al Murtada, who had studied the book under al-Radi himself and was authorized to narrate its traditions to others, and she used to narrate Nahj al-balaghah on her uncle's authority. Shaykh 'Abd al-Rahim al-Baghdadi has narrated from this learned lady of the family of the Imams (as).

 

Nahjul Balagha is also known as Peak of Eloquence

 

www.baabeilm.org/nbalagha_main.asp

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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sufism

 

Sufism (Arabic: تصوّف‎) taṣawwuf,(Persian: صوفی گری) also spelled as tasavvuf and tasavvof according to the Persian pronunciation, is generally understood to be the inner, mystical dimension of Islam.[1][2][3] A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a ṣūfī (صُوفِيّ), though some adherents of the tradition reserve this term only for those practitioners who have attained the goals of the Sufi tradition. Another name used for the Sufi seeker is Dervish.

 

Classical Sufi scholars have defined Sufism as "a science whose objective is the reparation of the heart and turning it away from all else but God."[4] Alternatively, in the words of the renowned Darqawi Sufi teacher Ahmad ibn Ajiba, "a science through which one can know how to travel into the presence of the Divine, purify one’s inner self from filth, and beautify it with a variety of praiseworthy traits."[5]

 

hile all Muslims believe that they are on the pathway to God and will become close to God in Paradise — after death and after the "Final Judgment" — Sufis also believe that it is possible to draw closer to God and to more fully embrace the Divine Presence in this life.[14] The chief aim of all Sufis is to seek the pleasing of God by working to restore within themselves the primordial state of fitra,[15] described in the Qur'an. In this state nothing one does defies God, and all is undertaken by the single motivation of love of God.Template:Fact=November 2009 A secondary consequence of this is that the seeker may be led to abandon all notions of dualism or multiplicity, including a conception of an individual self, and to realize the Divine Unity.Template:Fact=November 2009

 

Thus Sufism has been characterized[by whom?] as the science of the states of the lower self (the ego), and the way of purifying this lower self of its reprehensible traits, while adorning it instead with what is praiseworthy, whether or not this process of cleansing and purifying the heart is in time rewarded by esoteric knowledge of God. This can be conceived in terms of two basic types of law (fiqh), an outer law concerned with actions, and an inner law concerned with the human heart.[citation needed] The outer law consists of rules pertaining to worship, transactions, marriage, judicial rulings, and criminal law — what is often referred to, a bit too broadly, as shariah. The inner law of Sufism consists of rules about repentance from sin, the purging of contemptible qualities and evil traits of character, and adornment with virtues and good character.[16]

 

To enter the way of Sufism, the seeker begins by finding a teacher, as the connection to the teacher is considered necessary for the growth of the pupil. The teacher, to be genuine, must have received the authorization to teach (ijazah) of another Master of the Way, in an unbroken succession (silsilah) leading back to Sufism's origin with Muhammad. It is the transmission of the divine light from the teacher's heart to the heart of the student, rather than of worldly knowledge transmitted from mouth to ear, that allows the adept to progress. In addition, the genuine teacher will be utterly strict in his adherence to the Divine Law.[17]

 

Scholars and adherents of Sufism are unanimous in agreeing that Sufism cannot be learned through books.[dubious – discuss] To reach the highest levels of success in Sufism typically requires that the disciple live with and serve the teacher for many, many years.[citation needed] For instance, Baha-ud-Din Naqshband Bukhari, considered founder of the Naqshbandi Order, served his first teacher, Sayyid Muhammad Baba As-Samasi, for 20 years, until as-Samasi died. He subsequently served several other teachers for lengthy periods of time. The extreme arduousness of his spiritual preparation is illustrated by his service, as directed by his teacher, to the weak and needy members of his community in a state of complete humility and tolerance for many years. When he believed this mission to be concluded, his teacher next directed him to care for animals, curing their sicknesses, cleaning their wounds, and assisting them in finding provision. After many years of this he was next instructed to spend many years in the care of dogs in a state of humility, and to ask them for support.[18]

 

As a further example, the prospective adherent of the Mevlevi Order would have been ordered to serve in the kitchens of a hospice for the poor for 1,001 days prior to being accepted for spiritual instruction, and a further 1,001 days in solitary retreat as a precondition of completing that instruction.[19]

 

Some teachers, especially when addressing more general audiences, or mixed groups of Muslims and non-Muslims, make extensive use of parable, allegory, and metaphor.[20] Although approaches to teaching vary among different Sufi orders, Sufism as a whole is primarily concerned with direct personal experience, and as such has sometimes been compared to other, non-Islamic forms of mysticism (e.g., as in the books of Seyyed Hossein Nasr).

 

Sufism, which is a general term for Muslim mysticism, sprang up largely in reaction against the worldliness which infected Islam when its leaders became the powerful and wealthy rulers of multitudes of people and were influenced by foreign cultures. Harun al-Rashid, eating off gold and silver, toying with a harem of scented beauties, surrounded by an impenetrable retinue of officials, eunuchs and slaves, was a far cry from the stern simplicity of an Umar, who lived in the modest house, wore patched clothes and could be approached by any of his followers.[21][neutrality disputed]

 

The typical early Sufi lived in a cell of a mosque and taught a small band of disciples. The extent to which Sufism was influenced by Buddhist and Hindu mysticism, and by the example of Christian hermits and monks, is disputed, but self-discipline and concentration on God quickly led to the belief that by quelling the self and through loving ardour for God it was possible to maintain a union with the divine in which the human self melted away.[21]

 

During the primary stages of Sufism, Sufis were characterised by their particular attachment to dhikr "remembrance [of God]" and asceticism. Sufism arose among a number of Muslims as a reaction against the worldliness of the early Umayyad Caliphate (661-750 CE[6]). The Sufi movement has spanned several continents and cultures over a millennium, at first expressed through Arabic, then through Persian, Turkish and a dozen other languages.[7] ṭuruq "Orders", which are either Sunnī or Shī‘ī in doctrine, mostly trace their origins from the Islamic Prophet Muhammad through his cousin ‘Alī, with the notable exception of the Naqshbandi who trace their origins through the first Caliph, Abu Bakr.[8]

 

According to Idries Shah, the Sufi philosophy is universal in nature, its roots predating the arising of Islam and the other modern-day religions; likewise, some Muslims[who?] feel that Sufism is outside the sphere of Islam,[1][9][10] although generally scholars of Islam contend that it is simply the name for the inner or esoteric dimension of Islam.[1]

 

The lexical root of Sufi is variously traced to صُوف ṣūf "wool", referring either to the simple cloaks the early Muslim ascetics wore, or possibly to صَفا ṣafā "purity". The two were combined by al-Rudhabari who said, "The Sufi is the one who wears wool on top of purity."[11] The wool cloaks were sometimes a designation of their initiation into the Sufi order. The early Sufi orders considered the wearing of this coat an imitation of Jesus. Sufism is known as "Islamic Mysticism," in which Muslims seek to find divine love and knowledge through direct personal experience of God.[12] Mysticism is defined as the experience of mystical union or direct communion with ultimate reality, and the belief that direct knowledge of God, spiritual truth, or ultimate reality can be attained through subjective experience (as intuition or insight).[13]

 

Others[who?] suggest the origin of the word ṣufi is from Aṣhab aṣ-ṣuffa "Companions of the Porch", who were a group of impoverished Muslims during the time of Muhammad who spent much of their time on the veranda of Al-Masjid al-Nabawi, devoted to prayer and eager to memorize each new increment of the Qur'an as it was revealed. Yet another etymology, advanced by the 10th century Persian historian Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī is that the word is linked with Greek word sophia "wisdom".

 

Bayazid Tayfur al-Bistami

 

Bayazid is considered to be "of the six bright stars in the firmament of the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam)",[22] and a link in the Golden Chain of the Naqshibandi Tariqah. Bayazid al-Bistami was the first one to spread the reality of Annihilation (Fana'), whereby the Mystic becomes fully absorbed to the point of becoming unaware of himself or the objects around him. Every existing thing seems to vanish, and he feels free of every barrier that could stand in the way of his viewing the Remembered One. In one of these states, Bayazid cried out: "Praise to Me, for My greatest Glory!" Bistami's belief in the Unity of all religions became apparent when asked the question: "How does Islam view other religions?" His reply was "All are vehicles and a path to God's Divine Presence." From a young age, he left his mother stating to her that he could not serve Allah and his mother at the same time.[23]

[edit] Ibn Arabi

 

Muhyiddin Muhammad b. 'Ali [Ibn 'Arabi][1] (or Ibn al-'Arabi) is considered to be one of the most important Sufi masters, although he never founded any order (tariqa). His writings, especially al-Futuhat al-Makkiyya and Fusus al-hikam, have been studied within all the Sufi orders as the clearest expression of tawhid (Divine Unity), though because of their recondite nature they were often only given to initiates. Later those who followed his teaching became known as the school of wahdat al-wujud (the Oneness of Being). He himself considered his writings to have been divinely inspired. As he expressed the Way to one of his close disciples, his legacy is that 'you should never ever abandon your servanthood ('ubudiyya), and that there may never be in your soul a longing for any existing thing'[24]. The following quotations give a flavour of his teaching: 'Whoever witnesses without ceasing what he was created for, in both this world and the next, is the Perfect Servant, the intended goal of the cosmos, the deputy of the whole cosmos'[25]. 'The self is an ocean without a shore. There is no end to the contemplation of it in this world or the next'[26]. 'God seeks from you your heart and gives to you all that you are. So purify and cleanse it [the heart] through presence, wakefulness and reverential fear'[27].

[edit] Junayd

 

Junayd al-Baghdadi (830-910 AD) was one of the great early Sufis and is a central figure in the golden chain of many Sufi orders. He laid the groundwork for sober mysticism in contrast to that of God-intoxicated Sufis like al-Hallaj, Bayazid Bastami and Abusaeid Abolkheir. In the process of trial* of al-Hallaj, his former disciple, Caliph of the time demanded his fatwa and he issued this fatwa: "From the outward appearance he is to die and we judge according to the outward appearance and God knows better". He is referred to by the Sufis as Sayyid-ut Taifa i.e. the leader of the group. He lived and died in the city of Baghdad.

 

* The utterances of Arabic: أنا الحق‎ Anā l-Ḥaqq "I am The Truth," by Mansur Al-Hallaj led to a long trial, and his subsequent imprisonment for 11 years in a Baghdad prison. He was tortured and publicly crucified on March 26, 922.

 

[edit] Mansur al-Hallaj

 

Mansur al-Hallaj is renowned for his claim "Ana-l-Haq" (I am the Truth), for which he was executed for apostasy. He is still revered by Sufis for his forthrightness. It is also said that during his prayers, he would say "O Lord! You are the guide of those who are passing through the Valley of Bewilderment. If I am a heretic, enlarge my heresy." [28]

[edit] History of Sufism

Main article: History of Sufism

[edit] Origins

 

In its early stages of development Sufism effectively referred to nothing more than the internalization of Islam.[29] According to one perspective, it is directly from the Qur’an, constantly recited, meditated, and experienced, that Sufism proceeded, in its origin and its development.[30] Others have held that Sufism is the strict emulation of the way of Muhammad, through which the heart's connection to the Divine is strengthened.[31]

 

From the traditional Sufi point of view, the esoteric teachings of Sufism were transmitted from Muhammad to those who had the capacity to acquire the direct experiential gnosis of God, which was passed on from teacher to student through the centuries. Some of this transmission is summarized in texts, but most is not. Important contributions in writing are attributed to Uwais al-Qarni, Harrm bin Hian, Hasan Basri and Sayid ibn al-Mussib, who are regarded as the first Sufis in the earliest generations of Islam. Harith al-Muhasibi was the first one to write about moral psychology. Rabia Basri was a Sufi known for her love and passion for God, expressed through her poetry. Bayazid Bastami was among the first theorists of Sufism; he concerned himself with fanā and baqā, the state of annihilating the self in the presence of the divine, accompanied by clarity concerning worldly phenomena derived from that perspective.[32]

 

Sufism had a long history already before the subsequent institutionalization of Sufi teachings into devotional orders (tarîqât) in the early Middle Ages.[33] Almost all extant Sufi orders trace their chains of transmission (silsila) back to Muhammad via his cousin and son-in-law Ali. The Naqshbandi order is a notable exception to this rule, as it traces the origin of its teachings from Muhammad to the first Islamic Caliph Abu Bakr.[8]

 

Different devotional styles and traditions developed over time, reflecting the perspectives of different masters and the accumulated cultural wisdom of the orders. Typically all of these concerned themselves with the understanding of subtle knowledge (gnosis), education of the heart to purify it of baser instincts, the love of God, and approaching God through a well-described hierarchy of enduring spiritual stations (maqâmât) and more transient spiritual states (ahwâl).

  

Towards the end of the first millennium CE, a number of manuals began to be written summarizing the doctrines of Sufism and describing some typical Sufi practices. Two of the most famous of these are now available in English translation: the Kashf al-Mahjûb of Hujwiri, and the Risâla of Qushayri.[34]

 

Two of Imam Al Ghazali's greatest treatises, the "Revival of Religious Sciences" and the "Alchemy of Happiness," argued that Sufism originated from the Qur'an and was thus compatible with mainstream Islamic thought, and did not in any way contradict Islamic Law — being instead necessary to its complete fulfillment. This became the mainstream position among Islamic scholars for centuries, challenged only recently on the basis of selective use of a limited body of texts. Ongoing efforts by both traditionally-trained Muslim scholars and Western academics are making Imam Al-Ghazali's works available in English translation for the first time,[35] allowing readers to judge for themselves the compatibility between Islamic Law and Sufi doctrine.

  

The spread of Sufism has been considered a definitive factor in the spread of Islam, and in the creation of integrally Islamic cultures, especially in Africa[36] and Asia. Recent academic work on these topics has focused on the role of Sufism in creating and propagating the culture of the Ottoman world,[37] and in resisting European imperialism in Africa and South Asia.[38]

 

Between the 13th and 16th centuries CE, Sufism produced a flourishing intellectual culture throughout the Islamic world, a sort of "Golden Age" whose physical artifacts are still present. In many places, a lodge (known variously as a zaouia, khanqah, or tekke) would be endowed through a pious foundation in perpetuity (waqf) to provide a gathering place for Sufi adepts, as well as lodging for itinerant seekers of knowledge. The same system of endowments could also be used to pay for a complex of buildings, such as that surrounding the Süleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul, including a lodge for Sufi seekers, a hospice with kitchens where these seekers could serve the poor and/or complete a period of initiation, a library, and other structures. No important domain in the civilization of Islam remained unaffected by Sufism in this period.[39]

[edit] Contemporary Sufism

 

Sufism suffered many setbacks in the modern era, particularly (though not exclusively) at the hands of European imperialists in the colonized nations of Asia and Africa. The life of the Algerian Sufi master Emir Abd al-Qadir is instructive in this regard.[40] Notable as well are the lives of Amadou Bamba and Hajj Umar Tall in sub-Saharan Africa, and Sheikh Mansur Ushurma and Imam Shamilin the Caucasus region. In the twentieth century some more modernist Muslims have called Sufism a superstitious religion that holds back Islamic achievement in the fields of science and technology. [41]

 

In spite of this recent history of official repression, there remain many places in the world with vital Sufi traditions. Sufism is popular in such African countries as Senegal, where it is seen as a mystical expression of Islam.[42] Mbacke suggests that one reason Sufism has taken hold in Senegal is because it can accommodate local beliefs and customs, which tend toward the mystical.[43]

 

In South Asia, four major Sufi orders persist, namely the Chishti Order, the Qadiriyyah, the Naqshbandiyya, and the Suhrawardiyya. The Barelwis and Deobandis are significant Islamic movements in this region whose followers often belong to one of these orders.[44]

 

For a more complete summary of currently active groups and teachers, readers are referred to links in the site of Dr. Alan Godlas of the University of Georgia.[45][46]

 

A number of Westerners have embarked with varying degrees of success on the path of Sufism. One of the first to return to Europe as an official representative of a Sufi path, and with the specific purpose to spread Sufism in Western Europe, was the Swedish-born wandering Sufi Abd al-Hadi Aqhili (also known as Ivan Aguéli). The ideas propagated by such spiritualists may or may not conform to the tenets of Sufism as understood by orthodox Muslims, as for instance with G. I. Gurdjieff and Shawni. On the other hand, American- and British-born teachers such as Nuh Ha Mim Keller, Hamza Yusuf, and Abdal Hakim Murad have been instrumental in spreading messages that conform fully with the normative tenets of Islam.

 

Other noteworthy Sufi teachers who have been active in the West in recent years include Bawa Muhaiyaddeen, Nader Angha, Inayat Khan, Nazim al-Qubrusi, Javad Nurbakhsh, Bulent Rauf[2]and Muzaffer Ozak.

[edit] Theoretical perspectives in Sufism

 

Traditional Islamic scholars have recognized two major branches within the practice of Sufism, and use this as one key to differentiating among the approaches of different masters and devotional lineages.[47]

 

On the one hand there is the path from the signs to the Signifier (or from the arts to the Artisan). In this branch, the seeker begins by purifying the lower self of every corrupting influence that stands in the way of recognizing all of creation as the work of God, as God's active Self-disclosure or theophany.[48] This is the way of Imam Al-Ghazali and of the majority of the Sufi orders.

 

On the other hand there is the path from the Signifier to His signs, from the Artisan to His works. In this branch the seeker experiences divine attraction (jadhba), and is able to enter the path with a glimpse of its endpoint, of direct apprehension of the Divine Presence towards which all spiritual striving is directed. This does not replace the striving to purify the heart, as in the other branch; it simply stems from a different point of entry into the path. This is the way primarily of the masters of the Naqshbandi and Shadhili orders.[49]

 

Contemporary scholars may also recognize a third branch, attributed to the late Ottoman scholar Said Nursi and explicated in his vast Qur'ân commentary called the Risale-i Nur. This approach entails strict adherence to the way of Muhammad, in the understanding that this wont, or sunnah, proposes a complete devotional spirituality adequate to those without access to a master of the Sufi way.[50]

[edit] Contributions to other domains of scholarship

 

Sufism has contributed significantly to the elaboration of theoretical perspectives in many domains of intellectual endeavor. For instance, the doctrine of "subtle centers" or centers of subtle cognition (known as Lataif-e-sitta) addresses the matter of the awakening of spiritual intuition[51] in ways that some consider similar to certain models of chakra in Hinduism. In general, these subtle centers or latâ'if are thought of as faculties that are to be purified sequentially in order to bring the seeker's wayfaring to completion. A concise and useful summary of this system from a living exponent of this tradition has been published by Muhammad Emin Er.[47]

 

Sufi psychology has influenced many areas of thinking both within and outside of Islam, drawing primarily upon three concepts. Ja'far al-Sadiq (both an imam in the Shia tradition and a respected scholar and link in chains of Sufi transmission in all Islamic sects) held that human beings are dominated by a lower self called the nafs, a faculty of spiritual intuition called the qalb or spiritual heart, and a spirit or soul called ruh. These interact in various ways, producing the spiritual types of the tyrant (dominated by nafs), the person of faith and moderation (dominated by the spiritual heart), and the person lost in love for God (dominated by the ruh).[52]

 

Of note with regard to the spread of Sufi psychology in the West is Robert Frager, a Sufi teacher authorized in the Halveti Jerrahi order. Frager was a trained psychologist, born in the United States, who converted to Islam in the course of his practice of Sufism and wrote extensively on Sufism and psychology.[53]

 

Sufi cosmology and Sufi metaphysics are also noteworthy areas of intellectual accomplishment.

[edit] Sufi practices

 

The devotional practices of Sufis vary widely. This is because an acknowledged and authorized master of the Sufi path is in effect a physician of the heart, able to diagnose the seeker's impediments to knowledge and pure intention in serving God, and to prescribe to the seeker a course of treatment appropriate to his or her maladies. The consensus among Sufi scholars is that the seeker cannot self-diagnose, and that it can be extremely harmful to undertake any of these practices alone and without formal authorization.[54]

 

Prerequisites to practice include rigorous adherence to Islamic norms (ritual prayer in its five prescribed times each day, the fast of Ramadan, and so forth). Additionally, the seeker ought to be firmly grounded in supererogatory practices known from the life of Muhammad (such as the "sunna prayers"). This is in accordance with the words, attributed to God, of the following, a famous Hadith Qudsi:

 

My servant draws near to Me through nothing I love more than that which I have made obligatory for him. My servant never ceases drawing near to Me through supererogatory works until I love him. Then, when I love him, I am his hearing through which he hears, his sight through which he sees, his hand through which he grasps, and his foot through which he walks.

 

It is also necessary for the seeker to have a correct creed (Aqidah),[55] and to embrace with certainty its tenets.[56] The seeker must also, of necessity, turn away from sins, love of this world, the love of company and renown, obedience to satanic impulse, and the promptings of the lower self. (The way in which this purification of the heart is achieved is outlined in certain books, but must be prescribed in detail by a Sufi master.) The seeker must also be trained to prevent the corruption of those good deeds which have accrued to his or her credit by overcoming the traps of ostentation, pride, arrogance, envy, and long hopes (meaning the hope for a long life allowing us to mend our ways later, rather than immediately, here and now).

 

Sufi practices, while attractive to some, are not a means for gaining knowledge. The traditional scholars of Sufism hold it as absolutely axiomatic that knowledge of God is not a psychological state generated through breath control. Thus, practice of "techniques" is not the cause, but instead the occasion for such knowledge to be obtained (if at all), given proper prerequisites and proper guidance by a master of the way. Furthermore, the emphasis on practices may obscure a far more important fact: The seeker is, in a sense, to become a broken person, stripped of all habits through the practice of (in the words of Imam Al-Ghazali words) solitude, silence, sleeplessness, and hunger.[57]

[edit] Dhikr

Main article: Dhikr

Allah as having been written on the disciple's heart according to Qadiri Al-Muntahi order

 

Dhikr is the remembrance of God commanded in the Qur'an for all Muslims through a specific devotional act, such as the repetition of divine names, supplications and aphorisms from hadith literature and the Qur'an. More generally, dhikr is any activity in which the Muslim maintains awareness of God.. To engage in dhikr is to practice consciousness of the Divine Presence and love, or "to seek a state of godwariness". Some types of dhikr are prescribed for all Muslims, and do not require Sufi initiation or the prescription of a Sufi master because they are deemed to be good for every seeker under every circumstance.[58]

 

Some Sufi orders engage in ritualized dhikr ceremonies, or sema. Sema includes various forms of worship such as: recitation, singing (the most well known being the Qawwali music of the Indian sub-continent), instrumental music, dance (most famously the Sufi whirling of the Mevlevi order), incense, meditation, ecstasy, and trance.[59]

 

Some Sufi orders stress and place extensive reliance upon Dhikr, and likewise in Qadri Al-Muntahi Sufi tariqa, which was originated by Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi. This practice of Dhikr is called Dhikr-e-Qulb (remembrance of Allah by Heartbeats). The basic idea in this practice is to visualize the Arabic name of God, Allah, as having been written on the disciple's heart.[60]

[edit] Muraqaba

Main article: Muraqaba

 

The practice of muraqaba can be likened to the practices of meditation attested in many faith communities. The word muraqaba is derived from the same root (r-q-b) occurring as one of the 99 Names of God in the Qur'an, al-Raqîb, meaning "the Vigilant" and attested in verse 4: 1 of the Qur'an. Through muraqaba, a person watches over or takes care of the spiritual heart, acquires knowledge about it, and becomes attuned to the Divine Presence, which is ever vigilant.

 

While variation exists, one description of the practice within a Naqshbandi lineage reads as follows:

 

He is to collect all of his bodily senses in concentration, and to cut himself off from all preoccupation and notions that inflict themselves upon the heart. And thus he is to turn his full consciousness towards God Most High while saying three times: “Ilahî anta maqsûdî wa-ridâka matlûbî — my God, you are my Goal and Your good pleasure is what I seek.” Then he brings to his heart the Name of the Essence — Allâh — and as it courses through his heart he remains attentive to its meaning, which is “Essence without likeness.” The seeker remains aware that He is Present, Watchful, Encompassing of all, thereby exemplifying the meaning of his saying (may God bless him and grant him peace): “Worship God as though you see Him, for if you do not see Him, He sees you.” And likewise the prophetic tradition: “The most favored level of faith is to know that God is witness over you, wherever you may be.”[61]

 

[edit] Sufi pilgrimages

The Darbar-e-Gohar Shahi Tomb in Kotri Sharif.

 

In popular Sufism (i.e., devotional practices that have achieved currency in world cultures through Sufi influence), one common practice is to visit the tombs of saints, great scholars, and righteous people. This is a particularly common practice in South Asia, where famous tombs include those of Khoja Afāq, near Kashgar, in China; Sachal Sarmast, in Sindh, Pakistan; and the Darbar-e-Gohar Shahi in Kotri Sharif. Likewise, in Fez, Morocco, a popular destination for such pious visitation is the Zaouia Moulay Idriss II and the yearly visitation to see the current Sheikh of the Qadiri Boutchichi Tariqah, Sheikh Sidi Hamza al Qadiri al Boutchichi to celebrate the Mawlid (which is usually televised on Mocorran National television).

 

Visitors may invoke blessings upon those interred, and seek divine favor and proximity.

  

[edit] Islam and Sufism

[edit] Sufism and Islamic law

Tomb of Shaikh Salim Chisti, Uttar Pradesh, India.

 

Scholars and adherents of Sufism sometimes describe Sufism in terms of a threefold approach to God as explained by a tradition (hadîth) attributed to Muhammad,"The Shariah is my words, the tariqa is my actions, and the haqiqa is my interior states". Sufis believe the shariah, tariqa and haqiqa are mutually interdependent.[62] The tariqa, the ‘path’ on which the mystics walk, has been defined as ‘the path which comes out of the Shariah, for the main road is called shar, the path, tariq.’ No mystical experience can be realized if the binding injunctions of the Shariah are not followed faithfully first. The path, tariqa, however, is narrower and more difficult to walk. It leads the adept, called sâlik (wayfarer), in his sulûk (wayfaring), through different stations (maqâmât) until he reaches his goal, the perfect tawhîd, the existential confession that God is One.[63] Jalaluddin Ar Rumi, the initiator of the Mavlevi Tariqah, spoke of the Shariah and Sufism in such terms, " To be a real Sufi, is to be to Muhammad, salalahu alaihy wasallam, just as Abu Bakr was to him, peace be upon him." Shaykh al-Akbar Muhiuddeen Ibn Arabi mentions," When we see someone in this Community who claims to be able to guide others to Allah, but is remiss in but one rule of the Sacred Law - even if he manifests miracles that stagger the mind - asserting that his shortcoming is a special dispensation for him, we do not even turn to look at him, for such a person is not a sheikh, nor is he speaking the truth, for no one is entrusted with the secrets of Allah Most High save one in whom the ordinances of the Sacred Law are preserved. (Jami' karamat al-awliya')" [64]

[edit] Traditional Islamic thought and Sufism

 

The literature of Sufism emphasizes highly subjective matters that resist outside observation, such as the subtle states of the heart. Often these resist direct reference or description, with the consequence that the authors of various Sufi treatises took recourse to allegorical language. For instance, much Sufi poetry refers to intoxication, which Islam expressly forbids. This usage of indirect language and the existence of interpretations by people who had no training in Islam or Sufism led to doubts being cast over the validity of Sufism as a part of Islam. Also, some groups emerged that considered themselves above the Sharia and discussed Sufism as a method of bypassing the rules of Islam in order to attain salvation directly. This was disapproved of by traditional scholars.

 

For these and other reasons, the relationship between traditional Islamic scholars and Sufism is complex and a range of scholarly opinion on Sufism in Islam has been the norm. Some scholars, such as Al-Ghazali, helped its propagation while other scholars opposed it. W. Chittick explains the position of Sufism and Sufis this way:

 

In short, Muslim scholars who focused their energies on understanding the normative guidelines for the body came to be known as jurists, and those who held that the most important task was to train the mind in achieving correct understanding came to be divided into three main schools of thought: theology, philosophy, and Sufism. This leaves us with the third domain of human existence, the spirit. Most Muslims who devoted their major efforts to developing the spiritual dimensions of the human person came to be known as Sufis.

 

[edit] Traditional and non-traditional Sufi groups

The mausoleum (gongbei) of Ma Laichi in Linxia City, China.

 

The traditional Sufi orders, which are in majority, emphasize the role of Sufism as a spiritual discipline within Islam. Therefore, the Sharia (traditional Islamic law) and the Sunnah are seen as crucial for any Sufi aspirant. One proof traditional orders assert is that almost all the famous Sufi masters of the past Caliphates were experts in Sharia and were renowned as people with great Iman (faith) and excellent practice. Many were also Qadis (Sharia law judges) in courts. They held that Sufism was never distinct from Islam and to fully comprehend and practice Sufism one must be an observant Muslim.

 

There is some speculation that some Sufi orders in India might have become influenced by other traditions after the translation of Greek philosophical works into Arabic during the third Islamic century. Sharda highlights these unsurprising similarities by stating that: "After the fall of Muslim orthodoxy from power at the centre of India for about a century, due to the invasion of Timur, the Sufi became free from the control of the Muslim orthodoxy and consorted with Hindu saints, who influenced them to an amazing extent. The Sufi adopted Monism and wifely devotion from the Vaishnava Vedantic school and Bhakti and Yogic practices from the Vaishnava Vedantic school. By that time, the popularity of the Vedantic pantheism among the Sufis had reached its zenith."[65]

 

In recent decades there has been a growth of non-traditional Sufi movements in the West. Examples include the Universal Sufism movement, the Golden Sufi Center, the Sufi Foundation of America, the neo-sufism of Idries Shah, Sufism Reoriented and the International Association of Sufism. Rumi has become one of the most widely read poets in the United States, thanks largely to the translations published by Coleman Barks.

[edit] Islamic positions on non-Islamic Sufi groups

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The use of the title Sufi by non-traditional groups to refer to themselves, and their appropriation of traditional Sufi masters (most notably Jalaluddin Rumi) as sources of authority or inspiration, is not accepted by some Muslims who are Sufi adherents.

 

Many of the great Sufi masters of the present and the past instruct that: one needs the form of the religious practices and the outer dimension of the religion to fulfill the goals of the inner dimension of Sufism (Proximity to God). The exoteric practices prescribed by God contain inner meanings and provide the means for transformation with the proper spiritual guidance of a master. It is thought that through the forms of the ritual and prescribed Islamic practices (prayer, pilgrimage, fasting, charity and affirmation of Divine Unity) the soul may be purified and one may then begin to embark on the mystical quest. In fact it is considered psychologically dangerous by some Sufi masters to participate in Sufi practices, such as "dhikr", without adhering to the outer aspects of the religion which add spiritual balance and grounding to the practice.

 

Some traditional Sufis also object to interpretations of classical Sufis texts by writers who have no grounding in the traditional Islamic sciences and therefore no prerequisites for understanding such texts. These are considered by certain conventional Islamic scholars as beyond the pale of the religion.[66] This being said, there are Islamic Sufi groups that are open to non-Muslim participation.

[edit] Reception

[edit] Perception outside Islam

 

Sufi mysticism has long exercised a fascination upon the Western world, and especially its orientalist scholars.[67] Figures like Rumi have become household names in the United States, where Sufism is perceived as quietist and less political.[67]

 

The Islamic Institute in Mannheim, Germany, which works towards the integration of Europe and Muslims, sees Sufism as particularly suited for interreligious dialogue and intercultural harmonisation in democratic and pluralist societies; it has described Sufism as a symbol of tolerance and humanism – undogmatic, flexible and non-violent.[68]

[edit] The Influence of Sufism on Judaism

 

A great influence was exercised by Sufism upon the ethical writings of Jews in the Middle Ages. In the first writing of this kind, we see "Kitab al-Hidayah ila Fara'iḍ al-Ḳulub", Duties of the Heart, of Bahya ibn Pakuda. This book was translated by Judah ibn Tibbon into Hebrew under the title "Ḥovot ha-Levavot".[69]

 

The precepts prescribed by the Torah number 613 only; those dictated by the intellect are innumerable.

 

This was precisely the argument used by the Sufis against their adversaries, the Ulamas. The arrangement of the book seems to have been inspired by Sufism. Its ten sections correspond to the ten stages through which the Sufi had to pass in order to attain that true and passionate love of God which is the aim and goal of all ethical self-discipline.

 

It is noteworthy that in the ethical writings of the Sufis Al-Kusajri and Al-Harawi there are sections which treat of the same subjects as those treated in the "Ḥobot ha-Lebabot" and which bear the same titles: e.g., "Bab al-Tawakkul"; "Bab al-Taubah"; "Bab al-Muḥasabah"; "Bab al-Tawaḍu'"; "Bab al-Zuhd". In the ninth gate, Baḥya directly quotes sayings of the Sufis, whom he calls Perushim. However, the author of the Ḥovot ha-Levavot did not go so far as to approve of the asceticism of the Sufis, although he showed a marked predilection for their ethical principles.

 

The Jewish writer Abraham bar Ḥiyya teaches the asceticism of the Sufis. His distinction with regard to the observance of Jewish law by various classes of men is essentially a Sufic theory. According to it there are four principal degrees of human perfection or sanctity; namely:

 

(1) of "Shari'ah," i.e., of strict obedience to all ritual laws of Islam, such as prayer, fasting, pilgrimage, almsgiving, ablution, etc., which is the lowest degree of worship, and is attainable by all

(2) of Ṭariqah, which is accessible only to a higher class of men who, while strictly adhering to the outward or ceremonial injunctions of religion, rise to an inward perception of mental power and virtue necessary for the nearer approach to the Divinity

(3) of "Ḥaḳikah," the degree attained by those who, through continuous contemplation and inward devotion, have risen to the true perception of the nature of the visible and invisible; who, in fact, have recognized the Godhead, and through this knowledge have succeeded in establishing an ecstatic relation to it; and

(4) of the "Ma'arifah," in which state man communicates directly with the Deity.

 

[edit] In popular culture

[edit] In movies

 

The movie Bab´Aziz (2005) directed by Nacer Khemir tells the story of an old and blind dervish who must cross the desert with his little granddaughter during many days and nights to get to his last dervish reunion celebrated every 30 years. The movie is full of Sufi mysticism and even contain quotes of Rumi and other sufi poets and shows an ecstatic sufi dance. In Monsieur Ibrahim Omar Sherrif's character professes to be a Muslim in the sufi tradition.

[edit] In music

 

Madonna, on her 1994 record Bedtime Stories sings a song called "Bedtime Story" that discusses achieving a high unconsciousness level. The video for the song shows an ecstatic Sufi ritual with many dervishes dancing, Arabic calligraphy and some other Sufi elements. In her 1998 song Bittersweet, she recites Rumi´s poem by the same name. In her 2001 Drowned World Tour, Madonna sang the song Secret showing rituals from many religions, including a Sufi dance.

 

Singer/songwritter Loreena McKennitt, on her record The Mask And Mirror (1994), has a song called The Mystic's Dream, influenced by Sufi music and poetry. The band, MewithoutYou, has made references to Sufi parables, including the name of their upcoming album It’s all crazy! It’s all false! It’s all a dream! It’s alright (2009). Lead singer, Aaron Weiss, claims this influence comes from his parents, who are both Sufi converts.

 

A.R. Rahman scored a Sufi Qawwali, Khwaja Mere Khwaja, in the Bollywood film Jodhaa Akbar.

 

Junoon, a band from Pakistan, is famous for creating the genre of Sufi rock by combining elements of modern hard rock and traditional folk music with Sufi poetry.

[edit] See also

.

A dervish or darvesh (from Persian: درویش‎, Darvīsh is someone guiding a Sufi Muslim ascetic down a path or "tariqah", known for their extreme poverty and austerity. A tiny percentage of dervishes were Jews. Their focus is on the universal values of love and service, deserting the illusions of ego 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 common practice is Sama, which is associated with the 13th-century mystic Rumi.--------------------Col termine derviscio (in persiano e arabo darwīsh, lett. «povero», «monaco mendicante») si indicano i discepoli di alcune confraternite islamiche (ṭuruq; al sing., ṭarīqa) che, per il loro difficile cammino di ascesi e di salvazione, sono chiamati a distaccarsi nell'animo dalle passioni mondane e, per conseguenza, dai beni e dalle lusinghe del mondo. Si tratta di un termine afferente a molte generiche confraternite islamiche sufi, anche se tendenzialmente ci si riferisce alla ṭarīqa Mawlawiyya/Mevleviyè. I dervisci sono asceti che vivono in mistica povertà, simili ai frati mendicanti cristiani.

Awliya Allah

1)Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani, 2)Shaykh Ahmad Kabir Rif'ai

3)Shaykh Ahmad al Badawi 4)Shaykh Bahauddin Naqshband

5)Shaykh Mu'inuddin Chishti

6)Shaykh Jalaluddin Rumi 7)Shaykh Ahmad Tijjani

8)Imam al Ghazali

9)Shaykh Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi

10)Shaykh Abul Hassan Shadhili

رحمهم الله

 

#Jilani #baghdad #ghous #Qadiri #Razawi #Attari #raza #Barelwi #sufi #rifai #iraq #chishti #sanjari #ajmeri #muin #bukhara #naqshbandi #uzbekistan #badawi #tanta #suhrwardi #rumi #konya #turkey #tijjani #fez #morroco #ibnarabi #shadhili #humaisara #misr #egypt #ghazzali #imam #awliya #sufi #tariqa #turuq #madani #muqarrabun #madani #Madina #Dawat_e_Islami

The tarot (/ˈtæroʊ/; first known as trionfi and later as tarocchi, tarock, and others) is a pack of playing cards (most commonly numbering 78), used from the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play a group of card games such as Italian tarocchini and French tarot. From the late 18th century until the present time the tarot has also found use by mystics and occultists for divination as well as a map of mental and spiritual pathways.

 

Like the common deck of playing cards, the tarot has four suits (which vary by region, being the French suits in Northern Europe, the Latin suits in Southern Europe, and the German suits in Central Europe). Each of these suits has pip cards numbering from one (or Ace) to ten and four face cards (King, Queen, Knight, and Jack/Knave) for a total of 14 cards. In addition, the tarot has a separate 21-card trump suit and a single card known as the Fool. Depending on the game, the Fool may act as the top trump or may be played to avoid following suit.[1]

 

François Rabelais gives tarau as the name of one of the games played by Gargantua in his Gargantua and Pantagruel;[2] this is likely the earliest attestation of the French form of the name.[citation needed] Tarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play card games. In English-speaking countries, where these games are largely unplayed, tarot cards are now used primarily for divinatory purposes.[1] Occultists call the trump cards and the Fool "the major arcana" while the ten pip and four court cards in each suit are called minor arcana. The cards are traced by some occult writers to ancient Egypt or the Kabbalah but there is no documented evidence of such origins or of the usage of tarot for divination before the 18th century.[1]

 

Contents [hide]

1 Etymology

2 History

2.1 Early decks

3 Tarot card games

4 Divinatory, esoteric, and occult tarot

5 Varieties

5.1 French suited tarot decks

5.2 German suited tarot deck

5.3 Spanish suited tarot deck

5.4 Non-occult Italian-suited tarot decks

5.5 Occult tarot decks

5.5.1 Rider-Waite-Smith deck

5.5.2 Crowley-Harris Thoth deck

5.5.3 Hermetic Tarot

6 See also

7 References

8 External links

9 Further reading

Etymology[edit]

The English and French word tarot derives from the Italian tarocchi, which has no known origin or etymology.[3] The singular term is tarocco, commonly known today as a term for a type of blood orange in Italian. When it spread, the word was changed to tarot in French and Tarock in German. There are many theories to the origin of the word, many with no connection to the occult.[4] One theory relates the name "tarot" to the Taro River in northern Italy, near Parma; the game seems to have originated in northern Italy, in Milan or Bologna.[5] Other writers believe it comes from the Arabic word طرق turuq, which means 'ways'.[6] Alternatively, it may be from the Arabic ترك taraka, 'to leave, abandon, omit, leave behind'.[3]

 

History[edit]

Playing cards first entered Europe in the late 14th century, probably from Mamluk Egypt, with suits of Swords, Batons or Polo sticks (commonly known as Wands by those practicing occult or divinatory tarot), Cups, and Coins (commonly known as disks, or pentacles by practitioners of the occult or divinatory tarot). These suits were very similar to modern tarot divination decks and are still used in traditional Italian, Spanish and Portuguese playing card decks.[7]

 

The first known documented tarot cards were created between 1430 and 1450 in Milan, Ferrara and Bologna in northern Italy when additional trump cards with allegorical illustrations were added to the common four-suit pack. These new decks were originally called carte da trionfi, triumph cards, and the additional cards known simply as trionfi, which became "trumps" in English. The first literary evidence of the existence of carte da trionfi is a written statement in the court records in Florence, in 1440. The oldest surviving tarot cards are from fifteen fragmented decks painted in the mid 15th century for the Visconti-Sforza family, the rulers of Milan.[8]

 

Early decks[edit]

 

Le Bateleur: The Juggler from the Jean Dodal Tarot of Marseilles. This card is often named The Magician in modern English language tarots

Picture-card packs are first mentioned by Martiano da Tortona probably between 1418 and 1425, since the painter he mentions, Michelino da Besozzo, returned to Milan in 1418, while Martiano himself died in 1425. He describes a deck with 16 picture cards with images of the Greek gods and suits depicting four kinds of birds, not the common suits. However the 16 cards were obviously regarded as "trumps" as, about 25 years later, Jacopo Antonio Marcello called them a ludus triumphorum, or "game of trumps".[9]

 

Special motifs on cards added to regular packs show philosophical, social, poetical, astronomical, and heraldic ideas, Roman/Greek/Babylonian heroes, as in the case of the Sola-Busca-Tarocchi (1491)[1] and the Boiardo Tarocchi poem, written at an unknown date between 1461 and 1494.[10]

 

Two playing card decks from Milan (the Brera-Brambilla and Cary-Yale-Tarocchi)—extant, but fragmentary—were made circa 1440. Three documents dating from 1 January 1441 to July 1442, use the term trionfi. The document from January 1441 is regarded as an unreliable reference; however, the same painter, Sagramoro, was commissioned by the same patron, Leonello d'Este, as in the February 1442 document. The game seemed to gain in importance in the year 1450, a Jubilee year in Italy, which saw many festivities and the movement of many pilgrims.

 

Three mid-15th century sets were made for members of the Visconti family.[11] The first deck, and probably the prototype, is called the Cary-Yale Tarot (or Visconti-Modrone Tarot) and was created between 1442 and 1447 by an anonymous painter for Filippo Maria Visconti.[11] The cards (only 67) are today held in the Cary collection of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut.[12] The most famous was painted in the mid-15th century, to celebrate Francesco Sforza and his wife Bianca Maria Visconti, daughter of the duke Filippo Maria. Probably, these cards were painted by Bonifacio Bembo or Francesco Zavattari between 1451 and 1453.[11] Of the original cards, 35 are in The Morgan Library & Museum, 26 are at the Accademia Carrara, thirteen are at the Casa Colleoni,[11] and four: The Devil, The Tower, The Knight of Coins, and the 3 of Swords, are lost or were never made. This "Visconti-Sforza" deck, which has been widely reproduced, reflects conventional iconography of the time to a significant degree.[13]

 

Hand-painted tarot cards remained a privilege of the upper classes and, although a single sermon by a Dominican preacher inveighing against the evil inherent in cards (mostly centered around their use in gambling) can be traced to the 14th century,[14] no routine condemnations of tarot were found during its early history.[1]

 

Because the earliest tarot cards were hand-painted, the number of the decks produced is thought to have been rather small, and it was only after the invention of the printing press that mass production of cards became possible. Decks survive from this era from various cities in France, and the most popular pattern of these early printed decks is called the Tarot de Marseille[15] such as the Jean Dodal Tarot (Lyon) and the Jean Noblet Tarot (Paris) for example.

 

Tarot card games[edit]

Main article: Tarot card games

 

A tarot game in session

The original purpose of tarot cards was for playing games, the first basic rules appearing in the manuscript of Martiano da Tortona before 1425, and the next from the year 1637. The game of tarot has many cultural variations. In Italy the game has become less popular. One version named Tarocco Bolognese: Otocento has survived and there are still others played in Piedmont; but the number of games outside of Italy is much higher. The French tarot game is the most popular in its native country and regional tarot games—often known as tarock, tarok, or tarokk—are widely played in central Europe.

 

Divinatory, esoteric, and occult tarot[edit]

Main article: Divinatory, esoteric and occult tarot

Each card possesses a pictogram and title that represents a specific concept or archetype. The belief in divination associated with Tarot focuses on the prospect that whatever cards are dealt to the participant will be revelatory.

 

Divination using playing cards is in evidence as early as 1540 in a book entitled The Oracles of Francesco Marcolino da Forlì which allows a simple method of divination, though the cards are used only to select a random oracle and have no meaning in themselves. But manuscripts from 1735 (The Square of Sevens) and 1750 (Pratesi Cartomancer) document rudimentary divinatory meanings for the cards of the tarot as well as a system for laying out the cards. Giacomo Casanova wrote in his diary that in 1765 his Russian mistress frequently used a deck of playing cards for divination.[16]

 

Antoine Court de Gébelin, a French-born Protestant pastor and Freemason, published a dissertation on the origins of the symbolism in the Tarot in volume VIII of his unfinished fifteen volumes of the Le Monde Primitif. De Gébelin, who never knew the Tarot as the Tarot de Marseille (a name which came much later), thought the Tarot represented ancient Egyptian Theology, including Isis, Osiris and Typhon (the Greek name for Seth), but never mentions Thoth. For example, he thought the card he knew as the Papesse and known today as the High Priestess represented Isis.[17] He also related four Tarot cards to the four Christian Cardinal virtues: Temperance, Justice, Strength and Prudence.[18] He relates The Tower to a Greek fable about avarice.[19] Although Egyptian had not yet been deciphered by Champollion, Gébelin asserted the name "Tarot" came from the Egyptian words Tar, "path" or "road", and the word Ro, Ros or Rog, meaning "King" or "royal", and that the Tarot literally translated to the Royal Road of Life.[20]

 

Varieties[edit]

 

Le Chariot, from Nicolas Conver's 1760 deck.

A variety of styles of tarot decks and designs exist and a number of typical regonal patterns have emerged. Historically, one of the most important designs is the one usually known as the Tarot de Marseille. This standard pattern was the one studied by Court de Gébelin, and cards based on this style illustrate his Le Monde primitif. The Tarot de Marseille was also popularized in the 20th century by Paul Marteau.[citation needed] Some current editions of cards based on the Marseille design go back to a deck of a particular Marseille design that was printed by Nicolas Conver in 1760. Other regional styles include the "Swiss" Tarot. This one substitutes Juno and Jupiter for the Papess, or High Priestess and the Pope, or Hierophant. In Florence an expanded deck called Minchiate was used. This deck of 97 cards includes astrological symbols including the four elements, as well as traditional tarot motifs.

 

Some decks exist primarily as artwork; and such art decks sometimes contain only the 22 trump cards.

 

French suited tarot decks[edit]

French suited tarot cards began to appear in Germany during the 18th century. The first generation of French suited tarots depicted scenes of animals on the trumps and were thus called "Tiertarock" decks ('Tier' being German for 'animal'). Card maker Göbl of Munich is often credited for this design innovation. Current French suited tarot decks come in these patterns:

 

The Industrie und Glück (Industry and Luck) tarock deck of Central Europe uses Roman numerals for the trumps. It is sold with 54 cards; the 5 to 10 of the red suits and the 1 to 6 of the black suits are removed.

The Cego deck is used in Germany's Black Forest bordering France and has 54 cards organized in the same fashion as the Industrie und Glück. Its trumps use Arabic numerals but within centered indices.

The Tarot Nouveau has 78 cards and is commonly played in France. Its trumps use Arabic numerals in corner indices.

The illustrations of French suited tarot trumps depart considerably from the older Italian suited design. The Renaissance allegorical motifs were abandoned for new themes or simply just whimsical pictures of daily life. With very few exceptional recent cases such as the "Tarocchi di Alan", "Tarot of Reincarnation" and the "Tarot de la Nature", French suited tarot cards are nearly exclusively used for card games and rarely for divination.

  

Example of 18th century "Tiertarock" or animal tarot.

  

Industrie und Glück Tarock trumps

  

Cego trumps

  

Tarot Nouveau trumps circa 1910

German suited tarot deck[edit]

 

A Schafkopf/Tarock deck

German suited decks for Bavarian tarock are very different. They only have 36 cards, ranging from 6 to 10, Under Knave (Unter), Over Knave (Ober), King, and Ace. In this game's hierarchy, Ace is the highest followed by 10, King, Ober, Unter, then 9 to 6. There is no dedicated trump suit, the three players have to agree on one suit though in some places the heart suit is the default trump suit. The deck is also used to play Schafkopf.

 

Spanish suited tarot deck[edit]

The Tarocco Siciliano is the only deck to use Spanish suits like other southern Italian non-tarot decks. It changes some of the trumps, and has a card labeled Miseria (destitution). It omits the Two and Three of coins, and numerals one to four in clubs, swords and cups: it thus has 64 cards but the One of coins is not used, being the bearer of the former stamp tax. The cards are quite small and not reversible.[9]

 

Non-occult Italian-suited tarot decks[edit]

 

Tarocco Piemontese: the Fool.

These were the oldest form of tarot deck to be made, being first devised in the 15th century in northern Italy. The occult tarot decks are based on decks of this type. Three decks of this category are still used to play certain games:

 

The Tarocco Piemontese consists of the four suits of swords, batons, cups and coins, each headed by a king, queen, cavalier and jack, followed by the pip cards for a total of 78 cards. Trump 20 outranks 21 in most games and the Fool is numbered 0 despite not being a trump.

The Swiss 1JJ Tarot is similar, but replaces the Pope with Jupiter, the Popess with Juno, and the Angel with the Judgement. The trumps rank in numerical order and the Tower is known as the House of God. The cards are not reversible like the Tarocco Piemontese.

The Tarocco Bolognese omits numeral cards two to five in plain suits, leaving it with 62 cards, and has somewhat different trumps, not all of which are numbered and four of which are equal in rank. It has a different graphical design than the two above as it was not derived from the Tarot de Marseille.

Occult tarot decks[edit]

Etteilla was the first to issue a revised tarot deck specifically designed for occult purposes rather than game playing. In keeping with the belief that tarot cards are derived from the Book of Thoth, Etteilla's tarot contained themes related to ancient Egypt. The 78-card tarot deck used by esotericists has two distinct parts:

 

The Major Arcana (greater secrets), or trump cards, consists of 22 cards without suits: The Magician, The High Priestess, The Empress, The Emperor, The Hierophant, The Lovers, The Chariot, Strength, The Hermit, Wheel of Fortune, Justice, The Hanged Man, Death, Temperance, The Devil, The Tower, The Star, The Moon, The Sun, Judgement, The World and The Fool. Cards from The Magician to The World are numbered in Roman numerals from I to XXI, while The Fool is the only unnumbered card, sometimes placed at the beginning of the deck as 0, or at the end as XXII.

The Minor Arcana (lesser secrets) consists of 56 cards, divided into four suits of 14 cards each; ten numbered cards and four court cards. The court cards are the King, Queen, Knight and Page/Jack, in each of the four tarot suits. The traditional Italian tarot suits are swords, batons/wands, coins and cups; in modern tarot decks, however, the batons suit is often called wands, rods or staves, while the coins suit is often called pentacles or disks.

The terms "major arcana" and "minor arcana" were first used by Jean-Baptiste Pitois (also known as Paul Christian) and are never used in relation to Tarot card games.

 

Tarot is often used with the study of the Hermetic Qabalah.[21] In these decks the have Kabbalistic illustrations, most being under the influence of the Rider-Waite-Smith deck. The images on the "Rider-Waite" deck were drawn by artist Pamela Colman Smith following the instructions of mystic and occultist Arthur Edward Waite and were originally published by the Rider Company in 1910. The subjects of the Major Arcana are based on those of the earliest decks, but have been modified to reflect Waite and Smith's view of tarot. A difference from Marseilles style decks is that Smith drew scenes with esoteric meanings on the suit cards. The Rider-Waite wasn't the first deck to include completely illustrated suit cards. The first to do so was the 15th century Sola-Busca deck.[22]

 

Older esoteric decks such as the Visconti-Sforza and Marseilles are less detailed than modern ones. A Marseilles type deck is distinguished by having repetitive motifs on the pip cards, similar to Italian or Spanish playing cards, as opposed to the full scenes found on "Rider-Waite" style decks. These more simply illustrated "Marseilles" style decks are also used esoterically, for divination, and for game play, though the French card game of tarot is now generally played using a relatively modern 19th century design of German origin.[citation needed] Such playing tarot decks generally have twenty one trump cards with genre scenes from 19th century life, a Fool, and have court and pip cards that closely resemble today's French playing cards.[citation needed]

 

The Marseilles' numbered minor arcana cards do not have scenes depicted on them; rather, they sport a geometric arrangement of the number of suit symbols (e.g., swords, rods/wands, cups, coins/pentacles) corresponding to the number of the card (accompanied by botanical and other non-scenic flourishes), while the court cards are often illustrated with flat, two-dimensional drawings.

 

An example of a modernist tarot deck is Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot (Thoth pronounced /ˈtoʊt/ or /ˈθɒθ/). Crowley, at the height of a lifetime's work dedicated to occultism, engaged the artist Lady Frieda Harris to paint the cards for the deck according to his specifications. His system of tarot correspondences, published in The Book of Thoth and Liber 777, are an evolution and expansion upon that which he learned in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.[23]

 

In contrast to the Thoth deck's colorfulness, the illustrations on Paul Foster Case's B.O.T.A. Tarot deck are black line drawings on white cards; this is an unlaminated deck intended to be colored by its owner.

 

Other esoteric decks include the hermetic Golden Dawn Tarot, which claims to be based on a deck by S.L. MacGregor Mathers.

 

The variety of decks in use is almost endless, and grows yearly. For instance, cat-lovers may have the Tarot of the Cat People, a deck replete with cats in every picture. The Tarot of the Witches and the Aquarian Tarot retain the conventional cards with varying designs. The Tree of Life Tarot's cards are stark symbolic catalogs; and The Alchemical Tarot, created by Robert M. Place, combines traditional alchemical symbols with tarot images.

 

These contemporary divination decks change the cards to varying degrees. For example, the Motherpeace Tarot is notable for its circular cards and feminist angle where the male characters have been replaced by females. The Tarot of Baseball has suits of bats, mitts, balls, and bases; "coaches" and "MVPs" instead of Queens and Kings; and major arcana cards such as "The Catcher", "The Rule Book", and "Batting a Thousand". In the Silicon Valley Tarot, major arcana cards include The Hacker, Flame War, The Layoff and The Garage; the suits are Networks, Cubicles, Disks and Hosts; the court cards CEO, Salesman, Marketeer and New Hire. Another tarot in recent years has been the Robin Wood Tarot. This deck retains the Rider-Waite theme while adding Pagan symbolism. As with other decks, the cards are available with a companion book written by Wood which details all of the symbolism and colors utilized in the Major and Minor Arcana.

 

Unconventionality is embraced by Morgan's Tarot, produced in 1970 by Morgan Robbins and illustrated by Darshan Chorpash Zenith. Morgan's Tarot has no suits, no ranking and no ordering of the cards. It has 88 rather than 78 cards and its simple line drawings show an influence from the psychedelic art.[citation needed] Nevertheless, in the introductory booklet that accompanies the deck Robbins claims inspiration for the cards from Tibetan Buddhism.

 

Rider-Waite-Smith deck[edit]

The tarot created by A. E. Waite and Pamela Colman Smith departs from the earlier tarot design with its use of scenic pip cards and the alteration of how the Strength and Justice cards are ranked.

 

Crowley-Harris Thoth deck[edit]

The Thoth deck is detailed with astrological, zodiacal, elemental and Qabalistic symbols. Crowley wrote a book, The Book of Thoth to accompany it. The Thoth Tarot retains the traditional order of the trumps but uses other words for both the trumps and the courts according to Crowley's interpretation of the tarot.

 

Hermetic Tarot[edit]

Hermetic Tarot has imagery to function as a textbook and mnemonic device for teaching the gnosis of alchemical symbolical language. An example of this practice is found in the rituals of the 19th-century Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. In the 20th century, Hermetic use of the tarot imagery as a handbook was developed by Carl Gustav Jung's exploration into the psyche and imagination. A 21st-century example of a Hermetic rooted tarot deck is that of Tarot ReVisioned, a black and white deck and book for the Major Arcana by Leigh J. McCloskey.[24]

  

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarot

Losing my husband helped me to assist others and remain very optimistic, which is the most important thing" - Wafa al-Turuq, a 29 year old widow and mother of two girls, said during a visit by SRSG Ian Martin to a Tripoli support centre for the families of the missing from the 2011 revolution. August 2012.

 

"فقدي لزوجي كان مأساويا ولكنه ساعدني على تقديم المساعدة للآخرين والبقاء متفائلة وهو اهم شيء بالنسبة لي"، وفاء يوسف الطرق، أرملة في التاسعة والعشرين من عمرها وأم لابنتين 2 و6 أعوام.

In diplomatic career, one comes across many distinguished and accomplished personalities. One such individual who impressed me greatly with his intellect, humility and passion for Islam and Muslims was Muhammad Asad, the celebrated author of “The Road to Mecca” and “The Message of the Qur’an.” I had the pleasure to meet him in 1987 when he visited Pakistan Embassy in Spain. When I offered him coffee he asked for Pakistani “chai,” a taste he had acquired during his long and eventful stay in Pakistan decades ago. Though he was 87 years old at the time, I could sense from his demeanor that he had had a glorious past.

In our conversation, he recalled fondly his time spent with the Bedouins in Saudi Arabia and his long years in Pakistan. I was an admirer of his writings and we talked about his books. He had absorbed the Muslim tradition of hospitality and magnanimity. I was pleasantly surprised when he returned the next day to present me signed copies of his books as a token of appreciation.

Few people know that apart from being an inspired writer, a distinguished scholar of Islam, an expert of Semitic languages and a perceptive traveler in the Islamic world, Asad also acted as an envoy for Saudi Arabia in 1920s and then went on to become a formal diplomat for Pakistan in its formative years.

Asad was born as Leopold Weiss to a Jewish family on July 12, 1900, in the town of Lvov (Lemberg), today in Ukraine, but then part of the Habsburg Empire. In 1922, he became a correspondent in the Middle East for the “Frankfurter Zeitung,” a prestigious German newspaper. Impressed with his writing, the paper soon commissioned him to travel more widely to collect information for a book. Asad traveled for two years through Syria, Iraq, Kurdistan, Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia, getting closer to Islam in the process.

Upon concluding his travels, Asad returned to Germany to write his book but differences with the editor of the “Frankfurter Zeitung” led him to resign. He took up Islamic studies and wrote as a stringer for other newspapers. Ironically, it was here, in the heart of Europe, that he was inspired to convert. Asad writes that while traveling in the Berlin subway, noticed that the people around him on the train had no smiles on their faces despite their worldly attainments. Returning to his flat, a surah in the Quran he had been reading caught his eye: “You are obsessed by greed for more and more / Until you go down to your graves.” And then later, in the same verse: “Nay, if you but knew it with the knowledge of certainty, / You would indeed see the hell you are in.” Asad wrote that any doubt he had that the Qur’an was a revealed book vanished. He went to the leader of the Berlin Islamic Society and converted to Islam, taking the name Muhammad Asad.

Thus began Asad’s love affair with Islam which would take him to the heart of Islam in Arabia. During his pilgrimage to Makkah, he had a chance to meet with Prince Faisal in the Grand Mosque’s library who invited him to meet with his father, the legendary King Abdulaziz Al-Saud. The king was a perceptive judge of character and soon Asad had almost daily audiences with the king and became part of his inner circle. During the next few years, the king employed Asad on certain foreign missions.

At this time in British-ruled South Asia, Muslims had begun to struggle for a separate homeland for themselves, which they would later name “Pakistan.” Asad arrived in Karachi in 1932 by ship and left for Lahore. In 1933, Asad landed in the capital of Kashmir where another freedom struggle had started. The pre-dominantly Muslim population of Kashmir had begun to revolt against the Hindu prince ruling the state. Asad’s activities in Kashmir alarmed the British intelligence. The prince’s government also wanted to expel him.

On return from Kashmir to Lahore, Asad met the poet-philosopher Muhammad Iqbal. It was Iqbal who had proposed for the first time the formation of a separate state for South Asian Muslims in 1930. Iqbal asked Asad to remain in India and work “to elucidate the intellectual premises of the future Islamic state.” Iqbal, 24 years senior to Asad, shared a German connection with Asad as he had obtained his Ph.D. from Germany. He must have inspired Asad with his towering intellect, political acumen and intimate knowledge of Islamic and Western philosophy and literature. For Iqbal’s fervent criticism of materialism, excessive individualism and Godless democracy would find echoes in the pamphlet “Islam at the Crossroads” written by Asad in 1934. This text resonated with Muslims everywhere, going through repeated printings and editions in India and Pakistan. It also appeared in an Arabic translation in Beirut in 1946 under the title “Al-Islam ‘ala muftariq al-turuq” which was published in numerous editions through the 1940s and 1950s.

The ruler of Hyderabad, the Nizam, had established a journal “Islamic Culture” which was edited by Mohammed Marmaduke Pickthall (1875-1936), a British convert to Islam well known for his English translation of the Qur’an. When Pickthall died in 1936, the Nizam chose Asad for the editorship of the journal. In October 1938, Asad resigned from the editorship of Islamic Culture, and then left India. He returned to Europe in 1939 with the intention of saving his Jewish parents from Nazis. But his efforts ended fruitlessly as Germany invaded Poland and Britain declared war against Germany in September 1939. Back in India, Asad was detained by the British rulers immediately as an enemy national and spent the next six years in internment camps with Germans, Austrians and Italians.

The scholar Martin Kramer writes that upon Asad’s release, he “wholly identified with the cause of Pakistan, which he saw not simply as a refuge, but as the framework for an ideal Islamic polity.” He understood that a new state for Muslims of India was “an historical necessity” to preserve their separate identity. After Pakistan came into being in 1947, Asad became director of the Department of Islamic Reconstruction and began formulating proposals for its constitution.

Asad’s purpose was to portray an Islamic state as a liberal, multiparty parliamentary democracy. He cited evidence in the Islamic sources for elections, parliamentary legislation and political parties. His proposals, published in March 1948 as Islamic Constitution-Making, were reflected in the Preamble to the first Constitution of Pakistan, adopted by the Constituent Assembly in 1949. That year, Asad joined Pakistan’s foreign service, eventually rising to the position of head of the Middle East Division of the Foreign Ministry. According to Kramer, “his transformation was now complete, down to his Pakistani achkan (formal Pakistani dress) and black fur cap.” In 1952, he went to New York, as Pakistan’s minister plenipotentiary to the United Nations.

Like Kashmir, Asad was also drawn to the Palestinian struggle for freedom. Early in 1922, an uncle had invited Asad to visit Jerusalem where another uncle was an ardent Zionist. But Asad was anti-Zionist even before his conversion. He wrote, “I conceived from the outset a strong objection to Zionism. I considered it immoral that immigrants should come from abroad with the avowed intention of attaining to majority in the country and thus to dispossess the people whose country it had been since time immemorial.”

At the end of 1952, Asad resigned from Pakistan Foreign Service to focus attention on what would be his masterpiece, “The Road to Mecca” which won accolades in East and West alike. Asad also planned to write a new English translation of the Qur’an and began work on it in 1960. He was not satisfied with the existing English translations of Qur’an since he believed that “familiarity with the Bedouin speech of Central and Eastern Arabia—in addition to academic knowledge of classical Arabic” was the only way for a non-Arab of his time to achieve the required understanding of the diction of the Qur’an. He admired Prince Faisal immensely and had reestablished a link with him in 1951. In 1963, Prince Faisal financed the translation project through Muslim World League. Asad published a limited edition of the first nine surahs in 1964. In 1980, he published the full translation and commentary, called “The Message of the Qur’an.”

Asad died on Feb. 20, 1992. He was buried in the small Muslim cemetery in Granada, Spain. He was, like Iqbal, deeply aware of the issues of the 20th century Islamic world. He foresaw its problems and suggested solutions which can be found all over his writings. He wanted Muslims to be aware of the glorious standards of knowledge, morality and spiritual progress set by Islam. In the modern Muslim’s struggle to attain those standards, Asad’s writings will remain a bright beacon for generations.

 

The author is Ambassador of Pakistan to Saudi Arabia.

 

Thursday 24 May 2012

Arabi News

Sul Taksim tepe (colle della cisterna) si trova l'eremitaggio dei monaci dervisci.

Col termine dervisci (in persiano e arabo darwīsh, lett. "povero", la cui etimologia resta sostanzialmente sconosciuta) si indicano i discepoli di alcune confraternite islamiche ( turuq ) che, per il loro difficile cammino di ascesi e di salvazione, sono chiamati a distaccarsi nell'animo dalle passioni mondane e, di conseguenza, dai beni e dalle lusinghe del mondo.

 

Membri di alcune confraternite del sufismo, la corrente mistica dell’islam, diffuse soprattutto in Turchia e in Iran e note per le pratiche mistiche. Il termine deriva dal persiano darwish (“mendicante”), simile nel significato all’arabo faqir (“fachiro”). Alcuni dervisci sono itineranti e vivono di elemosina, mentre altri vivono in monasteri dedicandosi alla preghiera e all’ascesi; non mancano infine confraternite di laici, che celebrano i loro riti in occasioni particolari. Durante le cerimonie, spesso pubbliche, gli adepti raggiungono l’estasi mistica con tecniche suggestive (ad esempio infilandosi aghi nel corpo o camminando sulle braci)

Per quanto si richiamino direttamente a Maometto, le confraternite dei dervisci si svilupparono in epoche successive: al 1165 risale la fondazione della scuola dei “dervisci urlanti” così detta per le invocazioni rivolte a Dio in stato di esaltazione; al XIII secolo quella dei “dervisci rotanti”, fondata dal poeta mistico persiano Rumi, i cui membri cercano l’estasi mistica disponendosi in cerchio e ruotando su se stessi.

(FONTE: msn)

 

(...) I dervisci hanno questa particolarità: sono più tolleranti di qualsiasi altra istituzione religiosa. I musulmani ortodossi, costretti ad accettare la loro esistenza come corporazione, in realtà non fanno che tollerarli. Il popolo li ama e li sostiene; la loro esaltazione, il loro buon umore, la facilità del loro carattere e dei loro principi piacciono alla folla più delle rigidezze degli imam e dei mollali. Questi ultimi li trattano da panteisti e attaccano spesso le loro dottrine, senza riuscire comunque ad accusarli di eresia. (...)

 

(...) Molti appartengono ai munasihi, che credono alla trasmigrazione delle anime. Secondo loro, ogni uomo che non è degno di rinascere in forma umana, entra dopo la morte nel corpo dell'animale che più gli assomiglia come umore o come temperamento. Il vuoto che lascerebbe questa emigrazione di anime umane è colmato da quello delle bestie degne, per la loro intelligenza o fedeltà, di elevarsi nella scala animale. Questo sentimento, che appartiene evidentemente alla tradizione indiana, spiega le diverse pie fondazioni fatte nei conventi e nelle moschee in favore degli animali; perché li si rispetta sia in quanto possono essere stati uomini, sia in quanto possono diventarlo.

 

Questo spiega perché nessun musulmano mangia carne di maiale; perché questo animale sembra, per la sua forma e i suoi appetiti, più vicino alla specie umana. (...)

(FONTE: Gerard De Nerval da: www.prodos.it

 

Le palais de Budavár ou du château de Buda, anciennement appelé palais royal ou encore Château royal est le château historique des rois de Hongrie. Après la Première guerre mondiale, il devient la résidence du régent de Hongrie Miklós Horthy. Bombardée par l'armée soviétique en 1945, sa coupole néo-baroque est notamment détruite, ainsi que l'essentiel de l'aile Marie-Thérèse, dont il ne reste alors que la façade. Dans les années 1960, en raison de fortes contraintes budgétaires, sa réhabilitation se fait cependant au minimum. Si les volumes en sont reconstruits, ses riches ornements et ses statues ne sont pas reconstitués, et sa coupole, ancienne pièce maîtresse du palais, n'est pas refaite à l'identique mais remplacée par une version aux courbes modernes (cf. wikipédia).

"Losing my husband helped me to assist others and remain very optimistic, which is the most important thing" - Wafa al-Turuq, a 29 year old widow and mother of two girls, said during a visit by SRSG Ian Martin to a Tripoli support centre for the families of the missing from the 2011 revolution. August 2012 (Credit: Iason Athanasiadis/UNSMIL)

274,464 items / 2,158,666 views

  

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

The Qadri-Qadeeri silsila is a sufi order or tariqah which was started Bahr-ul-Uloom Hazrat Moulana Maulvi Muhammad Abdul Qadeer Siddiqi Qadri Hasrat (1870–1962), the former Dean and Professor of Theology of the Osmania University, Hyderabad and a famous Sufi of southern India widely known as Bahr-ul-Uloom (Ocean of Knowledge).The Qadeeri silsila is actually an offshoot of the Qadri spiritual order or the Qadri tariqah.

A ṭarīqah is a group of murīdīn (singular murīd), Arabic for desirous, desiring the knowledge of knowing God and loving God (also called a faqīr Arabic: فقير‎, another Arabic word that means poor or needy, usually used as al-Faqīr ilá l-Lāh, "the needy to God's knowledge (الفقير إلى الله)).

Nearly every ṭarīqah is named after its founder, and when the order is referred it is in a nisbah formed from the founder's name. For example, the "Rifai order", named after Shaykh Ahmad ar-Rifai, is called the "Rifaiyyah", the "Qādirī order", named after Shaykh `Abd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī, is called the "Qādiriyyah".Often ṭuruq are offshoots of another ṭarīqah, for example,The Qadeeri silsila (or chain) is a sub division or an offshoot of the Qadri tariqah, started by Bahr-ul-Uloom Hazrat Moulana Maulvi Muhammad Abdul Qadeer Siddiqi Qadri Hasrat. Almost all the sufi orders trace their path to Syed Abdul Qadir Jilani. The Qadeeri silsila also traces its path from Muhammad Abdul Qadeer Siddiqi Qadri to Syed Abdul Qadir Jilani.

There are many Spiritual Chains from Hazrat Muhammad Abdul Qadeer Siddiqi Qadri that lead to Hazrat Ghous-ul-Azam Syed Abdul Qadir Jilani, but the main chain has been mentioned below.

Sufism or Taṣawwuf[1] (Arabic: التصوف‎‎), which is often defined as "Islamic mysticism,"[2] "the inward dimension of Islam,"[3][4] or "the phenomenon of mysticism within Islam,"[5][6] is a mystical trend in Islam "characterized ... [by particular] values, ritual practices, doctrines and institutions"[7] which began very early on in Islamic history[5] and which represents "the main manifestation and the most important and central crystallization of" mystical practice in Islam.[8]

 

Practitioners of Sufism have been referred to as "Sufis" (/ˈsuːfi/; صُوفِيّ ; ṣūfī), an Arabic word which is believed by some scholars to have originally indicated the "woollen clothes (ṣūf) or rough garb" which the early Islamic mystics wore.[5] Historically, they have often belonged to different ṭuruq or "orders"—congregations formed around a grand master referred to as a mawla who traces a direct chain of teachers back to the Islamic prophet, Muhammad.[9] These orders meet for spiritual sessions (majalis) in meeting places known as zawiyas, khanqahs, or tekke.[10] They strive for ihsan (perfection of worship) as detailed in a hadith: "Ihsan is to worship Allah as if you see Him; if you can't see Him, surely He sees you."[11] Rumi stated: "The Sufi is hanging on to Muhammad, like Abu Bakr."[12] Sufis regard Muhammad as al-Insān al-Kāmil, the primary perfect man who exemplifies the morality of God,[13] and regard Muhammad as their leader and prime spiritual guide.

 

All Sufi orders trace many of their original precepts from Muhammad through his cousin and son-in-law Ali with the notable exception of the Naqshbandi, who claim to trace their origins from Muhammad through the first Rashid Caliph, Abu Bakr.[14] The orders largely follow one of the four madhhabs (jurisprudent schools of thought) of Sunni Islam and maintain a Sunni aqidah (creed).[15]

 

Classical Sufis were characterized by their asceticism, especially by their attachment to dhikr, the practice of repeating the names of God, often performed after prayers.[16] They gained adherents among a number of Muslims as a reaction against the worldliness of the early Umayyad Caliphate (661–750).[17] and have spanned several continents and cultures over a millennium, originally expressing their beliefs in Arabic before spreading into Persian, Turkish, and Urdu among dozens of other languages.[18] According to William Chittick, "In a broad sense, Sufism can be described as the interiorization, and intensification of Islamic faith and practice."[19]

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sufism

Col termine derviscio (in persiano e arabo darwīsh, lett. "povero", la cui etimologia resta sostanzialmente sconosciuta) si indicano i discepoli di alcune confraternite islamiche (turuq) che, per il loro difficile cammino di ascesi e di salvazione, sono chiamati a distaccarsi nell'animo dalle passioni mondane e, per conseguenza, dai beni e dalle lusinghe del mondo. Si tratta di un termine afferente a molte generiche confraternite islamiche sufi, anche se tendenzialmente ci si riferisce alla ṭarīqa della Mawlawiyya/Mevleviyè. I dervisci sono asceti che vivono in mistica povertà, simili ai frati mendicanti cristiani.

"...si indicano i discepoli di alcune confraternite islamiche (turuq) che, per il loro difficile cammino di ascesi e di salvazione, sono chiamati a distaccarsi nell'animo dalle passioni mondane e, per conseguenza, dai beni e dalle lusinghe del mondo...."

 

mariapipoli.blogspot.com/2011/06/i-dervisci-rotanti.html

@piolungan waterfall

@muruqturuq

@muruqturuq

@muruqturuq

@muruqturuq